Newbie with no idea seeks lager recipe
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Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Do you have temp control?
What type of lager are you after?
What type of lager are you after?
fluketamer
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yes temp control is IMO most important for lagers or ales.
you can make a decent lager if you can keep temps under 60 degrees with 34/70
you could even make a clean tasting pseudolager ( with a very neutral ale yeast - like so5 at 64-68 or cellar scince cali.) - those will make very clean ale, and if you lager it it will be close substitue.
if you can keep your temps relatively stable. i like
80/20 - 90/10 pilsner / vienna or pilsner / munich light makes a very good beer.
for hops. i like to bitter with HM and then flavor with saaz . but you can use all saaz. ( there are some hop subs also that can make a lager like beer) like warrior or magnum or mt hood etc.
perle also good clean bittering for lagers. but any of the noble hops will prolly work.
IME temp control makes lager brewing pretty easy.
keep it simple
you can make a decent lager if you can keep temps under 60 degrees with 34/70
you could even make a clean tasting pseudolager ( with a very neutral ale yeast - like so5 at 64-68 or cellar scince cali.) - those will make very clean ale, and if you lager it it will be close substitue.
if you can keep your temps relatively stable. i like
80/20 - 90/10 pilsner / vienna or pilsner / munich light makes a very good beer.
for hops. i like to bitter with HM and then flavor with saaz . but you can use all saaz. ( there are some hop subs also that can make a lager like beer) like warrior or magnum or mt hood etc.
perle also good clean bittering for lagers. but any of the noble hops will prolly work.
IME temp control makes lager brewing pretty easy.
keep it simple
Snuffy
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BandonBrewingCo
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Less is more. This uses Novalager yeast. Simple grain bill and saaz hops only.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Temp control in this context means for the fermentation, which is generally considered important for lagers.
How are you fermenting?
What are you fermenting in?
A fermentation heat tolerant bucket.
My suggestion - pick up a text or two to get started on a good experience
These are not by any means the only books on brewing, but an easy entry.
How to brew by Palmer
Brewing classic styles by Zainasheff
And - as others may have alluded to - start simple to end up with something drinkable while using minimal (and / or unfamiliar) equipment.
These are not by any means the only books on brewing, but an easy entry.
How to brew by Palmer
Brewing classic styles by Zainasheff
And - as others may have alluded to - start simple to end up with something drinkable while using minimal (and / or unfamiliar) equipment.
Fermentation generates heat, so the beer could get quite a bit warmer than room temperature. Generally yeast like warmer temperatures, but can produce undesirable flavors if it gets too warm.
If you have a cool area to ferment, then you can put your fermentation bucket into a large tub filled with cool water. The water will act as a heat sink and help keep the fermenting beer closer to the room temp.
The video above seems to say that this particular lager yeast can ferment warmer with no issues. I haven't used it so can't speak to that.
dmbrew above also has some good suggestions.
Just be aware that brewing is a learning experience, and it will take practice. It's unlikely that everything will go perfectly, but it should be fun and get you drinkable beer!
BandonBrewingCo
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I'd disagree here.
I'd say for someone looking for simple they should get a few simple batches under their belt before delving into the weeds.
I have done a few lagers but only after I had a way to keep the fermentation temps in the 50's. I have read many threads here and other places that higher fermentation temps will bring off flavors and diacytyl (sp?). I would think about getting a pre made kit from one of the many vendors to try out first as then everything is already measured out for you. Lagers are a bit different as they are more temp sensitive, or at least that is what I have read.
BandonBrewingCo
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Novalager works fine up to 23°C (ie, room temperature)
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And there you go, I was wrong. Good to know.
And - those books will give you simple batches - and go further without simple batch fails.
Why start out on sunday drive from one coast to the other with no map only a compass - it will be a ride, but may not be what is expected.
Why start out on sunday drive from one coast to the other with no map only a compass - it will be a ride, but may not be what is expected.
fluketamer
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whats a heat tolerant bucket. if you mean its insulated that is not a great idea cause fermentation will generate heat and it could get too warm.
can you post a pic
you should start with an easy blonde ale recipe before you attempt lagers.
do you have an area in the house thats below 70 degrees?
most recipes are for 20-23 liters (about 5 gallons) because corny kegs hold about 20 liters. and 5 gallons is easy to multiply and genreally a manageable size batch.
in general palmers rule of thumb use to be about 2 lbs of malt per gallon of beer. but it depends on a lot of things.
my batches are usually 10-11 lbs for 5-6 gallons but i drink 4-5 percent abv beers. for higher abv you will need more malt.
in the 90's i brewed with about 2 ounces of hops per beer for bittering and aroma.
lately i am up to 8 to 10 ounces and my next batch will have 12 ounces of hops in 5.5 gallons! some people use a whole pound of hops for NEIPAS.!
start small good luck welcome to HBT!
can you post a pic
you should start with an easy blonde ale recipe before you attempt lagers.
do you have an area in the house thats below 70 degrees?
most recipes are for 20-23 liters (about 5 gallons) because corny kegs hold about 20 liters. and 5 gallons is easy to multiply and genreally a manageable size batch.
in general palmers rule of thumb use to be about 2 lbs of malt per gallon of beer. but it depends on a lot of things.
my batches are usually 10-11 lbs for 5-6 gallons but i drink 4-5 percent abv beers. for higher abv you will need more malt.
in the 90's i brewed with about 2 ounces of hops per beer for bittering and aroma.
lately i am up to 8 to 10 ounces and my next batch will have 12 ounces of hops in 5.5 gallons! some people use a whole pound of hops for NEIPAS.!
start small good luck welcome to HBT!
If fermentation temp control is an issue, consider pitching Saflager 34-70 yeast. It is very forgiving at higher temps. It can ferment clean up to mid-60s F (18C).
Buy and read the first few chapters of How to Brew by John Palmer. Then watch these videos he made https://www.homebrewersassociation....er/how-to-brew-video-series-with-john-palmer/
I also recommend this video series from the American Homebrewers Association if you want to start extract brewing https://homebrewersassociation.org/...mebrewing/extract-homebrewing-video-tutorial/which is easier and requires less equipment to get started.
Best advice is to stay off the internet until you’ve brewed a batch or two. New brewers do not have the experience to sort out what is good information or not. There’s just too much incorrect or sketchy information out there that is constantly repeated by people that heard something or watched a YouTube video or read it on a forum. It is the internet and having a webcam doesn’t make someone an expert.
When you do start brewing beer, follow the instructions as written and take copious notes. If you have a problem we can go back and see what you did right and what you did wrong. With experience you will figure out what does and doesn’t work for you and you can start making changes to your process. Ignore others “rules of thumb,” unless they have the same system you have brewing the same beer you are brewing, what they do will not necessarily work for you.
I also recommend this video series from the American Homebrewers Association if you want to start extract brewing https://homebrewersassociation.org/...mebrewing/extract-homebrewing-video-tutorial/which is easier and requires less equipment to get started.
Best advice is to stay off the internet until you’ve brewed a batch or two. New brewers do not have the experience to sort out what is good information or not. There’s just too much incorrect or sketchy information out there that is constantly repeated by people that heard something or watched a YouTube video or read it on a forum. It is the internet and having a webcam doesn’t make someone an expert.
When you do start brewing beer, follow the instructions as written and take copious notes. If you have a problem we can go back and see what you did right and what you did wrong. With experience you will figure out what does and doesn’t work for you and you can start making changes to your process. Ignore others “rules of thumb,” unless they have the same system you have brewing the same beer you are brewing, what they do will not necessarily work for you.
Snuffy
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Consider a swamp cooler if you really want to make a lager and use lager yeast, versus using a warm tolerate lager yeast like 34/70. Basically it's a cooler that you can fit the bucket in, you fill it with cold water so it's have way up the bucket. Then you freeze bottles of water and put two frozen bottles in the cooler and replace them every 12 hours or so. Lastly you cover the bucket with a towel or a t-shirt, with part of it touching the water, so that it wicks up the water and the cool towel/shirt helps try to keep the beer cool. You may have to swap out the frozen water bottles sooner for the first week as active fermentation can throw off a lot of heat. Before I had a fermentation temp control process, I used this method and was able to keep temps in the low 50's.
+1 on Palmers book. It's a very good resource.
While I would agree reading up on the hobby is a good idea. As a new brewer I found Palmers book to be very confusing at times and way over my head. Way too much info for a new person to digest in my opinion. Now that I have been doing it for a bit I might reread it to see if I can glean a bit more. Of course, the internet is a hit and miss, but I have found the Apartment Brewer and Cascades Homebrew channels on YouTube to be very informative and easy to understand. And as always, ask questions here. I think of all the resources I have learned the most from the folks here. I know my opinion on Palmers book is going against the grain, so to speak, but if I had picked up that book prior to trying extract brewing I probably would have quit the hobby. Just saying. Flame on LOL
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BandonBrewingCo
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Like I said, do a few simple brews and then get into the weeds of it.
The OP has a grain father. Much of the book is irrelevant to him tbh
BrewnWKopperKat
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FWIW: the article includes many of the mistakes that an LLM (e.g. ChatGPT) generated article would make.
My apologies, I missed the part about the Grainfather. And you are very correct, start out simple and go from there. I meant not disrespect with my post. It's just that most push Palmer's book and as a newbie I got very little out of it. Of course results may vary, so it is a good book to have and peruse as you get more into the hobby. I am going to reread it as now I have a better understanding of the process and what happens during a brew day.
I 100% agree here. Do some Extract or kits to start out with. They are premeasured and the instructions are pretty straight forward. That is how I did it and I felt I had a much better handle on the process when I switched to all grain.
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
And given OPs location, Palmer's new (Feb 2025) book may be a good choice.
I agree with the advice to start out with some recipe kits. For your first couple brews, it's best to keep it simple and reduce the variables. Use a well known recipe so you can focus more on learning the process first. Doing a lager without controlling your fermentation temperature is likely to give you a sub-par beer with some off flavors. Good advice in the comments above about how to cool your fermenter down without a fridge. I'd suggest listening to those or trying a different style for now.
If you don't want to mess with cooling your fermenter, you can also try using a kveik yeast like Lutra, which will ferment clean at even higher temps than 34/70 will. I've had a fermentation get into the high 70s and low 80s F without any off flavors in the finished beer. You won't get quite the same character as with a lager yeast, but it's a very forgiving yeast for new brewers.
If you don't want to mess with cooling your fermenter, you can also try using a kveik yeast like Lutra, which will ferment clean at even higher temps than 34/70 will. I've had a fermentation get into the high 70s and low 80s F without any off flavors in the finished beer. You won't get quite the same character as with a lager yeast, but it's a very forgiving yeast for new brewers.
What came out this year?
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
Published in the UK. So far, I can't find it in the USA at a reasonable (to me) price.
eta: One of the recent (#320? #300?) BeerSmith podcasts where Palmer is the guest has some additional details on the book.
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Search this forum for "cream of three crops" or alternatively for "yoopers fizzy yellow beer". Both excellent recipes and easy to follow for a beginner. While not being lagers, they go into the general direction, are crowd pleasers and you avoid all the trouble that a true lager brings with it. Start easy to get yourself accustomed to the proces itself before going complicated.
Ya know - while this thread in common says keep it simple, maybe we have been giving the wrong path to success.
Since the OP bought a Grainfather, go to the Grainfather site - review THEIR instructions, see their "how to", and look at their recipes listed.
To start off with:
https://help.grainfather.com/hc/en-us/categories/360001257477-Instructions-Videos
More basics:
https://us.grainfather.com/pages/new-to-brewing
Recipes needed? Well, for instance:
https://us.grainfather.com/blogs/recipes/brewing-a-lager
Since the OP bought a Grainfather, go to the Grainfather site - review THEIR instructions, see their "how to", and look at their recipes listed.
To start off with:
https://help.grainfather.com/hc/en-us/categories/360001257477-Instructions-Videos
More basics:
https://us.grainfather.com/pages/new-to-brewing
Recipes needed? Well, for instance:
https://us.grainfather.com/blogs/recipes/brewing-a-lager
Snuffy
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You think I should have read it? I just looked at the recipes.
I agree. Having bought a used Grainfather I can attest they have some really good recipes in the app and pretty good instructions on said recipes are provided by the authors of them. I think what everyone was trying to say was that keeping it simple to start works really well in most cases. Even the recipes in Grainfather can be a bit overwhelming if you are still getting your feet wet in the hobby. With that said, I agree the recipes in the Grainfather app are very well worth looking at.
JoeSchmoe
Active Member
In my opinion, a good SMSH beer would be a good starter beer. My first was 2 malt and 2 hops kit I purchased which was pretty easy too.
Smash is the best way to start, that is true. Pale ale, cascade, 1.05 OG, 40 IBUS, 3g/l dry hop, US 05 --> great beer!
BrewnWKopperKat
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After your post to the blond ale recipes, @dmbrew48 mentioned using the grainfather site for recipes. Rather than clutter this topic with what I saw wrong in the blonde ale recipes, I'm going to drop out of this side topic.
