Brewing an American Lager - Can we talk about this like civilized adults?

[kombat]

I'm considering trying to brew either an American Lager or an American Light Lager. I don't want this thread to become a debate over the merits of the style, or "why on Earth would you do that?" I want to, to see if I can. Yes, it may be cheaper where you are to just buy a 12-pack of PBR and call it a day, but that's not the case where I am (Ontario, Canada).

I took a quick look in the recipe database, and there doesn't seem to be anything like what I'm looking for. I'm planning on putting together a recipe according to the style guidelines, mainly just 2-row and up to 40% flaked corn. Nothing for body (Carapils/Carafoam, etc.). Just as light and plain as can be. I'm also considering aiming for a low O.G. (1.035 - 1.040) and mashing low (145° F) to get a highly fermentable wort, and drying it out as low as possible (1.005 or lower would be nice). Lager yeast, obviously. I'll force carb in the keg to medium-to-high carbonation.

Has anyone ever brewed this style before? Any advice? With such a low OG, is it really important to pitch a large, active starter? How do you ensure maximum fermentability? How did yours turn out? What would you do differently if you were to brew it again?

 

[Samuelouellette]

Hello,

I did a budweisser ish clone 6 months ago using 30% rice and 2 row. O.G 1.041 F.G 1.007. attenuation 81% I used Danish lager yeast 2042 and mashed low (145f) and used only bittering hop (hallertau) 10 ibu. One thing I would recommend if you like it more dry (because at 1.007 it was more sweet then BMC) add amylase near the end of fermentation or if you like it really dry Beano. Yeast pitch using brewers friend calculator and 50F fermentation temperature and 2.5 week fermentation. 2 week lager

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Id also be interested in this recipe if someone has it, pref a 5 gallon batch.

 

[porterpounder]

Kudos on your drive to brew such a challenging style. Yes, a healthy yeast pitch is still important to avoid off-flavors in such a "clean" style of beer. A low mash temp will help you achieve a lighter body and good fermentability, but if that isn't a complete success, a couple of Beano tablets in the fermenter will break down some of the larger unfermentable sugars into smaller fermentable ones and drive your FG lower. As for malt you can use corn, rice or both. Rice tends to give less character to the final beer in my experience. 6-row pilsner malt in place or mixed with 2-row will bump up the mash enzymes to help convert the adjunct starches to fermentables, but may not be entirely necessary. Have fun and good luck.

 

[2trout]

Ive brewed Jamill's Classic American Lager https://byo.com/hops/item/2424-classic-american-pilsner-style-profile a few times. Just getting ready to bottle my third batch. Its excellent!

trout

 

[unionrdr]

I've brewed 3 versions of my " hopped & confused" hybrid lagers so far. kind of a Euro flavor to them, crossed with American. I've been trying to get the American lager flavors I remember from the 50's & 60's. I've been using WL029 to ferment it, since it gives lager-like flavor balance & that crispness on the back. Easier for me at this point, since I don't have that kind of temp control yet. I can list one of the recipes (5 gallon batch) if you like? And I definitely agree that subbing some of the 2-row for 6-row would give better conversion in a one hour mash in terms of clarity. The 2-row just doesn't seem to have enough oomph to completely convert everything in an hour.

 

[Spartan1979]

Ive brewed Jamill's Classic American Lager https://byo.com/hops/item/2424-classic-american-pilsner-style-profile a few times. Just getting ready to bottle my third batch. Its excellent!

trout

While that may be an excellent beer, it's not the same type of beer as the OP is trying to brew. The style you referenced is also referred to as a "Pre-Prohibition Pils."

Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles would be a good place to start.

 

[sky4meplease]

Check out the BJCP style guidelines for this style.
Some good information there that will help you choose your ingredients.
Mine is 70% 2 row, 20% flaked rice, Liberty hops.
Let us know how yours turns out.
Lawnmower season is right around the corner!

 

[NTexBrewer]

Here is my recipe that keeps my Father in Law happy. I have brewed this 4 times and had consistent results. I do Stovetop BIAB so that is the reason for the sugar to decrease the amount of grain but I think it allows me to mash a little higher and still get a low final gravity.

5.5 Gallon
70% Brewhouse Efficiency

3lb 6-Row
4lb 2-Row
1lb Flaked Corn
1lb Dextrose (Late Addition)

0.95oz Liberty Hops (4.5AA) 60 Minutes for 17 IBU's

Mash at 153 60 Minutes
Two Packs of 34/70 Lager Yeast
Ferment at 55 and raise to 60 for Diacytel Rest

OG 1.046 FG 1.008
I bottle and carbonate to 3 volumes

I use RO Water with 1/4 tsp Gypsum per gallon of Mash Water.

Looking at my records this is how the last 4 have turned out.
1.046 1.008
1.046 1.009
1.045 1.009
1.044 1.006

This beer made it to the Second Round of last years Bluebonnet Brewoff.

The best part about brewing this beer is that I use the yeast cake to brew a big lager or Russian Imperial Stout.

 

[kombat]

I went ahead and brewed it on Saturday. Recipe was extremely simple:

7 lbs 2-row Pale malt
2 lbs flaked corn

Mashed at 148° F for 1 hour, then recirc'd until the wort ran clear, then collected first runnings, batch sparged, recirc'd again, collected second runnings.

Boiled for 60 minutes. 1 single hop addition: 0.75 oz Hallertau at 60:00.

Gravity came in at 1.042. The sample was quite clear (I whirlpool after the boil). I expected fairly low bitterness, but there was almost none at all in the sample. I'm hoping once it finishes and carbs up, it'll have a little more "bite" to it.

I rehydrated 2 packets of S-23 lager yeast. I oxygenated with pure O2 for 90 seconds. It's in my fermentation chamber at 50° F. Within 24 hours, I had a layer of thin, white CO2 bubbles on the surface. This is the important part - I'm hoping to keep the ferment nice and steady and calm, to minimize off-flavours.

 

[porterpounder]

A calm fermentation will not necessarily minimize off-flavors. You want a vigorous fermentation to blow off some of the worst aroma compounds such as sulphur. As long as the temp remains low enough and steady and the yeast going in was healthy I wouldn't worry about ester formation or other fermentation related issues from a vigorous fermentation.

 

[kombat]

I'm pretty sure I overpitched (2 packets, rehydrated, in 5 gallons of 1.042 wort), and it took off pretty quickly, so I'm confident the yeast are happy and healthy. I just need to keep them that way. I'll let them ride at 50° F for 2 full weeks, then raise it up to 68°F for another full week, then go straight to the keg.

 

[sky4meplease]

Mine has a slight apple flavor and aroma that I perceived as a flaw but the BJCP style guidelines claim it to be yeast character which is acceptable.
It seems to come forward as the beer warms up but is quite subtle while cold and highly carbonated.

 

[BrunDog]

I made a Yuengling clone several months ago and was fairly thrilled with it. It was 6 row, some Crystal, and flaked corn. I used the accelerated fermentation schedule like you and had a great result. Crystal clear, no diacetyl, great color, aroma, and a touch of sweetness. Would do that recipe again in a heartbeat.

 

[unionrdr]

I've been working on version 4.2 of my hybrid lager, " Hopped & Confused". I'm still trying for that balanced lager flavor the style had in the 50's to about 1965. Here's the recipe I did in BS2 I've got so far...
*****Hopped & Confused hybrid lager**************************
PB/PM BIAB
11.5ozs flaked corn
1lb carahell, Weyermann
1lb, 4oz pale malt, Weyermann
3lb, 4oz 6-row, US
2lb DME, golden light, Briess
1oz cluster hops, bittering, 60 minutes
.75oz Mt Hood, hops, flavoring, 15 minutes
1 pkg WL029 German Ale/Kolsch (since I don't have temp control yet)
Est OG- 1.050
Est FG- 1.012
IBU- 29.5
Est ABV- 4.9%
Color- 5.4 SRM
Single infusion, medium body, batch sparge
Lager, single stage
As a style comparison, I used Pre-Prohibition Lager, since the other listings don't seem to come close to what the style was like during that period. This is about as close as I can come before tasting it, & what I've brewed so far.

 

[max384]

I'm considering trying to brew either an American Lager or an American Light Lager. I don't want this thread to become a debate over the merits of the style, or "why on Earth would you do that?" I want to, to see if I can. Yes, it may be cheaper where you are to just buy a 12-pack of PBR and call it a day, but that's not the case where I am (Ontario, Canada).

I took a quick look in the recipe database, and there doesn't seem to be anything like what I'm looking for. I'm planning on putting together a recipe according to the style guidelines, mainly just 2-row and up to 40% flaked corn. Nothing for body (Carapils/Carafoam, etc.). Just as light and plain as can be. I'm also considering aiming for a low O.G. (1.035 - 1.040) and mashing low (145° F) to get a highly fermentable wort, and drying it out as low as possible (1.005 or lower would be nice). Lager yeast, obviously. I'll force carb in the keg to medium-to-high carbonation.

Has anyone ever brewed this style before? Any advice? With such a low OG, is it really important to pitch a large, active starter? How do you ensure maximum fermentability? How did yours turn out? What would you do differently if you were to brew it again?

I can't comment on a light lager, but I will say that I usually try to have a light beer on tap at any given time, since I have a lot of friends that don't like "craft beers," but certainly enjoy my blonde ale or cream ale. I also enjoy a light beer from time to time myself, and I enjoy having beers on tap that can suit all beer tastes.

 

[two-rocks]

Have a light lager on tap now, was supposed to be for summer - never going to last that long.

3.5# Irish stout malt
3.5# 2-row
1.75# rice (I used instant)
90 minute boil
1oz sterling @60
.5 oz liberty @30
.5 oz liberty @10
2pkg (22grams) 34/70

12 days primary @52, D-rest, 3+ weeks or so secondary @45, keg away - slow carb.

1.043 OG - 1.004 FG, mashed at 149 on a cold day where it finished at 146ish.

Kind of a slightly hoppy bud light or a smooth stella. ....haven't had BL is no long, I need to buy one to compare.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1455810660.761381.jpg

That was before it carbonated

 

[mcgimpkins]

Subscribe. Although not a huge fan of American Lager, there are some interesting ones on here I would like to try out.

 

[mesooohoppy]

3.5# Irish stout malt

Thought that was a typo, had to look it up. Learn something new everyday!

With that said, I drink pbr when I want something other than craft. It amazes me how some of these mega breweries are able to constantly pump out the same beer day in and day out.

Although, if I owned a brewery and brewed one beer, I'd hope I could be consistent.

Sub'd

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I'm pretty sure I overpitched (2 packets, rehydrated, in 5 gallons of 1.042 wort), and it took off pretty quickly, so I'm confident the yeast are happy and healthy. I just need to keep them that way. I'll let them ride at 50° F for 2 full weeks, then raise it up to 68°F for another full week, then go straight to the keg.

Straight to keg...? I thought the idea was to let it "lager" for a few weeks...or months..?

 

[GuldTuborg]

Straight to keg...? I thought the idea was to let it "lager" for a few weeks...or months..?

I imagine he's going to lager it in the keg. Achieves the same thing and cuts down on a step.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I imagine he's going to lager it in the keg. Achieves the same thing and cuts down on a step.

True story...just making sure I didn't miss something.

 

[ba-brewer]

You can lager in the keg, sure makes it easy to check on progress.

 

[kombat]

Yep, exactly. It'll clear up and carbonate while it's "lagering," that way when it's ready to drink, I don't have to move it and disturb it, undoing all the clarifying that had been happening.

In my experience, however, very little "lagering" is actually needed anyway. After my 3 week fermentation (2 at 50° C, 1 at 68° F), it's pretty clean anyway. Upon kegging, I'll purge it with CO2 and put it in the fridge (freezer on STC-1000) to cold crash, then add some gelatin and let it carb up. 2 weeks later, I expect it will be quite clean, and with excellent clarity. I'll try to remember to post a pic and an update when it's ready.

 

[BrunDog]

Gelatin not needed - Just cold and time should be enough.

 

[kombat]

Not needed, but gelatin does speed up clarification dramatically.

 

[unionrdr]

Thought I'd revisit this thread, since I'll be getting to the 4th version of my hybrid lager very soon. After I get the Mumme' going Saturday. Here's the updated recipe;
*************Hopped & Confused V4.2*******************
***Hybrid Lager***
3lbs) Pale malt, 6-row, US
1lb, 4oz) Pale malt, Weyermann's
1lb Carahell, Weyermann's
11.5oz) Flaked corn
2lbs) Extra light DME, Briess
.8oz) Cluster hops, 60 minutes
.75) Mt Hood hops, 15 minutes
WLP 029 German kolsch, yeast, 1 tube
Est OG- 1.048
Est FG- 1.012
IBU- 18.1
SRM- 5.1
ABV- 4.7%
151.6 Kcal/12oz
Mash 153F 1 hour, hopefully 6-row will negate the starch haze this time? Usual 1 hour boil. Hoping this combination of hops & malts will get me that particular flavor quality I remember?