Lager Advice?

[Steve SPF]

It's getting cold here now so I'm thinking of brewing a lager. Never done one before but I have a spare fementer, and the time, so it seems like the ideal opportunity.

I'm about to order malts again and will get a bag or two of pilsner. I have Munich and plenty of ale malts. I have plenty of hops but none that I would think of as lager hops. Cascade maybe.

Any advice for a newbie lager brewer?

 

[Josh Hughes]

What do you want to brew?

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

German Malt. German hops. German yeast. Pitch very hard, 2.0 Millions cells/mL/degree plato. Pitch cold, 6.5 C and bring up to 9C. Brew a smaller batch to increase the pitch rate if you don't have enough yeast. Mash time is increased as well, 90 minutes + @ 62.5C.

I would avoid Cascade, they could be used for bittering, but never flavor or aroma in a German beer (or any other lager). I usually use Magnum to bitter and flame out or whirlpool Tettnang/Hallertau. All R/O water. Water should be very soft. 1.5:1 sulfate/chloride ratio (Pilsner).

I'll quit now, I'm becoming dogmatic. Here's a recipe, I just won a gold for this pilsner, it's one of my favorites beers to brew.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/374598/german-pilsner

 

[Steve SPF]

Lager? I honestly couldn't say, wouldn't really know one style of lager from another. I'm an English pale / IPA guy really so very, very rarely drink lager. Just a gap in my knowledge that I would like to fill if possible.

I don't much care for the lagers that seem so popular at the moment, we get a lot of continental ones here like Peroni and Moretti. Something with some body and a depth of flavour would be good.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Maybe a BIG lager, like a Helles/Maibock. I just brewed this one, it delicious and potent @7.5%. Water on this one is a simple 1:1 ratio. Watch out, this one sneaks up on ya.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/807383/maibock-

 

[Nosybear]

It's getting cold here now so I'm thinking of brewing a lager. Never done one before but I have a spare fementer, and the time, so it seems like the ideal opportunity.

I'm about to order malts again and will get a bag or two of pilsner. I have Munich and plenty of ale malts. I have plenty of hops but none that I would think of as lager hops. Cascade maybe.

Any advice for a newbie lager brewer?

Munich plus pale ale malts gets awfully close to a Marzen... Good, forgiving lager to start with. You'll need about equal parts of Munich and Pale - Pilsner if you have it, about 25 IBUs of noble hops, all put in at the top of the boil (you can add a late hop addition at 10 mins if you want, I like to keep the malt flavors predominant so don't do the late addition). If you put the Cascade in all up front, you should avoid most of its characteristic flavor. Lager yeast, if you go with 34/70, two or three packets. Ferment at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit - too lazy to convert it today - then lager near freezing. Should be fine!

 

[Steve SPF]

Maybe a BIG lager, like a Helles/Maibock. I just brewed this one, it delicious and potent @7.5%. Water on this one is a simple 1:1 ratio. Watch out, this one sneaks up on ya.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/807383/maibock-

Jeeps! A 7.5% lager? Definitely a Netflix beer for me

 

[Steve SPF]

Munich plus pale ale malts gets awfully close to a Marzen... Good, forgiving lager to start with. You'll need about equal parts of Munich and Pale - Pilsner if you have it, about 25 IBUs of noble hops, all put in at the top of the boil (you can add a late hop addition at 10 mins if you want, I like to keep the malt flavors predominant so don't do the late addition). If you put the Cascade in all up front, you should avoid most of its characteristic flavor. Lager yeast, if you go with 34/70, two or three packets. Ferment at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit - too lazy to convert it today - then lager near freezing. Should be fine!

Ah, a malty one? I really liked what the Munich malt brought when I brewed a table beer last year so this is interesting. I'm ordering malts this week and intending to add Pilsner to the inventory we arry anyway so that's a good fit. I will look at the availability of noble hops as well.

50f is around 10c so that's ideal for where our temps are heading. How long would we typically lager for before the beer is good to go?

 

[Nosybear]

I lager my Marzens for at least four months.... Really not necessessary, a good month or until it clears should be good enough.

 

[Donoroto]

100% agree with what @HighVoltageMan wrote concerning pitch rate.
And, expect a week to 10 days (or more) of fermentation, and about the same for a rest. Then wait 2-6 weeks for lagering (which can be done in a keg if you need to free up a fermenter).

I made a lager, and the last glass of it was clear as a bell and tasty, but starting in September to drink it in mid-November was just too much time for me.