Lager beer recipe (light taste beer)

Ingredients
1

Hi

I am a very new beginner brewer and I have a grainfather brew system (capacity max 30 L). I need an advise on how to establish a recipe for lager beer which taste is not too heavy and likeable by social drinker, have a nice fruity aroma and not too bitter or harsh when someone drink it. I have soufflet malted barley and malteurop from Australia, Barthaas hops (IK hops liq extract). Do you have any idea?

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Lagers are more complicated for a beginner, so I’d actually recommend starting off with an ale instead. It sounds like a blonde ale or cream ale may be a style you are looking for. There are lots of recipes on-line (the AHA has some good ones) I’d suggest using a reliable yeast, such as US05, BRY97, S04 or Nottingham.

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Yes, lagers can be difficult to brew, but you can brew a really nice lager or even pseudo lager with the right yeast. Fermentis 34/70 is an excellent yeast. It’s very forgiving, very clean, even at elevated temperatures.

The basic American Lager recipe is fairly simple but the complexity is in the execution of the process. But don’t let that stop you, you have to start somewhere, why not with a beer you want and like. Below is a basic outline of an American Lager, this basic outline won me 2025 Homebrewer of the Year (best of show NHC). I use parboiled rice (Minute Rice) for a couple of reasons. First it’s easy, no milling, just throw it into the mash. Second, because it’s dehydrated and sold everywhere, it’s not stale and easy to find (flaked rice can stale quickly). Below is my basic recipe:

  • 75-80% American Pils or similar, you could also use American 2 row
  • 20-25% Minute Rice or parboiled rice, you could also sub flake rice or boil standard rice ahead of your brew. Whole rice needs to be gelatinized before adding to the mash. Flaked rice does not need to be pre-cooked.
  • Use all RO or distilled water
  • If you want water salts, just add 2 grams of calcium chloride and 2 grams of calcium sulfate per 5 gallons (19 liters)
  • Mash at 148 (64.5C) for 60-90 minutes
  • If you can step mash, after the saccharification rest at 148, rest at 158 (70C) for 15 minutes and 168 (76C) for 15 minutes. The steps aren’t critical, but if you system will do it, you can extract a little more out of the mash.
  • Sparge with RO or distilled water (168F)
  • Boil for 60-90 minutes. Target gravity is 1.046-1.048.
  • Add hops at the beginning of boil, your target IBU’s is 11-14. Pick hops with low alpha acids or use the one you have.
  • Pitch 1 pack of 34/70 per 2.5 gallons (10 liters) of wort, this will give you a decent pitch rate
  • If you can, ferment at 55F (12-13C), but if you can’t do that you can raise the temp into the lower 60’s (16-18C). If either temp ranges works for you, switch yeasts to one that will be clean at higher temperatures. Kviek comes to mind. Just keep in mind your not going to get the same crispy beer you would from 34/70. It will be good, but not as good as it could be.
  • Use a brewing calculator to enter in all your ingredients to hit your numbers, as your ingredients change the outcome can change slightly, the recipe calculators gets you on the right track.

There are a lot more details involved, but at least this gives some ideas. Here is an example of my lager, it’s constantly changing because I never stop tinkering with it.

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my personal take based on my situation is: if i have easy access to a commercially available style of beer i enjoy - i am way less likely to brew it.

because pale lagers/light lagers etc are generally the most widely available style - i have rarely dabbled in them. and as people are saying they are not so easy.

what is absolutely easy AND imho more rewarding while still being in the same ballarpk is a homebrewed blonde ale or just any type of light-coloured simple ale.

the key difference just being that an ale yeast is going to be easier to use and get good results at the beginning homebrew level, and a lot of them are going to be nice and mild, IMHO with often more pleasant aroma and taste compounds than a lager yeast.

dry ones could be BRY97, S04, verdant IPA, S05, really many.

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Hi there

I brew lots of “lagers” with the S23 yeast.

I don’t really crash-cool it to near freezing. I ferment it at 11° Celsius, then add some sugar at bottling, let it sit at room temp for two weeks, then put it in our walk in cooler at 4-5° Celsius.

It lagers there and gets better to its peak after 2-3 months.

But you could also go the Cream Ale route, or a Kölsch is also a nice beer.

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