Simple Vienna Lager Recipe

[xtiandiybeer]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning my second batch of brew and i'm looking to try something close to a Vienna style lager almost like Brooklyn lager.

I've never done a grain recipe before and I don't have a fermentation cooling method (ferments between 20-22 degrees celsius) as i'm quite new.

Can anyone recommend anything?

 

[MHB]

I think classing Brooklyn Lager as a Vienna might be a bit of a stretch, They call it an American Amber Lager
From the Brooklyn Brewery website.

BYO have a pretty decent clone recipe, well worth having a look at.
You will have to do a bit of converting to get Australian available units and colours for the malts (EBC is about double SRM (well *1.97)). BYO are usually pretty good about potting in masses, volumes, temperatures... in metric but cant seam to get their heads around EBC/SRM/Lovibond.

The other thing is to make a convincing lager you need to use lager yeast (and more of it than when brewing an ale), and to ferment at the right temperatures (8-15oC) to make lager, then to store (which is what Lager means) cold (-1 to 3oC) for several weeks at least.
Sounds like you might be better off making an American Amber Ale. If you don't have the ability to ferment cold, and to lager properly just don't to there.

Actually a pretty enjoyable beer, you might get close doing an ale and choosing a very neutral yeast, but even then you would still need good temperature control and stay under 20oC.
Mark

 

[nickp]

With those fermentation temperatures you can try Fermentis/Saflager 34-70. I've done a German lager with it fermenting at low 20s and it turned out great.

 

[gaijin]

This was my 40L batch recipe:
OG 1.048, FG 1.007 5.8% ABV

Vienna Malt 6.80 kg
Munich Malt 1.6 kg
Wheat malt 0.7 kg

Motueka 64g 90FWH
Styrian Goldings 40g 10mins

I use a step mash for my lagers, but just mash at 67C if you're uncertain.

Ferment 3x Lalbrew kolsch at as low as you can get it, but no lower than 15C.

I should mention that this was dark amber and bock-leaning. Reduce the Munich by 600g if you want something lighter coloured and flavour and less malty.

Good luck.

 

[Brew Bama]

I’ve also used 34-70 warm with great results. I understand Mauribrew 497 and Mangrove Jack M54 also work well warm.

 

[MHB]

There is a lot of difference between Ale and Lager (including Kolsch) there are also very good reasons for brewing Lagers cold.
In truth one of the biggest costs in brewing is energy, which in Lager brewing the power needed to keep the ferment cold then to lager even colder for weeks, even months is not an insignificant part.
34/70 (under lots of different names) is used to brew something like 45% of the beer produced in Germany, all of it is cold brewed and stored. You would think that in a country that takes beer as seriously as do the Germans that they would want to make the best beer they can. They are also pretty dam good at bean counting and brewing research - the do still brew cold, to the point where they call 12oC Warm Fermentation.

Don't try to make Lager warm or with Ale yeast, you simply wont get the flavours you are looking for.
Mark

 

[philrob]

Agree with Mark.
I ferment my Lagers at 9ºC, and that's after pitching yeast grown up on the stirplate to about 5 or 6 times smakpak volume in a 25 litre batch.
I've just bottled a batch I lagered for 8 weeks.
It does make a difference, you can't reinvent definitively proven methods.

 

[gaijin]

I completely agree. The recipe I gave actually used a Munich lager yeast, but the best chance that OP has at 20C to get a lager flavour is with a clean ale, or California Lager yeast if he can get it. After bottle conditioning, try to pack as many bottles in the fridge to see if it will lager out to give some crispness.

What makes home brewing addictive is taking the 'next step' and tasting how much better your beer is. For OP, try finding a cheap fridge on Gumtree and a temp controller. I bought one for $50 and tasted the difference. My mates tasted the difference and bought me a chest freezer so my production could meet their demand. Give it a shot OP!

 

[xtiandiybeer]

Thanks everyone for all the responses, i'm going to put together a recipe shortly and try to tackle this and report back on results. In future I plan to upgrade to temp controlled fermentation but still starting out.

 

[minikeg1971]

Lookup " pressure fermentation" if you want to try lager at warmer temperatures. Worth considering.

 

[MaggieO]

I have a "Cool Brewing" fermentation jacket that gets me 10F below ambient using frozen ice packs. I did have a cardboard box lined with "Reflectix" insulation that would do about the same.

Lots of ways to get temps down.

 

[Vini2ton]

Samuel Adams Boston Lager has been classed as a Vienna Lager. Boston, Brooklyn, what's the difference? I have a cool brewing jacket I keep my hydrometer and sample glass in. I think this forum needs a good rousing, because it has become tedious. What happened to life it once had? Someone's upset someone. Keep posting stuff everyone, things will get better.