Subtle Dry Hopping of a Lager

[snarf7]

All the lagers I've made so far have been knockouts, I'm really happy with how they turned out. I stayed really traditional with my malt, hops and yeast choices and clearly there's a reason those recipes have lasted so long and been enjoyed by so many. So I don't want to stray too far from what makes them great already but I do want to experiment a little and see if I can create something interesting.

I don't want an IPL, but I think some carefully chosen dry hops added during fermentation in judicious quantities might really make this beer sing.

grain bill is simple

79% 2-row
13% Munich Light
8% Crystal 60L

Bittering hops will be primarily Hallertau.
So what would you add late + dry hop with? And in what quantities?

 

[brewswithshoes]

I’ll chime in as I’m also planning a dry hopped lager as my next brew. I haven’t finalized my recipe yet, but whatever it is will have 4 ounces of Citra whole cone hops added 3 days before kegging. I had the Citra Brau from Jacks Abbey and wanna see if I can replicate it.

Question on your malt. Do you use regular 2 row or Pilsner malt?

 

[snarf7]

4 ounces of Citra whole cone hops added 3 days before kegging. I had the Citra Brau from Jacks Abbey and wanna see if I can replicate it.

That's totally different than what I'm going for but I bet it will be delicious nonetheless. I was planning to go with American 2-row for mine but Pilsner Malt + Citra is a good combo that marries well together so if I were you I'd go with that!

For me though, I probably wouldn't go with more than 1/2 oz - 1oz for my dry hopping. I want to keep the hops restrained but present if that makes any sense? I'm leaning towards using a noble hop and a more modern American variety...something like Hallertau + Cascade maybe?

 

[McKnuckle]

I am interested in similar things. My lagers are my best beers for whatever reason, certainly in part because I just love how the malt character presents itself. But in addition to enjoying the classics, I would like to create some hybrid styles.

Several ideas:

- Classic pilsner with alternate hops (American, English) in traditional quantities
- Grain bills similar to English styles but using German malt equivalents
- Golden ale recipes brewed with lager yeast and timing

Basically, a "lager everything" mindset. Nobody seems to be doing that. General goal is to produce the same clean, soft, malt character that makes lagers so good, but with ingredients that are common in other brewing traditions. And to balance malt with hops a bit more than the Germans typically do.

Not trying to replace my Pils, Märzen, Dort, Rauch, etc. - just expanding horizons a bit.

Sorry this is not specifically about dry hopping (another good idea), but thought I'd chime in anyway.

 

[brewswithshoes]

I honestly don’t make many lagers beyond an annual Marzen. I had that Jacks Abbey Citra Brau and loved it.

I’m curious though on the differences in malts as I have no real lager brewing experience to draw from. I see a lot of recipes that have 2 row and then a lot with Pilsen, so am curious on thoughts by others that make many lagers on what will work better with dry hoppping.

 

[McKnuckle]

Lager is originally a German and Czech phenomenon, so malts from those countries are traditional. Pilsener is very lightly kilned 2-row pale malt with a unique and delicate flavor. Vienna and Munich are, in order, more highly kilned (Vienna just a wee bit, Munich higher in several variations).

There is a wide range of caramel malts that have different flavors than their U.S. and English partners; everything from 10L to 500L is represented.

Like many things in brewing, it's just one factor. You can overwhelm it with yeast or hops, etc. - but the malt is usually the focus with lager.