American Lager Lakeside Lager

[Mutilated1]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WPL810

Yeast Starter

YES

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

1.065

Final Gravity

1.012

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

25

Color

6 SRM

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 Days @ 55 F

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

30 Days @ 50F

This was not my first all grain lager, but its the first one that I made that was good enough to share the recipe. This is seriously one of the best beers I ever had a chance to drink, and its even better to know that I made the beer myself.

I created the recipe with ProMash, and selected the Light Lager 01-C "Premium American Lager" category. When making the recipe, I was hoping to get something that was at the upper ends of the style range with respect to Hops, Gravity, and Color. So this beer might not be exactly true to the category of "Premium American Lager", however it is a terrific lager with a great taste and its very easy to make.

I used Nugget hops for Bittering because I wanted a beer that was on the upper end of the IBUs for the style and was still smooth instead of over/harshly bitter, and I used .33 ounces. If you wanted a beer that hit more in the middle of the traditional IBU range for the style, you might bump that down slightly to only .25 oz.

I choose Hallertauer for the aroma and flavor hops simply because I thought that to be a more traditional choice for a Lager.

Here is the recipe:

Malts
Lager Malt ( 2 Row ) - ( 1.035 ) 1L - #7.5 68.2%
Vienna Malt ( 2 Row ) - ( 1.035 ) 4L - #1.5 13.6%
Light Munich Malt ( 2 Row ) - ( 1.033 ) 10L - #1.5 13.6%
CaraPils - ( 1.035 ) 1L - #.5 4.5%

Hops
.33oz Nugget Pellets for Bittering 13.00% 20.4IBUs 60 Minutes
.25oz Hallertauer for Aroma 4.75% 2.6 IBUs 30 Minutes
.25oz Hallertauer for Aroma/Flavor 4.75% 1.2 IBUs 10 Minutes

Heated 3.5 gallons of water to 163F, added to the grains to bring the mash to 153 F. Mashed for 70 minutes, then sparged with 170F water till I reached a boil volume of about 7.25 gallons.

Brought it to a boil, and add the hops according to schedule. Boil Nugget for 60 minutes, then the additions of the Hallertauer at 30 and 10. I used a pretty good sized spoon of Irish Moss in the last 10 minutes, then chilled to the 60s and pitched a good sized starter of WPL810 San Francisco Lager Yeast.

Fermented for two weeks in the mid to low 50s, then racked to a secondary for four weeks in the low 50s and mid to upper 40s. After 4 weeks, bottled it and gave it 2 weeks to carbonate and another month to condition in the bottles in the fridgerator.

I plan to make this again very soon, and while I am very happy with the choice for the hops, I believe that I may possibly scale the CaraPils back to maybe only #.25.

 

[Mutilated1]

I just started drinking the second batch of this beer. This time, I cut back on the Munich and Vienna to 1 # each and went to 9# of 2 row. Also I change yeasts and used Saflager S-23 this time, 2 packs dry - no starter. Beer fermented about the same temps and time, but finished a lot crisper and drier. Also, since I've made this again I've figured out that most likely this is not really properly categorized as "Light Lager" or even "Premium American Lager" - guess I made a mistake when I first posted the recipe , but its a pretty damn good beer anyway.

 

[D-Ring]

I just poured my first pint of this(made with the S-23), and it tastes pretty darn close to a Grain Belt!

 

[bernerbrau]

Just brewed this last Saturday. Unfortunately I forgot to take the grains out of the fridge the night before, so I upped my strike temp to compensate and overshot the mash temp, mashing at about 158. I also decided to batch sparge (I normally fly sparge) which screwed with my efficiency and I wound up with a post-boil gravity of about 1.050. I used a really big starter of the WLP810 and the fermentation kicked off within 3 or 4 hours.

We'll see how it comes out. Hopefully the lower-than-expected gravity doesn't throw the hops out of proportion.

 

[maltbarleyhops]

brewing this on sunday. I have a all pilzen lager fermenting now. used saflager s -23 and it krausened fantastic. nice thick cap of yellow on top of white foam.

dry lager yeast dont scare me anymore...wish i had an open top fermenter, so i could harvest it.

 

[bernerbrau]

I have this on tap, and it's really quite outstanding. This will probably become a house standard.

 

[tbeggs15]

Wow I like the sounds of this one, I am going to give it a try.

 

[02andYou]

Does anyone have this brew on tap and have a pic? Considering brewing this one up.

 

[High_Noonan]

I am fairly certain my LHBS gave me some bad advice on this one.
When I asked for the two packs of S23, he talked me into a single vial of WLP800 and said I could just pitch that without a starter.
This is my first attempt at lager, so I didn't really know about the huge starters that are required at the time.
I brewed, oxygenated and pitched on Saturday afternoon.
Wort was about 72F, but was already sitting in the cooler and heading to 54F. I've since lowered this to 50F.
I looked this morning (Monday) and I think I see clumps of yeast starting to form on the carboy wall just above the trub.
Should I relax and have a homebrew, or is there anything I can do to fix this issue?

You lager brewers must be brewing just all the time. I'll have a couple of ales brewed and on tap by the time this stuff is ready!
HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAA!

 

[High_Noonan]

It took until Thursday evening (brewed and pitched Saturday) when I came home and saw that there still was no activity taking place.
I drove out to a different HBS and picked up two packs of S-23 and a wine thief to test the gravity.
1.051. I am going to go with fermentation never started.
But it sure took off with the S-23!
It is bubbling away happy as a clam now.

 

[krebs119]

I'm thinking about brewing this soon. I am likely going to do a 2.5gal BIAB. A few questions to those who have brewed it - How much strike water should I start with? Also, what are your thoughts on using WY2124 - Bohemian Lager? I haven't used this yeast yet but I have it available. I'm not sure how much the taste would change...

thanks.

 

[High_Noonan]

Racked this to secondary last night.
Took a gravity reading tonight...and a little sample.
Holy crows! This is a good beer...and it is still cooking!

 

[Mutilated1]

I'm really glad someone is still enjoying this beer. i have not been brewing for a couple of years but recently i decided to start up again. i think this is the beer i remember most when i get my equipment collection built back up something like this will be soon made. it is great that making beer is so fun and easy and there is so much room to tweak recipes

 

[Mutilated1]

Does anyone have this brew on tap and have a pic? Considering brewing this one up.

i don't have it on tap because i sold and traded all my kegs and gear but i do have some pics of it somewhere i will try and post them for you

 

[FooFan]

I brew up a 10 gallon batch on Saturday. I will post the results

 

[krebs119]

My keg's running a little low so I figured I'd post a pic for those who asked. I ended up doing 2.5gal biab with the wyeast bohemian lager strain. It tastes good - perhaps a bit on the grainy side, but that could be a failure in my process. Very clear beer, very light - would sit well with the BMC crowds...

 

[smack2000]

This recipe is still going - brewed it today as my first lager. Only 40 degrees and windy in the Philly area today, pretty chilly for outdoor brewing, but I was anxious to try out my newly acquired fermentation/lagering setup. Did the modified (dry yeast) version.

 

[THEUKRAINIAN]

Mashed and set this bad boy up on the New Year's Eve. Can't wait for it to be done.

 

[THEUKRAINIAN]

Well it has been 4 days since I pitched this lager, I do have one question. I Seen that in day 2-3 i had a very aggressive fermentation. Yesterday and today It looks like it settled down to the bottom of the fermenter and now bubbling 45 seconds - 60 seconds. Should i rack this into secondary?

 

[Wilbur]

When I brewed this a few months ago there was very little activity in the air lock after the first few days. I left it in the primary for 2 weeks. I have 2 cornies full, it won't last long.

 

[krebs119]

Yeah, I would leave it in primary for at least a week. Check the gravity if you are unsure, but AT LEAST a week. I think I left mine for 3 weeks or so.

 

[Jakeintoledo]

Fermented for two weeks in the mid to low 50s, then racked to a secondary for four weeks in the low 50s and mid to upper 40s. After 4 weeks, bottled it and gave it 2 weeks to carbonate and another month to condition in the bottles in the fridgerator.

I'm impressed with all the aging you manage to do. I don't seem to have the patience....with one notable exception, my maibock sitting in my garage lagering LIKE A BAWSS. all the others, I can't wait to start drinking.

 

[zeg]

I'm impressed with all the aging you manage to do. I don't seem to have the patience....with one notable exception, my maibock sitting in my garage lagering LIKE A BAWSS. all the others, I can't wait to start drinking.

I fight this temptation by brewing repeatedly. The hard part about lagering is that you have a month or two with literally nothing to fiddle with. If you have a couple of other batches in earlier stages, that takes the edge off.

I have yet to see what the long term effects of this strategy are, though. I think things might get interesting when 5 gallons each of Doppelbock, Bock, and Maibock all come out of the pipeline within a couple weeks of each other...... Should make for a heck of a Spring.

 

[mason22]

May sound noobish, but I'm having a difficult time finding lager malt. Any suggestions?



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[zeg]

May sound noobish, but I'm having a difficult time finding lager malt. Any suggestions?

No problem being a noob. Don't worry about lager malt, it is just a lightly kilned base malt. You can use pilsener or plain 2-row malt. I've never personally encountered something called "lager malt" at any shop.

 

[mason22]

Thanks zeg!


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