"Hoppy Lager" experiences?

J A

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I need to brew my wife's favorite beer - a basic pale ale with Simcoe, Centennial, Mosaic, etc - and I have a huge pitch of very fresh lager yeast. There's a local beer that's a hopped lager (probably mosaic/citra) that she likes, also and there are some other local beers running form session IPA to hazy pale that are just as suitable. Bottom line...as long as I get good hop flavor without over-the-top bitterness in a clean, crisp beer, she'll be happy. :)
I usually use US-05 and count on esters that compliment those hop flavors and aromas as well as a slightly softer, fuller mouthfeel. If I use my lager yeast (Apex Munich Lager...it's a clean-machine fermenting monster) I can count on slightly crisper finish (not a problem), probably more malt flavor (not a deal breaker) and a little less support of the hoppy flavors and aromas.
I'm thinking that I can ease off the calcium chloride in my usual lager water profile and maybe bump up the gypsum, mash a little higher than usual to ease the attenuation and leave more dextrines for a little smoother mouthfeel and add some extra Mosaic or Citra in the whirlpool to boost the hop aroma and flavor.

Thoughts?
 
Sounds to me like you have fully thought this through, I say brew it and report back when it is done.
 
Not sure if it's the Weihenstephaner strain, but does that throw some useful esters if you ferment a little warmer? It certainly comes across as pretty clean when I've tried beers where it's been brewed at ale temps.
 
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I need to brew my wife's favorite beer - a basic pale ale with Simcoe, Centennial, Mosaic, etc - and I have a huge pitch of very fresh lager yeast. There's a local beer that's a hopped lager (probably mosaic/citra) that she likes, also and there are some other local beers running form session IPA to hazy pale that are just as suitable. Bottom line...as long as I get good hop flavor without over-the-top bitterness in a clean, crisp beer, she'll be happy. :)
I usually use US-05 and count on esters that compliment those hop flavors and aromas as well as a slightly softer, fuller mouthfeel. If I use my lager yeast (Apex Munich Lager...it's a clean-machine fermenting monster) I can count on slightly crisper finish (not a problem), probably more malt flavor (not a deal breaker) and a little less support of the hoppy flavors and aromas.
I'm thinking that I can ease off the calcium chloride in my usual lager water profile and maybe bump up the gypsum, mash a little higher than usual to ease the attenuation and leave more dextrines for a little smoother mouthfeel and add some extra Mosaic or Citra in the whirlpool to boost the hop aroma and flavor.

Thoughts?
Excellent test case: I'd imagine "hoppy" loves the fruity esters from an ale yeast. Interested to see how your brew turns out... Mashing higher sounds like an excellent idea - the dextrines provide perceived sweetness, should play well against the hops.
 
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Totally agree the hops will need more body than a standard lager maybe some carahell/Munich too.
Yup if it's anything like 34/70 it'll be a great match.

Honestly though I usually stick to ale yeasts when going hoppy and havnt tried one with 34/70 so I'm all eyes and ears to see if you brew a wife pleaser:)!
 
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Not sure if it's the Weihenstephaner strain, but does that throw some useful esters if you ferment a little warmer? It certainly comes across as pretty clean when I've tried beers where it's been brewed at ale temps.
I'm just finishing up a big fermentation with the Apex and it's hard to know whether it's more like the S-23 or the 34/70 strain. Simple logic says that it's one of the established dry strains bought in bulk and not a proprietary culture and since they call it "Munich" the Weihenstphaner seems likely.
In my experience, the S-23 strain will go more Kolsch-ey, especially at higher temps and that would be useful here. What I'm getting so far from the current fermentation, having fermented at 58F, is more like the 34/70 - quite clean with rich maltiness. Even the 34/70 strain may get a little fruity at higher temps, like you say, so I'll just have to play it by ear and see what I get. :)
The local hoppy lager predated Brut IPAs and hard seltzers as a light, crisp alternative to the typical Pale Ale or Hazy beers. It's a nice style, especially in the heat of a Texas summer, but I personally find it a little neither-here-nor-there in character and would usually rather have a more malt-centric, nobel-hopped Pilsner.
 
Totally agree the hops will need more body than a standard lager maybe some carahell/Munich too.
Yup if it's anything like 34/70 it'll be a great match.

Honestly though I usually stick to ale yeasts when going hoppy and havnt tried one with 34/70 so I'm all eyes and ears to see if you brew a wife pleaser:)!
I'll be using 2- row rather than Pilsner malt for this and will include a fair percentage of Vienna. That ought to go a long way toward some body and flavor. The thing that would probably bring it home would be just a small percentage of Honey Malt. I'd have to make a trip to the LHBS for that but I'm pretty sure I've got a decent amount of a 15L Munich that might make a reasonable substitute. :)
 

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