AG#10 - 'Golden Ticket' Continental Lager

[Alastair70]

23L batch; 17L mash, 15L sparge
Alk 20ppm, Ca 70ppm, Cl 47ppm, SO4 68ppm

Fermentables (Wayermann)
Bohemian Pilsner 4.5kg
Bohemian Wheat 0.5kg

Mash
60min 65C
10min 75C

Boil 60 minutes
50g Saaz 60min
20g Saaz 15min
Protoflac tab 15min*

Fermentation
1.5 sachets Fermentis Saflager W-34/70
Temp 12C initially
Diacetyl rest 18C when gravity drops below 1.020

OG 1.054

Fermentation anticipated to take 10-14 days.
Will add last 1/2 sachet of yeast to priming solution at bottling.
Conditioning 12C for 2 weeks then lager for 8.

Fingers crossed, I'll have something delicious to tuck into when BBQ season officially opens early March.

*Had to omit this step when I couldn't find my Protoflac. Hopefully a cold crash and a good lagering will clear it up.

 

[RichardM]

That sounds good, very similar to one I have sitting at 2 centigrade for a few more weeks. Mine didn't have any wheat and used a liquid Bohemian yeast.

 

[Alastair70]

That sounds good, very similar to one I have sitting at 2 centigrade for a few more weeks. Mine didn't have any wheat and used a liquid Bohemian yeast.

Went with the dried yeast because I wasn’t sure when I would get to brew, there’s been quite a bit going on over the holiday period. This way I wasn’t going to have to tie in starter management as well. The liquid yeast selection is far better than dried but.

 

[Alastair70]

Gravity on Wednesday evening was 1.050, got back from a few days in Dublin and it's dropped to 1.012. Hopefully, the yeast has enough life left in it for the diacetyl rest. Brew fridge temp upped to 18C, looks like I'll be bottling on Tuesday evening.
Once again, a Fermentis yeast has performed brilliantly. I don't think I've had a bad experience with one to date.

 

[Alastair70]

Really pleased with this one. It's had 4 weeks of lagering at 1C and 10 days of conditioning in bottle at 15C.
Almost clear, pale gold colour. The saaz hops come through on the nose. The mouthfeel is good, taste is light and I like the hint of wheat that comes through up front before the slight pepperiness of the saaz kicks in. Overall flavour balance is pretty much what I hoped for.
Carbonation needs to come up a bit, going to give it another 10 days at 15C before chilling again.
Roll on spring, I'm not a big lager drinker, but I'm looking forward to sinking a load of these beside the BBQ once the weather picks up.

 

[matt76]

Tell me more about your lagering process - did you bottle and then lager? I'm assuming you used a fridge rather than the shed/garage?

(When I've looked into this the information is all conflicting as to whether you should lager then bottle or vice versa, so I pretty much figure you can take your pick!)

I was also curious about the wheat addition - not something I've come across when searching for lager recipes online.

 

[Sandimas]

That looks great, I might give that recipe a go later.Like you I'm not really a regular lager drinker but am building up stock for those summer BBQs.

Have a lager on the go at the moment, hopped with Hallertau and Tettnang. I live in an old 1800s house so turning off the radiator in the north-facing room in winter drops the temp to about 12C which seems cold enough to ferment a lager. I've just raised the temp for a Diacetyl Rest, will crash cool, bottle and then lager in the bottle - much easier that way if you don't have a brew fridge.

 

[Alastair70]

I took advantage of the December inkbird offer and set up a brew fridge over Christmas. Brewing a lager was something I wanted to try now I had the ability to control temp over a much wider range. I lagered in primary in the fridge, but next time I’ll rack to secondary before lagering. The fridge sat bang on 1C when it ran at full tilt.

I honestly can’t remember where the wheat came from. Research for any brew recipe usually involves looking at a ton of different ones online, reading some brew style guides and listening to any relevant Beersmith podcasts. Somewhere in all of that the wheat addition must have sunk in. Saaz was chosen because my good lady likes Stella and I wanted to make a beer she could relate to and enjoy with me.
I was aiming for a crisp clean light pilsner with a good long lasting head, so a wheat addition made sense.

Next lager brew will be something a bit darker and maltier to contrast with this one.

Happy to bottle swap with anyone interested in giving it a go. Brew fridge snap below, bottles conditioning at 15C inside.

 

[Alastair70]

That looks great, I might give that recipe a go later.Like you I'm not really a regular lager drinker but am building up stock for those summer BBQs.

Have a lager on the go at the moment, hopped with Hallertau and Tettnang. I live in an old 1800s house so turning off the radiator in the north-facing room in winter drops the temp to about 12C which seems cold enough to ferment a lager. I've just raised the temp for a Diacetyl Rest, will crash cool, bottle and then lager in the bottle - much easier that way if you don't have a brew fridge.

I don’t like many of the commercially available lagers, but there are a few I do like a lot when the time is right. (I enjoy a similar relationship with white wine).
Aiming to get a light thirst quencher and a darker maltier palate pleaser on the menu.

 

[HarryFlatters]

Pretty much my Kolsch recipe, but I use a bit less pilsner and a dab of Vienna. Saaz hops are just brilliant and this looks like a right tasty drop.