What do you mean its not real Lager

[Jbrew]

Hi All
Im a newbie here but i have been doing the hombrew bit for a few months now. Only coopers kits and alike but the results have been very good.


I have been reading up on how to brew "Real Lager" and the process seems quite a bit different to that of Ale.

Has anyone taken one of the standard coopers lager kits and brewed this using a lager yeast and then continued the brewing through the lager process?


Any thoughts on how to do this for a lager novice , sitting in a german cave for 6 months isnt a option at the monment!

Thanks

 

[ScottM]

Hi All
Im a newbie here but i have been doing the hombrew bit for a few months now. Only coopers kits and alike but the results have been very good.


I have been reading up on how to brew "Real Lager" and the process seems quite a bit different to that of Ale.

Has anyone taken one of the standard coopers lager kits and brewed this using a lager yeast and then continued the brewing through the lager process?


Any thoughts on how to do this for a lager novice , sitting in a german cave for 6 months isnt a option at the monment!

Thanks

It really depends how far you want to take it. From what I understand a lot of the coopers lager kits actually come with lager yeast, so not really any need to substitute if you buy the correct base (Coopers European Lager being one of them).

Lager means to store from what I understand. The process of lagering is basically leaving your brew the hell alone for 3 months at as close to 0 degrees as you can get.

My how to attached to my sig contains information on lagering if that's any good to you?

Brief description.... Brew to instructions only ferment at around 13 degrees rather than 20. Start the ferment off at around 24 degrees, pitch the yeast and slowly lower the temp (over 24 hours) to 13 degrees (Fermenting fridge very handy here). Allow to ferment for at least 3 weeks before even looking at it, check the FG and make sure it's finished. Bring back up to 20 degrees over a 24 hour period, add a few spoons of sugar then transfer to a secondary. Bring the temperature down to 0 degrees over 48 hours (or as close to 0 as you can get) store for 3 months. Once finished bring up to room temp over 48 hours, prime in bottling bucket and bottle. Store for 2 weeks at 20 degrees to build CO2 then store for another month as close to 0 degrees as you can.

Bingo bango, liquid heaven.

 

[RobWalker]

Canadian Blonde requires exactly that - it comes with lager yeast and will benefit from lagering.

you can easily put it through that as simply as using an immersion heater. a fermentation cupboard (insulated and temperature controlled) is an even better idea.

although i'm mostly a non lager drinker, i found the cerveza to be pretty close to a lager, especially cold and carbonated. surprisingly clean tasting.

maybe try a few other kits first, and brew with 1kg brew enhancer instead of white sugar, and brew to 20L instead of 23L, and see if you like the results. otherwise, good luck with it! scott is a complete geek with this stuff, so i'd take his info :thumb:

 

[ScottM]

...... scott is a complete geek with this stuff.......

Are you my Wife in disguise?

 

[Jbrew]

Fantastic reply gents Thankyou very much :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

no mate, but i'm much more suspectible to people's advances after a few pints!

 

[DirtyCaner]

I make lager. Real lager. It's amazing! A fair bit of time and effort, but I enjoy every second. Well worth all the effort. If you like lager it's something to work up to.

Let me know if you want more details.