I've brewed many an ale in the 14 months or so that i have been brewing. I even brewed a Common. But a lager? Thanks to new technological advances (my neighbor Chris, a home brewer himself, gave me his old converted chest freezer in exchange for a regular supply of beer) I am now able to brew a true Lager.
But what to choose for the sentimental first? A lot of lagers are either too light or one dimensional. This is actually preferable on a hot summer day, but it is still cold outside and I want some flavor and complexity. I want my first time to be special, okay?
So where else would you go for inspiration but a bowling alley?
On a recent trip bowling, my friend Myron bought a pitcher of beer. The taste was crisp and light, yet had a sweetness to it. And I picked up some spices, too. When pressed, Myron gave up that it was Samuel Adams' Winter Lager. I was actually surprised to hear it was a lager from the complexity of flavors.
So when I ran out of my Iced Mocha Stout, my Smokehouse IPA and ran low on my Irish Red, there was plenty of space in the keggerator to lager.
I got this one off the web and had to modify it, due to some of the hops not being available. The recipe is at the end, if you are interested.
I have run across others on similar beer quests. My friend Jim is a more advanced brewer than I, and after a visit he sent me home with a stir plate and beaker to borrow. He gave detailed instructions on how to actually prepare the yeast starter right there in the beaker. However, I was able to find a way to have it boil over every time and extinguish my gas stove flame. Finally I resolved to prepare it in a saucepan and transfer it afterwards.
After 24 hours of spinning around in a pyrex beaker, i let the yeasties rest a bit. Then I figured that since these were lager yeast bound for a winter brew, they might like a cooler climate. So in the fridge they went.
I took them out the next day for brewing and mused that they probably would have done better just sitting out. I was left with a cake of yeast on the bottom, and some starter wort on top, wondering if I blew it or just had a dead batch of yeast.
Jim came by and confirmed that this was how it was supposed to look. He also advised pouring off most of the wort and just using the cake with a little of the remaining liquid to pitch with. Otherwise the full contents might alter the flavor a bit.
So it is sitting in the very freezer you saw abo.... what's that? freezer? no.... don't worry. I'm not freezing it. I picked up an analog regulator that the freezer plugs into. The regulator can be set to fridge temperatures by shutting off juice to the freezer when the temperature probe senses it's getting too cold. Likewise when it gets too warm, it turns back on. In this case, I have turned it up from mid 30's to mid to high 40's (there is a temperature variance of 4- 8 degrees) for the initial fermentation period.
Okay, so let's take a step back and talk about all this lager stuff. What the heck is the difference between an ale and a lager, and why would a freezer be involved? For the most part, it is the yeast. Ale yeast strains tend to strive for the top, so they can look down with self-importance and savor their hard work. And they should be proud! They are considered top fermenting. Lager yeast strains are bottom dwellers, cellar creatures, no ambition but to congregate at the bottom of the carboy and do that thing they do. They are bottom fermenting.
The difference is, that while ale yeast like warm weather (but NOT sunshine), the lager yeast like it when it's cold and dark. And they are lazy. And slow. They take longer to finish their jobs. But you know, if you leave them alone and don't nag them too much, they actually amount to something. Such as a Winter Lager.
Jim also sent me home with two more carboys. So after the first week when fermentation dies down, I will transfer the beer to one of the new carboys. The method to that madness is to get my precious lager away from the sediment for it's long journey. Unlike ale, which is ready for kegging or bottling in two weeks, the lager will require another 4- 6 weeks to maximize the crispness that sets it apart from it's ale bretheren. That sediment could otherwise eventually contribute off flavors, and we simply cannot have that.
Now I am still using the same airlock on the carboy that I always do, rather than a tube that extends out of the top and into another container to filter out C02. So I've felt almost obsessed about going out to the garage and opening the freezer door to keep pressure from building up. I have these visions of the freezer exploding from all the built up gas coming from the air lock.
And since we're having this private conversation, I even found myself huffing and puffing, trying to blow the C02 out of the freezer compartment to alleviate pressure build up. I know, it's kinda silly, huh? But let's just keep that to ourselves. Hate to have something like that show up on the internet.
Anyways, I'll let you know how it comes out. In the meantime, I am going to have another run at the Iced Mocha Stout. This time I'll add an extra Tbsp of vanilla just to see what happens. Maybe next time I will play around with the malts to see how that changes the flavors.
The first batch turned out great. The coffee was strong but not overpowering. It went really well with the stout flavors. The lactose contributed a nice mouth feel, a certain smoothness. I may consider adding another 2 oz on a future batch to see what changes. I was worried about the vanilla taking over, but it wasn't detectable. I did pick up some of the chocolate, which was the purpose of the vanilla. I am hoping my tweak brings out a bit more of the chocolate, and if not I will play with the grain mix. Heck, I'll probably do that anyways.
Without further ado, the Winter Lager recipe:
2.75lbs Light Dried Malt Extract
4lbs Light Liquid Malt Extract
1 lb Wheat malt
1.5 lbs Munich malt
1.5 lbs Crystal malt 60L
Bittering- 2 oz. Kent Goldings (60 minutes)
Flavorings added in last 15 mins:
1 oz Curaco Orange (bitter orange peel)
0.5 oz Freshly grated ginger root
1/2 tsp Powdered cinnamon
Finishing/Aroma (2 mins):
1 oz Liberty
1 oz Saaz
White labs WLP830 German Lager Yeast.
