Just how good is home brewed Lager ?

[paultr]

I have become quite fussy and stuck in my ways over the years and I very much enjoy a couple of cold lagers in the early evening. In a good pub I enjoy a pint of real ale but at home it has to be lager.

The brands I enjoy the most are Becks, Peroni and sometimes Kronenbourg 1664. I have not got a particularly good palate but I can taste the difference between these and some cheap supermarket own brands. I definitely do not enjoy lagers that are much less than 5% abv.

I am trying to save money and over the past few years these lagers have gone up in price significantly and now even Becks has reduced the alcohol content to 4.8% which has irritated me. I am aware of the minimum price per unit that will eventually be introduced so the only way I can see prices going is up

So, the question is - is it possible to brew my own lager that will be as good as those that I drink now ?

I made some homebrew in my youth but I was not very patient in those days so I probably drank it too early and maybe the kits were not as good then but I remember that all of it had a definite 'homebrew' taste.

I do not expect my first attempts to be really good but if I am patient and learn from my mistakes will I eventually be satisfied and get used to my own brew ?

The final question is whether I should move onto AG from using kits when I get more experienced. I can see that when it comes to brewing real ale and speciality beers then all grain would be better but does the same apply to making lager.

I know I will get the answer to my question in a few months when my first lagers are ready to drink but I am really interested to know (honestly ) what experienced home brewers think.

Cheers all :

 

[calumscott]

Can you brew a quality lager at home? Yes.

Can you brew a "real" lager at home? Yes.

Is it easy to brew a real lager at home? No.

Can you brew something that you can be proud of that's a lager style beer? Yes.

Is that easy? Yes.

Real lagers need real lager yeast, cool fermentations and weeks or months of lagering (bulk storage at very cold temps) before bottling. No small undertaking. You really need a temperature controlled fermentation environment like the fermenting fridges you'll see discussed on here.

There are alternatives. Many of the kits (my preferences are the two Better Brew ones - export lager and czech pilsner) are actually lager-suitable malts and hops but a very clean fermenting ale yeast. They're not lager, but they are super light, fresh and fizzy and to be honest they taste lagery.

Brew them carefully, don't let them get hot in fermentation and give them plenty of time in the bottle to condition. Oh, and use extra light spraymalt instead of sugar...

 

[pittsy]

You can brew a decent lager from extract brewing (i would say a kit lager will just be ok not great) as said it's about quality grains but yeast is very important (ales brew at around 18/22c , lager around 12c ) All grain is the way forward for lagers and you will be able to brew better than that crap you mentioned , have you tried such drinks as warminsteiner ( i think ) , kolsch , urquell pils , go get some bottled lager of the german type , not canned crap , you will like it :thumb:

 

[adomant]

It is easier to brew lager in the winter

 

[calumscott]

Those Better Brew kits are definitely better than the brands mentioned.

As pittsy says though, the more effort you put in the better the beer. e.g. I got a bottle of Abey's scheihallion clone in the secret santa (and was delighted because it is a stunning beer). He brewed it AG but used US-05, a very "clean" ale yeast, and frankly it was superb. Perhaps a minuscule aleyness to it but genuinely not to its detriment. A cracking pint and no mistake!

You can get lager malt extracts for an extract brew too...

It's all a question of how much effort you want to put in and how much complexity you want to take on as a noob. The route I've taken is a year of kits and now BIAB AG. I'll go full AG when I can, probably later this year...

 

[paultr]

Thanks guys, that is all very encouraging. I know the brands I drink at home at the moment are not very good but that is all that is available from the local supermarket. They taste OK to me and definately do the trick

I plan to really stick at this and will look out for the better brew kits for the next batch (using Coopers European Lager now).

 

[calumscott]

If you are considering moving on from kits, do check out my BIAB how to. Also there is a belter of an Extract how to and brewstew's excellent 3 vessel AG walkthrough of a rauchbier brewday.

That'll give you an idea of where to go next. :thumb:

 

[mattrickl06]

I have done a Coopers Euro Lager with added Saaz Hops, pre hopped DME and in a direct taste test against Stella it won hands down - it is probably on a par with Peroni.

My answers to all of the above is a resounding YES!!

 

[rpt]

It is easier to brew lager in the winter

Except when your fridge won't go cold enough in the garage. I am brewing a Tettnang Tiger extract kit from BrewUK. It is currently at 12C but will need to be lagered at 2C. As is the garage is cold the fridge won't go below 5C. When the weather gets warmer the fridge will be able to go cooler. This is a normal feature of fridges unless they are designed for cool environments.

 

[bottler]

I can vouch for coopers european, great drink :thumb: It uses a lager yeast and can be brewed in cooler temps :

 

[paultr]

I have done a Coopers Euro Lager with added Saaz Hops, pre hopped DME and in a direct taste test against Stella it won hands down - it is probably on a par with Peroni.

My answers to all of the above is a resounding YES!!

That is great news :). I also used some Saaz hops in mine but just used unhopped DME

If you have the details could you tell me how many hops you added, the amount of sugar and DME ?

Also, did you wait the 12 weeks that the kit advises ?

Cheers

Paul

 

[bottler]

For the 12 week question.... i didnt wait that long, all gone after 4 weeks

 

[Kinleycat]

My dad used to brew back in the eighties, he couldn't believe he was drinking home brew lager when he came round and drunk mine.
He ended up leaving the car!!! :whistle:

 

[bottler]

Yeah mate, i brewed a few batchs back in the seventies, and they were bloody rough compared to the modern kits.

 

[mattrickl06]

I have done a Coopers Euro Lager with added Saaz Hops, pre hopped DME and in a direct taste test against Stella it won hands down - it is probably on a par with Peroni.

My answers to all of the above is a resounding YES!!

That is great news :). I also used some Saaz hops in mine but just used unhopped DME

If you have the details could you tell me how many hops you added, the amount of sugar and DME ?

Also, did you wait the 12 weeks that the kit advises ?

Cheers

Paul

Hello - i used

700g BKE1
500g Pre-Hopped Muntons Extra Light DME
30g Saaz Hop Tea
Bottled with 1 carb drop.

I wouldnt even go near it for at least 8 weeks, any time before this and it really tastes like homebrew.

I tried one bottle after four weeks and it smelt of eggs.

From week 8 onwards though it changes completely and really matures as a quality lager - i kept it in the garage at around 0-5 degrees all of this time and it has really done the trick :-)

 

[mereside]

After reading the comments on the better brew pilsner mine has now been bottled and has been in conditioning although i can't help having a bottle or two on a night and even the wife is very impressed i sent some bottles to a few of guys at work who home brew and they had theirs over the weekend and all came back this morning singing its praises. This will be done again as soon as i have another fermenting barrel free next weekend ,the only thing i did was add 500g of lme and 500g dextrose, atb wayne

 

[paultr]

Hello - i used

700g BKE1
500g Pre-Hopped Muntons Extra Light DME
30g Saaz Hop Tea
Bottled with 1 carb drop.

.....

Cheers - thanks for the info :

 

[RobWalker]

i've served coopers wheat and pilsners to my friends, and they love 'em, more than tinned lager too. the taste certainly isn't quite the same, but whilst it's different, it's generally more pleasant than commercial lager. not sure how to explain that. a nice softness, easy drinking, generally less piss and metal taste too hahah.

 

[DirtyCaner]

I have started brewing my own lager recently and it's amazing. It does take a bit of patience, 4 weeks before bottling, and you will need a fermenting fridge. But if you love something and want to do it well then that's not really an issue.

Let me know if you want any more info,

DirtyC

 

[alawlor66430]

i've served coopers wheat and pilsners to my friends, and they love 'em, more than tinned lager too. the taste certainly isn't quite the same, but whilst it's different, it's generally more pleasant than commercial lager. not sure how to explain that. a nice softness, easy drinking, generally less piss and metal taste too hahah.

Nothing worse than the taste of piss and metal lol