Hi
I fancy having a go at an AG Larger. Would love a good recipe and also advice on Mashing, Brewing, Conditioning etc.
AG Larger recipe and brewing advice wanted
- Aleman
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Ok You might want to try this

which is very loosely based around a Bohemian pilsner style, so big on hops and malt. Our water is ideal for brewing this style but I like to add a teaspoon of calcium chloride to the grist and another to the boiler just to help the malt profile come through.
Yeast wise go for something along the lines of Saflager W34/70, but pitch big (two sachets at least if you are fermenting cold . . . . which you should do)
Keep it simple WRT mashing just a single infusion mash at 66C and use around 3L/Kg of mash liquor.
Ferment at 12C for 1 day per degree Plato (4 Gravity points). As I said pitch at the fermentation temp and big, at least two sachets. If you cannot control the temperature of the FV then use a neutral Ale yeast and ferment it cool (~18C) as that will produce less esters than a lager yeast fermented warm. Once the 12 days are up drop the temperature of the FV as cold as you can get it for around a week, then transfer into another FV, and start the lagering process. Conventional brewing wisdom from Plzen is lager for 1 week for each degree Plato (so our 12 Plato beer will need 12 weeks lagering!!
). This can be shortened if you have the capability to drop the temp down to -2C, where 1 day = 1 conventional week of normal lagering). Rack to keg carbonate and serve. If you are bottling, tehn rack to a bottling bucket with priming sugar, and bottle.

which is very loosely based around a Bohemian pilsner style, so big on hops and malt. Our water is ideal for brewing this style but I like to add a teaspoon of calcium chloride to the grist and another to the boiler just to help the malt profile come through.
Yeast wise go for something along the lines of Saflager W34/70, but pitch big (two sachets at least if you are fermenting cold . . . . which you should do)
Keep it simple WRT mashing just a single infusion mash at 66C and use around 3L/Kg of mash liquor.
Ferment at 12C for 1 day per degree Plato (4 Gravity points). As I said pitch at the fermentation temp and big, at least two sachets. If you cannot control the temperature of the FV then use a neutral Ale yeast and ferment it cool (~18C) as that will produce less esters than a lager yeast fermented warm. Once the 12 days are up drop the temperature of the FV as cold as you can get it for around a week, then transfer into another FV, and start the lagering process. Conventional brewing wisdom from Plzen is lager for 1 week for each degree Plato (so our 12 Plato beer will need 12 weeks lagering!!

Last edited by Aleman on Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Have you any idea's what type of Lager you want? There's a link to Hornden Hillbilly's site in the links page of this forum and his recipe which he says is like Carling (and I think is MUCH cleaner tasting, smooth and less bland than commercial lagers, though admittedly it is similar).
Otherwise I could supply my Blonde Ninja recipe - which is stronger in alchohol
Otherwise I could supply my Blonde Ninja recipe - which is stronger in alchohol
- Horden Hillbilly
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Here is the link to my recipe page, there is also a section on all grain brewing as well, nice & easy to follow.
Thanks for the help so far. I know when posting someone would ask what type of Lager. As I not a Lager expert the ones I like are Northern European style. I gues you would class them as Pilsner.
Aleman that looks like a very authentic recipe. Its all the temp control that I would find the problem. The only cold place I have is the Garage, which is very well insulated which has been stable around 8c for the last week. But will warm slowly with the weather. But I presume its the conditioning that makes it authentic in taste. I think something a little less complex might be a better first lager.
Aleman that looks like a very authentic recipe. Its all the temp control that I would find the problem. The only cold place I have is the Garage, which is very well insulated which has been stable around 8c for the last week. But will warm slowly with the weather. But I presume its the conditioning that makes it authentic in taste. I think something a little less complex might be a better first lager.
- Aleman
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Which is the same problem faced by a lot of lager brewers. You can still brew a 'lager like' beer at warmer temperatures by using a very neutral ale yeast, and fermenting it at the cooler end of its range. Say Nottingham fermented at 16-18C, I had a good result with a Bitburger clone that was fermented with Saflager 23 in an unheated room in the house (Max probably around 16C) but this can produce excessive esters . .. . I got away with it, others don't.nobby wrote:Aleman that looks like a very authentic recipe. Its all the temp control that I would find the problem.
As for the recipe, its a bit of a bast*rd really the grist is one I use to for a one step mash for a Czech pilsner in the style of Urquell (of the communist days!). The hops are just classic pilsner hops either German or Czech. Of course for a Czech pilsner it would be exclusively Saaz, for a German, then its more likely to be a mixture of Hallertau, Spalt, Tettnang, and or Saaz (typically noble hops for all stages, bittering flavour and aroma).
As to the extended conditioning . . . . the big breweries don't really do it anymore, and it is possible to 'lager' in a bottle, it's just more authentic to do it in bulk.
Aleman: THis is starting to sound a bit better, I must admit I have enjoyed a few bottle of Urquell in the past.
I could use Nottingham Yeast and say all Saaz hops. To ferment use one of the spare bed rooms and turn the heating down. Leave it a couple of weeks in the FV like I do with my Bitters. Then bottle, put in the Garage to Lager the best I can.
The Gist: I recognise all the malts except Melanoidin. Could this be sudsitutited for one of the others. I like to keep things simple and avoid buying ingredients I may never use again.
I could use Nottingham Yeast and say all Saaz hops. To ferment use one of the spare bed rooms and turn the heating down. Leave it a couple of weeks in the FV like I do with my Bitters. Then bottle, put in the Garage to Lager the best I can.
The Gist: I recognise all the malts except Melanoidin. Could this be sudsitutited for one of the others. I like to keep things simple and avoid buying ingredients I may never use again.