Recipe Advice - Blue Mountains Lager

[waggastew]

Planning on brewing my first lager on the weekend. Will be basing it on the Morgan's Blue Mountain Lager as it is very well regarded on the net. I am using Swiss lager yeast S189 at 12degC and some Czech Saaz chucked in for extra aroma. I am still unsure though about:

1. Fermentables? - I am trying to avoid using malt as I want this beer to be very crisp/dry. I bought some Coopers BE1 (maltodex/dex mix) but I am not sure if this was the right choice. Should I use something like BE2 that also has some malt in it?

2. Whirlfoc? - I have ordered some whirlfloc/irish moss tablets. I want a super clear beer (not that my others have been cloudy). I planned on chucking the tablet into some boiling water for 5 mins then chucking it in the fermenter. Is this right? Is this necessary?

3. Specialty Grains? I have read alot about adding small amounts of grains to 'jazz up' beers. Is this gonna make a big enough difference to warrant the extra time/money? Will it darken the beer (I am trying to go for a very light colour)

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Stew

 

[johnyb]

Hi Stew,

I am drinking a Blue Mountain Lager as I type. I can't answer all your questions, but rather share with you my experience with it.

The bottles I am drinking are a month old (in secondary conditioning). I added 300g LDME and fermented it for 3 weeks at 12 deg with Saflager 23 yeast. I also steeped 150 grams of Crystal malt for 30 mins at 65 deg. I added 20 litres of water. I dry hopped 12 grams of Cascade hops.

The end result is a sweet beer, it smells and tastes like honey. It is nice, has a good head, and is flavousome, but is too sweet for my tastes. Like you, I prefer a drier beer. It is a rich orangey amber colour. Lovers of a sweet beer would be wrapped with it.

So if I was to repeat the brew, I would add dextrose instead of LDME and use a less fruity yeast such as 34/70, and also forgo the Crystal malt in favour of Carapils or another less sweetening steeping grain. Overall I think the Morgans Blue Mountain Kit is great.

I hope this helps a little,

JB

 

[nifty07]

Planning on brewing my first lager on the weekend. Will be basing it on the Morgan's Blue Mountain Lager as it is very well regarded on the net. I am using Swiss lager yeast S189 at 12degC and some Czech Saaz chucked in for extra aroma. I am still unsure though about:

1. Fermentables? - I am trying to avoid using malt as I want this beer to be very crisp/dry. I bought some Coopers BE1 (maltodex/dex mix) but I am not sure if this was the right choice. Should I use something like BE2 that also has some malt in it?

2. Whirlfoc? - I have ordered some whirlfloc/irish moss tablets. I want a super clear beer (not that my others have been cloudy). I planned on chucking the tablet into some boiling water for 5 mins then chucking it in the fermenter. Is this right? Is this necessary?

3. Specialty Grains? I have read alot about adding small amounts of grains to 'jazz up' beers. Is this gonna make a big enough difference to warrant the extra time/money? Will it darken the beer (I am trying to go for a very light colour)

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Stew

my fav brew at the moment
blue mountain lager
1kg dry ulra blend
250 grams dextrose
hallertaue hops bag with the standard yeast as supplied
i Know its simple and nothing special but still its nice and its reliable, good head nice flavours and temp resistant
which is really good in sunny queensland
seriosly you should try

 

[AussieJosh]

BE2 has more malt in it then BE1, So for what your looking for i think BE1 is a good choice! that will bring it up to about 4,6 or 4,8% if you would like your drop over 5% add another 200 or 300g of dex!
I made Blue Montians Lager last winter, and id have to say its the best kit lager ive ever made!
Good luck with it mate!

 

[Frag_Dog]

For K&K you shouldn't need to use Whirflock, its used to clump the proteins from a full mash.

 

[michaelcocks]

I do this one all the time for Aussie mates who only drink New VB and think Crown is the height of sophistication

Use the Kit yeast -It's a good hybrid (keep to 15-17C for a nice clean profile)
This can be a malty beer so use 1KG Dextrose only (or what they call Coopers brewing sugar is OK - this is 80% Dextrose anyway
Add a few g Hallertau (say 7gm) (boil 10 mins) then tip in the watery bit (leave the chunks behind since you so keen on clear beer (but the chunks will be OK really)
Forget the whirlfoc - Not necessary, only need this if using grain. Use Gelatine if you are that bothered.
Just leave plenty of time to condition.
If you keg - keep in fermenter for 14-20 days (make sure you clean you leaving it there a long time) Then transfer to keg and just turn on serving pressure (40KPA) - It'll take 10 days to carb up...
If bottling 14 days in fermenter then move fermenter to a fridge (cold condition for a week and bring out to room temp place transfer to bottles) - keep above 20C for 14-20 days the fridge em all.

It's a beauty - you'll love it

Also check hbkitreviews .com

General concenses is for clean taste, cut back on malt addition as it doesn't have much hop to counter...


Happy Brewing

 

[waggastew]

Thanks for the advice guys. I put the brew on to ferment yesterday using the BE1 and swiss lager yeast. I pitched the rehydrated yeast at around 22degC then put it in the 70 can cooler with some ice bottles. 24 hours on it is sitting at 12 degC with a nice white krausen on top. I will report back in when it has been bottled and lagered to let you know how it tastes!

I might try the Hallertau next time and compare across. Does anyone know of any commercial lagers that use Hallertau as the dominant hop? I wouldn't mind to taste test a few (for research purposes only of course!)