Help with a Hoppy Lager recipe

[samba23]

I am planning a light refreshing hoppy lager recipe around 4.7 ABV. Would you mind giving me your help and suggestions please.
I am not sure when to add the dry hops, does dry hopping suit a lager?
I was thinking of the following:

Grainfather G30:
IBU: 20
Colour: 6 EBC
90 min mash
90 min boil


Crisp German Pilsen 4.5 kg

60 min - 7.4 g - Magnum

Hop Stand:
30 min hopstand @ 76 °C
20 g - Amarillo
20 g - Azacca
20 g - Simcoe

Dry Hops:
5 days - 50 g - Amarillo
5 days - 50 g - Simcoe
5 days - 20 g - Azacca

Yeast: White Labs German Lager WLP830
Fermentation Profile:
13 °C - 1 days - Primary
11 °C - 10 days - Primary
16 °C - 5 days - Primary
2 °C - 7 days - Cold Crash
2 °C - 10 days - Conditioning (keg)

I have never used gelatine before, would you recommend I do with this brew? Is so would you mind advising when and how to do this.
Any advice much appreciated!

 

[MmmBeer]

I'm no expert on lagers, I only made my first one earlier this year, but what persuaded me to make it was that I tried a commercial Pilsner, made with Saaz and Centennial hops that I found really enjoyable. the one I made had Magnum for bittering, then 30g of Saaz and 18g of Centennial, each split equally between 10m and flameout additions. The result was very refreshing and moreish and really goes well with a spicy curry.

Your suggested recipe sounds rather hop heavy in comparison. Do you have any spare FV's, so that you could split the batch, adding half the dry hop to one half and skipping the dry hop in the other?

I did use Gelatine, one leaf, softened in cold water, drained and dissolved in boiling water, allowed to cool then added to the cold crashed beer and left to clear before kegging.

 

[Alastair70]

I’ve drank a few dry hopped lagers that have come with Beer52 cases and quite enjoyed them. Splitting the batch sounds like a great idea, you can let us know how it works out.

With gelatin, I put a half teaspoon in 75mls of water and microwave it in bursts until it hits 75C and the gelatin dissolves. I’ll cold crash for 3 days and fine halfway through.
If your going to lager it for 6 weeks, the gelatin is probably unnecessary.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Just brewing my first lager right now and its a hoppy lager. I decided to dry hop at the Diacetyl rest stage. I used a hop tube (or you can use a hop sock or something) so I pulled out the hops before starting to drop the temperature for lagering as I didn't want the hops to remain in the beer for the full lagering process. I reduced temp from about 14 degrees C in the Diacetyl rest down to 1 degree C by 3 degrees per day and starting the lagering once I reached 1 degree C (last night as it happens). I did transfer into a secondary fermentation bucket for lagering.

The only other time I would have considered dry hopping would be in the last 3 or 4 days of lagering just before transferring to keg.

Not sure how successful its going to be...wont know for another 6 weeks or so!! Not sure when lagering is actually done, just aiming for a nominal 6 weeks.

 

[An Ankoù]

If I were making that recipe, I'd go with the Magnum, but more of it to get the IBUs up between 30 and 40, and then use Saaz or Mittelfrüh or Tattnang or even Styrians, but I wouldn't use tthe hops you suggest. I don't think lagers are usually dry hopped, but there's no reason why you shouldn't.

 

[samba23]

I'm no expert on lagers, I only made my first one earlier this year, but what persuaded me to make it was that I tried a commercial Pilsner, made with Saaz and Centennial hops that I found really enjoyable. the one I made had Magnum for bittering, then 30g of Saaz and 18g of Centennial, each split equally between 10m and flameout additions. The result was very refreshing and moreish and really goes well with a spicy curry.

Your suggested recipe sounds rather hop heavy in comparison. Do you have any spare FV's, so that you could split the batch, adding half the dry hop to one half and skipping the dry hop in the other?

I did use Gelatine, one leaf, softened in cold water, drained and dissolved in boiling water, allowed to cool then added to the cold crashed beer and left to clear before kegging.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[samba23]

If I were making that recipe, I'd go with the Magnum, but more of it to get the IBUs up between 30 and 40, and then use Saaz or Mittelfrüh or Tattnang or even Styrians, but I wouldn't use tthe hops you suggest. I don't think lagers are usually dry hopped, but there's no reason why you shouldn't.

That is my worry, I was hopping someone might have tried this already and could advise of the results. Cheers for the advice!

 

[samba23]

I’ve drank a few dry hopped lagers that have come with Beer52 cases and quite enjoyed them. Splitting the batch sounds like a great idea, you can let us know how it works out.

With gelatin, I put a half teaspoon in 75mls of water and microwave it in bursts until it hits 75C and the gelatin dissolves. I’ll cold crash for 3 days and fine halfway through.
If your going to lager it for 6 weeks, the gelatin is probably unnecessary.

Do you add gelatine in the keg prior to closed transfer?

 

[Alastair70]

Do you add gelatine in the keg prior to closed transfer?

I’ve only added gelatin to one lager due to impatience and a desire to cut 4 weeks off the lagering process. It worked ok-ish, but a proper 6 week lager works better. That's why I am to have one ready to brew when the previous one goes into keg.
The rule of thumb is 1 week for every 2 degree Plato, which is how you end up with 6 weeks for a Pils and 10+ for a bock or dopplebock.
I'll usually cold crash ales in FV for 3 days and add gelatin half way through.