HBR Recipe#3 Classic Lager
The Classic Lager is light gold and has a smooth and clean taste that is easy to drink.
Well-balanced flavour, with hints of hops and a subtle sweetness that make it a great choice for those who are looking for a traditional lager.
What you need for fermentation
1 x Black Rock Lager (1.7kg total)
1 x Black Rock Ultra-Light Liquid Malt Extract (1.7kg total)
1 x Mangrove Jack’s Californian Lager Yeast
1 x Sachet of Mangrove Jack’s Finings or Liquid Beer Finings.
Suggested Hops
For the cleaner finish of a traditional lager, pass on the dry hopping for this recipe.
The suggested hops, used as finishing hops will create a depth to the flavour and aroma.
If you use the Green Bullet hops by themselves you will get a complex, sophisticated finish to the beer. If you elect to add the Cascade hops you will have a hint of grapefruit citrus.
Option One:
30g Mangrove Jack’s Green Bullet Hops
Option Two:
20g Mangrove Jack’s Green Bullet Hops
15g Mangrove Jack’s Cascade Hops
Recipe Instructions
1. On brew day, clean and sanitise your fermenter, airlock, mixing paddle and any other item that will be used in the production of your beer.
2. Place the extract kits and liquid malt extract in a bowl of hot water for ten (10) minutes directly prior to mixing your wort.
3. Add three (3) litres of boiling water to your fermenter. Pour the contents of the Black Rock Lager Kit into the fermenter.
4. Pour the contents of your Black Rock liquid malt extract.
5. Top the fermenter up to 23 litres with cold water.
Tip: Fill the empty extract tins with cold water from the tap and add to the wort to optimise the transfer of extract into the wort.
6. Check the liquid temperature is below 22 degrees Celsius ideally between 18-20 degrees Celsius, then add the contents of the Mangrove Jack’s M54 Californian Lager Yeast. (Discard the yeast that is included with the Black Rock Lager kit).
7. Once your yeast is pitched, maintain a fermentation temperature range of 18-20 degrees Celsius.
Tip: To optimise the transfer of characteristics we suggest sprinkling the hop pallets in loose or you can you a hop sock.
8. If you are dry hopping using the suggested hops: On day eight (8) add all of the hops from your selected recipe option (see recipe notes for additional information).
9. Fermentation will be complete once your specific gravity returns the same value for three (2) consecutive days. Depending on your fermentation temperature range this could take until between days eight (8) and ten (10). Final specific gravity is expected to be between 1.008 and 1.010. Even if you determine fermentation is complete earlier, we suggest leaving your brew in the fermenter until at least day ten (10) before progressing to the next step to allow the transfer of the desired flavour and aroma characteristics of the hops to transfer to your brew.
10. When fermentation is complete add Mangrove Jack’s Finings or Liquid Finings 24-48 hours before bottling your brew. If you cold crash, add selected finings 48 hours before bottling and initiate cold crashing 24 hours before bottling.
3 Things you can do to improve your finished product
Temperature Control
When fermentation temperature is too hot yeast can create adverse flavours in your beer. When fermentation temperature is too low fermentation can become lethargic affecting the fermentation process. To improve the flavour of your finished product and consistency of result use temperature control to maintain a target range.
Cold Crashing
Cold crashing is the process of chilling your brew to a temperature between 2-4 degrees Celsius normally for 1-2 days before you bottle. The process helps move sediment that may have been suspended in the brew to the bottom of the fermentation vessel supporting a cleaner and clearer finish.
Racking-Off
Racking-off is the process of transferring your brew from the primary fermenter into a secondary vessel for bottling. Applying this process before you bottle ensures that you separate the yeast cake from your brew and minimise the risk of residual material transferring to your final product in the bottling process.