# Ale Malt for Lagers



## Donske (29/7/13)

Alright, probably a dumb question, but how would BB ale malt go in a light lager?

I'm looking to get a couple of lagers brewed while it's still possible to ferment ales at ambiant but I don't have any pils malt handy, the lagers I'm looking to brew will be a lightly hopped Galaxy light lager and the other will be a bog standard faux euro swill type lager for guests so I'm not looking at brewing competition beers here, I just don't want to brew shit beer either.

While I'm going, what would be a good suggestion for a quick turn around lager yeast, I'm not expecting the 10 days grain to brain that I have with ales but ideally I'd be finishing up lagering within 4 weeks.


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## Ducatiboy stu (29/7/13)

Basically there is not much..if any..bifference between ale and lager/pilsner malts. It mainly depends on the maltster. Some maltsters will call a slightly lighter malt, say 3ebc pilsner and 7ebc ale malt just as a way to differenciate the 2. Some will call it pale malt .....They are both generally under 10ebc.


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## Bizier (29/7/13)

Will be ok, slightly darker, lower pH in mash and lower diastatic power of using adjuncts. I've heard people say more body, though I'm unsure how that occurs.


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## dago001 (29/7/13)

I've brewed a few lagers with ale malt (I dont brew many pale lagers, but I do brew a lot of dark lagers). Its not realy any different, sound and solid brewing/fermenting practices will result in a good beer.
Although, I have to admit I am not a fan of the current trend to add aroma/flavour hops to lagers. Although, if you are trying to hide flaws in your lagers, then it may be acceptable.
Cheers
LagerBomb


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## Donske (29/7/13)

The Galaxy hopped lager is more because I think it will make a nice beer for summer in QLD, and suit my tastes, the generic style euro swill will have nothing to hide behind but isn't generally to my tastes.

I'm mostly wanting a keg of something to put away for over the Christmas period that guests will enjoy but I have 2 spots in my fermenting fridge so I may as well do a lager I can enjoy as well. This is being done soon because I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to ferment my ales at ambiant.

Should really note that I've never brewed a lager before either so I'm kind of just fishing for ideas more than anything.


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## Thefatdoghead (29/7/13)

I have a brew planned to use BB ale malt with some carapils and rice. Using 2035 American lager yeast.

Ill just end up with a darker beer using BB ale I reckon. Never tried it before so can't say how it will go but I can tell you 2035 is a great yeast and if treated right, it's really clean. 

I will do a double batch so ill get 2 x smack packs and make a 5L starter for them. Probably not quiet enough yeast but I seem to get away with it. I always pitch around 8 degrees C too. 

If you want a faster turnaround with a lager you can always filter. Saves months of waiting.

Most of my Lagers are drinking best around the 6 week mark after filtering. 

Your Galaxy lager sounds good though. Let us know how it turns out?


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## Doctormcbrewdle (22/2/18)

FWIW I did a BB Ale malt with 34/70 and it turned great! Earily like VB.. I'd think if you added 5-10% dextrose and used danish lager yeast you'd be spot on but this was really close and about the best description I can think of. It had a full malt finish

QUESTION: Hoping someone may have tried this before. I'm going to do up a hop-burst pale ale and lager it at 12 degrees with kGerman lager yeast. More I think about it, these days craft brewers are looking for the cleanest finishing yeast possible to showcase hops and malt. Why use ale yeasts? Apart from faster turnarounds, even WLP001, US05 and M44 aren't as clean as 34/70 weistephan. See how she goes, I'm expecting exceptional results


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## Doctormcbrewdle (22/2/18)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Basically there is not much..if any..bifference between ale and lager/pilsner malts. It mainly depends on the maltster. Some maltsters will call a slightly lighter malt, say 3ebc pilsner and 7ebc ale malt just as a way to differenciate the 2. Some will call it pale malt .....They are both generally under 10ebc.



The two taste very different in a light lager. I've been known to have a discerning palate and be very picky but to me it's very different


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## Droopy Brew (22/2/18)

Doctormcbrewdle said:


> The two taste very different in a light lager. I've been known to have a discerning palate and be very picky but to me it's very different



Yep I call BS on the Pale = Pils. I find a very distinct difference in taste between them. Colour might be the same but can laways pick a beer with high amount of pils.

I also find the same for Lager yeast. I dont agree it is a cleaner fermenting yeast than some ale yeasts. I notice a very distinct larger taste (I believe sulfury). A US 05 or Nottingham at 15-16C is extremely clean. Just depends on how its fermented.


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## Doctormcbrewdle (22/2/18)

Droopy Brew said:


> Yep I call BS on the Pale = Pils. I find a very distinct difference in taste between them. Colour might be the same but can laways pick a beer with high amount of pils.
> 
> I also find the same for Lager yeast. I dont agree it is a cleaner fermenting yeast than some ale yeasts. I notice a very distinct larger taste (I believe sulfury). A US 05 or Nottingham at 15-16C is extremely clean. Just depends on how its fermented.



Colour is a good few EBC higher in an ale malt so unless spec malts are being used as you're probably referring to it's easy to tell which base malt (pils very light, ale malt a few shades darker)

I haven't done a side-by-side tasting between two yeasts so can't comment therw yet


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