Light American Lager

[The Brew Mentor]

I'll start this here and then maybe start another thread in recipes for feedback.
My Brewer wants to brew a LAL and call it " Keep the Lights On".
As much as we have Light beers on most of the times, inevitably people come in and ask for "Bud Light" ish beer.
Currently the light beers we have on are, Helles, Kolsch, Cream Ale, Dark Mild and a Sour. These are regulars so different from them or as different as I can go.
I'm thinking 75% American Pils Malt and 25% Rice as a nice clean start. Then 5 IBU's in clean bittering hop and to keep it American, maybe Cascade on the finish. Light citrus instead of Noble for a total IBU of ~8.
I'm not certain on the water profile yet but thinking I may dilute my water 50% with RO and the only add back what is needed.
German Lager Yeast is what I have and I think that'll be fine.
I think I turn this beer in 3 weeks with the help of a dose of Biofine.
Thoughts?
I'm certainly open for suggestions.
Brian

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

I make an American lager that won me a couple of silver medals at the NHC finals. This beer could easily be modified to make a Light American lager.

I use Rahr Northstar Pils or Rahr Premium Pils and Minute rice. Obviously Minute rice wouldn’t be practical on a large scale.

I normally use Tettnang hops, but I’ve often thought that it would be really good if the hop was swapped out for Cascade or Citra. Bittering hop could be just about anything, but finishing hop would be Cascade or Citra, just enough to give it a subtle citrus finish.

I love using 34/70 for American lagers. It’s clean, ferments reliably and drops out quickly. It’s not unusual to turn a beer in 3-4 weeks.

Here’s my recipe for reference, I modify it all the time. Last time I brewed it with 2124. I thought it was a little too malty for the style, but it scored a 48 in a competition last August.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/216382/standard-american-lager-ii-aka-lynns-lager

Sounds like a fun beer to brew. Good luck, I hope you nail it!

 

[Sandy Feet]

Those are two solid light beer styles. If you wanted to go different, maybe a session Pale Ale. If you wanted to make something light and tasty as hell, maybe a Czech Pils.

 

[west1m]

@HighVoltageMan! , I'll have to give that one a try.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I make an American lager that won me a couple of silver medals at the NHC finals. This beer could easily be modified to make a Light American lager.

I use Rahr Northstar Pils or Rahr Premium Pils and Minute rice. Obviously Minute rice wouldn’t be practical on a large scale.

I normally use Tettnang hops, but I’ve often thought that it would be really good if the hop was swapped out for Cascade or Citra. Bittering hop could be just about anything, but finishing hop would be Cascade or Citra, just enough to give it a subtle citrus finish.

I love using 34/70 for American lagers. It’s clean, ferments reliably and drops out quickly. It’s not unusual to turn a beer in 3-4 weeks.

Here’s my recipe for reference, I modify it all the time. Last time I brewed it with 2124. I thought it was a little too malty for the style, but it scored a 48 in a competition last August.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/216382/standard-american-lager-ii-aka-lynns-lager

Sounds like a fun beer to brew. Good luck, I hope you nail it!

I can certainly scale this down and it close to what I was thinking.
Assuming your using RO water to start? Also, 90% efficiency? I'll adjust to 80% and see what I actually get on the first go around.

Thanks HVM!

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Also, no acid?

 

[dmtaylor]

I'd omit the late hops, or use a very light touch. They don't want grapefruity beer -- that's why they're ordering "the lightest thing you've got".

You'll need a little acid for sure to bring mash pH down to at most 5.6.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Assuming your using RO water to start? Also, 90% efficiency?

Yes to both. The I use 100% RO water and keep the sulfate to chloride ratio at 1:1. The calcium level is somewhere between 60-80ppm. I have my system dialed in, so most brews land @ 90% mash extraction. Can't say the rest of my brew session is that efficient.

As a side note, I do add beta glucanase to the mash to help deal with the rice, 3 grams for every 5 kg. It works better than rice hulls and ends up being cheaper overall. It also helps to drive up mash efficiency. It's between $10-$15 a pound, so it cheap. It goes a long way, so use it sparingly. If you add too much it can turn the mash into gum.

https://labelpeelers.com/beer-makin...fOtZIF3Uj0KfnJRll9NdrxGPfqILwSYxoCFpoQAvD_BwE

Also, no acid?

No acid is needed in the mash. The pH will land @ 5.6 @ 80F. I do add some phosphoric to the sparge water to keep the pH in check during the sparge. Then I adjust the pre-boil pH to 5.0-5.1 or so. The pitch pH should be @ 5.1. I seem to be an outlier with boil pH actually going up during the boil.

In my mind the most important pH in the brewing process is the pitch pH. That sets the beer up to land a finish pH where yeast wants it, plus it keeps the beer from having a "flabby" finish.

 

[The Brew Mentor]

I'll link a recipe when I get to a computer.
It's difficult to do this on my phone!
I use Lactic acid normally and only need a little in my sparge water and as a total always under 1g per gallon and usually 1/2 that. This is with my city water at the shop though.

 

[west1m]

This looked like a easy, tasty brew. Seems to be getting more complicated.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

This looked like an easy, tasty brew. Seems to be getting more complicated.

No, I just get anal about stuff.

You can skip the beta glucanase and substitute 1/2 pound of rice hulls. If you don’t have pH meter, just add 1 tsp of 85% lactic acid to the boil and let’er rip. 2-3 packs of 34/70 if your going to ferment 50ish, 1-2 packs if your going to ferment 62ish. The Minute Rice can be added to the mash as is, no crushing needed. If you going to substitute Minute Rice for a generic, make sure it isn’t fortified. Iron wrecks beer.

This beer is really good if you can pressure ferment. 7.5 psi at 51F or 12-15 at 62F.

 

[west1m]

I don't have the pressure ferment but I can handle the rest, thanks. Grain is on order...