# Blackrock Dry Lager



## Matt89 (22/11/11)

Hey Guys,
Just a post explaining what im brewing at the moment (pretty excited as this is my first brew for 2 years and only my 2nd one ever)

I picked up a Can of Backrock Dry Lager from my LBS along with 1.7kg of LME and some saf yeast (know about the shitty stuff the kits come doesnt cut it ) 

Followed instructions and has been fermenting since friday last week 5 days in and i am still seeing good action through the airlock (bubbles every 20 seconds or so) took a gravity reading yesterday at 1.020 and today at 1.016-15 so it looks like its well on it way. 

I tasted it for the first time today and it was quite dry but definenetly not as ciderish/wine flavoured as my first brew 2years ago and obviously with age i hope it will become alot better 

just wondering if there is anyway to help get rid of that fruity/wine ike taste if it becomes more apparent or pre-measures to ensure it doesnt happen?


my ferment temp has been kept steady inside a fermentation chamber at 22C (apparently too hot for lager, but have followed instructions)

wort has cleared up quite nicely over the last 2 days, still have about an inch of krausen (do i need to wait to physically see this fall?) would love to rack to secondary but being a n00b i dunno if i trust myself to not contaminate or aerate the beer too much 

any feedback is appeciated, really fascinating stuff this brewing is, looking forward to many many more!

p.s i added the dry enzyme is this possibly why it does taste quite dry, do people recommend not using it?


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## waggastew (22/11/11)

Lots of questions:

Avoiding cider/winey taste - Don't use too much simple sugars e.g. dex, table sugar, maltodex. Keep the ferment temp on the low end. For a lager yeast we are talking 16degC max, in general they ted to work better around 12degC. Maybe use US05/American Ale next time as it ferments clean at 18degC? Look into temp control down the track.

Clarity/Krausen dropping - Leave the ferment for at least 2 weeks, the extra time does no harm. Wait for the gravity to be steady over 3-4 days. By then the krausen should have dropped out. If not don't worry too much.

Dry enzyme - Generally does not have a great rep around here. May leave your beer being a bit thin/watery/lacking in body/funny taste. Still it may turn out just fine.

On the positive side you have used all malt which should help any winey flavours. The temp is kinda high but not way out. Probably the last tip would be to leave the beer once bottled for a couple of weeks. If you can let the bottles rest in the fridge for 2 weeks before you drink them you may also notice a difference as well.

Keep up the brewing!


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## Pennywise (22/11/11)

Matt89 said:


> Hey Guys,
> Just a post explaining what im brewing at the moment (pretty excited as this is my first brew for 2 years and only my 2nd one ever)
> 
> I picked up a Can of Backrock Dry Lager from my LBS along with 1.7kg of LME and some saf yeast (know about the shitty stuff the kits come doesnt cut it )
> ...


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## Bats (26/11/11)

I've done a couple of these now and even have one brewing now.

I have tried a few different variables but find they all taste pretty good to me (I'm not massively fussy, as long as it tastes like beer).

I have never tried it without the Dry enzyme so can't really comment. I like the dry taste it creates and it assists in fermenting more of the sugars dropping the carb content. That's a bonus for a chubster like myself.


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## Matt89 (26/11/11)

Bats said:


> I've done a couple of these now and even have one brewing now.
> 
> I have tried a few different variables but find they all taste pretty good to me (I'm not massively fussy, as long as it tastes like beer).
> 
> I have never tried it without the Dry enzyme so can't really comment. I like the dry taste it creates and it assists in fermenting more of the sugars dropping the carb content. That's a bonus for a chubster like myself.



what are your additions? interesting to hear


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