Lager recipes

SWMBO likes a lager and lime in the summer. Can anyone help recommend a recipe that she will enjoy with lime and I will drink even though I'm not normally a lager drinker. I do have temperature control, and would prefer to use a dry yeast. Any suggestions will be very welcome.

With lemon? Maybe a light Mexican lager with some maize, and lightly hopped. With a small amount of Munich and pilsner. But as far as I know the Mexican lager yeast is seasonal, and liquid.

Make a pale ale that you like, then fridge it hard and tell her it's a lager

The pale I like is Exmoor gold, I don't think I'd get away with that

robster62 said:

SWMBO likes a lager and lime in the summer. Can anyone help recommend a recipe that she will enjoy with lime and I will drink even though I'm not normally a lager drinker. I do have temperature control, and would prefer to use a dry yeast. Any suggestions will be very welcome.

Click to expand...

Lagers are a classic example of the recipe being really simple, it's all about the process. But broadly it's :
100% pilsner malt or standard Extra Pale (nothing fancy like extra pale Otter)
Saaz or German noble hops - bittering can go from 10IBU for Coors Light to 40IBU for Urquell
Fermentis 34/70

Job done. Although there are lots of local variations and nuances, so it depends a bit on what the target is. What commercial lagers does she like? If she's dumping lime in it then it's probably not too critical, but if we assume Corona as a target then you're looking at 18IBU and since Mexican breweries tend to source their yeast from Urquell originally, then Fermentis S-23 is more "authentic" but it's not quite as clean as 34/70.

Although 34/70 is the most-used brewing yeast on the planet, I know several people who prefer Lallemand Diamond. And 34/70 isn't the best flocculator, particularly given the low calcium of lager liquor, M54 is better in that regard - again not *quite* as clean, but a good option for those without temperature control, it's quite forgiving in that regard. Although at temperatures we've had this week, those without temperature control should stick to "clean" kveiks like Lutra!

Having said that, if she's dumping lime in it then you've got quite a bit of flexibility to go away from the classic lager. For instance, you could do it with all-English ingredients along the lines of Adnams' Kobold lager - English extra pale malt and Goldings. You could probably get away with Nottingham/Wilko/MuntonGold fermented cold - you certainly wouldn't have to worry about flocculation then! (and a pinch of Notty added late in fermentation will help 34/70 stick)

If you're looking for something to satisfy you, then the obvious suggestion is to dry hop - either go in a Tipopils direction and dry hop with Spalter Select or go NZ Pilsner and use something like Motueka, which will give a "natural" limey-ness. And probably bump the bittering up a bit to maybe 25-30 IBU if that's OK with her.

If you don't want the faff of all grain you could try an easy extract pseudo lager:
Extra pale DME, steep some Carapils, Tettnang for bittering & flavour and Kolsch yeast. Simples!

Chances are I'll be drinking more of it than she will. In the past I have made 5gallon batches of turbo cider that last her a year at a time. As an ale drinker should I be looking at all British ingredients as @Northern_Brewer suggests? Or should I try and brew something like a Becks or peroni which I do enjoy occasionally?

@Brewed_Force, I'm happy with the faff of all- grain it's my preferred way to brew.

robster62 said:

Chances are I'll be drinking more of it than she will. In the past I have made 5gallon batches of turbo cider that last her a year at a time. As an ale drinker should I be looking at all British ingredients as @Northern_Brewer suggests? Or should I try and brew something like a Becks or peroni which I do enjoy occasionally?

Click to expand...

Only you can really answer the question of what you should brew. As long as you and the lady like it, then it's the right choice - whatever it is

I've made this Steam Pilsener a few times now, fermented at ale temp.
Very tasty and refreshing cold from kegerator in the summer.
Extra pale pilsener 82% ,Vienna 18% (also used a touch of dark crystal to bring up the EBC in the last batch)
Hallertau Mittelfruh, MJ54

https://web.brewfather.app/tabs/recipes/recipe/DukS8N5GguVaLxV8i4AYI1QEhPF09b

robster62 said:

Chances are I'll be drinking more of it than she will. In the past I have made 5gallon batches of turbo cider that last her a year at a time. As an ale drinker should I be looking at all British ingredients as @Northern_Brewer suggests? Or should I try and brew something like a Becks or peroni which I do enjoy occasionally?

Click to expand...

Realistically, it sounds like the only thing she would really notice, is if you didn't use lightly-kilned malt, and whether that malt is labelled "pilsner" or "extra pale" is not going to be material. But imported pilsner malt costs about 50% more than UK extra pale and there's not that much difference in taste, and if UK styles are your normal thing then you'll probably be more comfortable having UK extra pale kicking around your inventory.

Corona is 18 IBU, Becks is 22 IBU, Peroni is 24 IBU, so that gives you an idea of what kind of bitterness you want. But typical British lagers don't have huge amounts of hops, and if you're dumping lime in it then the subtle differences between "authentic" and "not quite so authentic" will be swamped, so I wouldn't sweat authenticity too much, particularly for version 1.0. You can easily change things based on feedback.

So personally I'd keep it pretty simple, and take it in a NZ kind of direction -
100% UK extra pale
20 IBU @60 minutes of whatever bittering hop you have to hand
1g/l @5 minutes of Motueka
1-2g/l dry hop Motueka
1-2 packs Lallemand Diamond

Should be something that both of you will enjoy, and not too demanding from an inventory POV.

Try this from the old White Labs site -

Amigo Mexican Lager​

Yeast(s) Used:
WLP940 Mexican Lager Yeast
Recipe Supplied by:
Kirk McHale, Brewer, Pizza Port Brewing Co, Carlsbad, CA
About this Recipe:
Homebrew Recipe, makes 5 gallons (19L)
All Grain Version
Malt
3.4 lb Great Western 2-row malt
2 lb Great Western 6-row malt
3.3 lb Flaked Corn
Hops
0.5 oz Liberty hops: 60 min.
0.5 oz Liberty hops: At whirlpool
Yeast
White Labs WLP940, Mexican Lager Yeast
Ferment at 51-53 degrees F for 7 days, then let fermentation warm to 62-64 degrees F for 4-6 days for diacetyl rest, chill 5 degrees F a day until you reach desired lagering temperature (this beer was lagered for 6 weeks 31-32 degrees F). Fine with gelatin or isinglass to clarify, carbonate to 2.8 to 3.0. Serve at 38 degrees F with a lime.
Make sure to enjoy with your amigos.

double up the hops and use Wai-iti hops (a daughter of Liberty, but which supposedly has more "lime" character)

I just used two different brands of pale ale malt

This was a winner - so drinkable

A classis approach is 90% Pilsner Malt with 10% Vienna.

Ensure your dry yeast has good viability. I use liquid yeast, pitch at 5-6 Celsius and Ferment at 9 Celsius with Imperial Harvest mostly.

My lager...5kg Crisp pilsner malt,either saaz,halletau mf or tettnang for about 28 ibu..I split the hops to add a late addition to get some aroma. For yeast MJ cali lager ,I think it's called that,at 19c. You can adjust the abv to suit yourself...I'm on batch 3 or 4. Its simple but quite good.

I use motueka hops in Mexican lagers to add a citrus / lime flavour and aroma.

I’m also going to recommend a simple recipe for a 20 litre batch and it’s always popular. I mash with 22 litres and sparge with 8 because my boiler isn’t big enough for 30 litres. I use soft water. The mash is 60mins at 65C, 20 mins at 71C, and 20 mins at 77C. Fermentation is for two-weeks at 20C.

4.5Kg Pilsner malt
60g Saaz 60 mins
40g Saaz 10 mins
1/2 protofloc tablet at 5 mins
2pks MJ M54 California lager yeast

So bought a malt Miller west coast steam kit, recipe as follows
5kg pilsner
200g Vienna
200g saaz I won't bore you with hop timings
2 packs m54 yeast
The instructions say to ferment at 19c for 21 days. Does this sound reasonable? Normally my fermentation is finished within a week.

with 2 packs of m54 at 19c, I would expect it to be done in a week as well. Longer won't hurt it though.
200g of hops is a lot for a lager. Assuming most of those will be dry hopped/hopstand, you'll get a beer more akin to a hoppy ale than a lager.

That suits me, it is a steam ale kit so hopefully SWMBO can still add lime and enjoy the hops were I think 80g at 60 mins, 60g at 10 and 60g hopstand. Will see how it turns out.

If you're after a heavily hopped lager then maybe something along the lines of an India Pale Lager might suit? I brewed David Heath's India Pale Lager at the beginning of the year and it was utterly outsanding. Probably the best beer I've ever brewed. It's a lager, but very palatable even to those who normally give lagers a swerve.