Lager Beer

Ingredients

• no-rinse sanitizer – for sanitizing equipment
• 7.5 gallons brewing water – for mash and sparge
• 9 pounds pilsner malt – crushed
• 1 pounds munich malt – crushed
• 3 ounces Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops – divided for boil and whirlpool
• 1 tablet Whirlfloc
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
• 2 packets lager yeast – rehydrated
• 4 ounces priming sugar (corn sugar) – for bottling

Instructions

1. Mix no-rinse sanitizer according to label in a clean bucket and thoroughly sanitize fermenter, airlock, siphon, kettle valve, chiller, and any tools; let them drain on a clean rack.
2. Heat brewing water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F/67°C; reserve about half for mashing and the rest for sparging.
3. Crush pilsner malt and munich malt if not pre-crushed, then stir the grains into the strike water to achieve 152°F/67°C; hold 60 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the mash is fully converted (sweet taste, thinned texture).
4. Recirculate the first runnings until mostly clear, then drain to the kettle; sparge slowly with the reserved hot water (168–170°F/75–77°C) until you collect about 6.5 gallons/24.5 L of wort.
5. Bring wort to a vigorous boil for 60 minutes; from Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops, add 1 oz at the start of the boil for bitterness, 0.5 oz at 30 minutes, and 1 oz at 10 minutes for flavor and aroma.
6. With 10–15 minutes left in the boil, add Whirlfloc tablet and yeast nutrient; finish the boil, then turn off heat, add the remaining 0.5 oz hops, and whirlpool/steep 15–20 minutes around 170°F/77°C.
7. Chill wort rapidly to 48–52°F/9–11°C using a wort chiller or ice bath; transfer to the sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind, and aerate well by splashing or using an aeration stone.
8. Rehydrate and pitch lager yeast into the aerated wort; seal with an airlock and ferment at 48–52°F/9–11°C for 10–14 days, until gravity is within 3–5 points of the expected final gravity and activity slows.
9. Raise to 60–65°F/16–18°C for a diacetyl rest of 2–3 days, until the beer tastes clean (no buttery or butterscotch notes), then slowly lower temperature 2–3°F per day to 34–36°F/1–2°C and lager 3–4 weeks for clarity and smoothness.
10. Dissolve priming sugar (corn sugar) in 2 cups/480 ml water, boil 5 minutes, and cool; gently rack lagered beer onto the solution in a bottling bucket, stir carefully, then fill and cap sanitized bottles.
11. Condition bottles at 65–70°F/18–21°C for 10–14 days until firm carbonation develops, then chill at serving temperature 38–45°F/3–7°C; pour gently into a clean glass to leave sediment behind and enjoy.