Beer Style: Pale Lager Family
Leichtbier: Light in alcohol, not flavor
German light beer is much different than what Americans have come to expect of “lite” beer. Learn some of the keys to crafting a full-flavored and balanced leichtbier.
American-Style Lager
American-Style Lager (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.046 FG = 1.008IBU = 15 SRM = 2–4 ABV = 4.9% Ingredients7 lbs. (3.2 kg) 2-row pale malt2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) raw rice or
Kellerbier
This recipe is based on the gold-medal winner kellerbier Mut Lager from Cervecería Mut out of Quito, Ecuador. Special thanks to the Brewer Dora Durán for her help pulling this recipe together for the homebrew scale.
Kellerbier: The Real Lager of Germany
While popular in its indigenous region of Germany, kellerbier has often been a poorly understood style. Gordon explores the intricacies of this Franconian “Real Lager.”
Western Hills Pre-Prohibition Lager
Western Hills Pre-Prohibition Lager (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.060 FG = 1.014IBU = 42 SRM = 7 ABV = 6.2% Ingredients6 lbs. (2.7 kg) German Pilsner malt3 lbs. (1.4 kg) US 6-row
Jack’s Original Lager
Jack’s Original Lager (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.047 FG = 1.011IBU = 40 SRM = 3 ABV = 4.8% This is my attempt to brew a historic Michelob. I have
Gordon Strong’s California Common
California Common (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.050 FG = 1.013IBU = 35 SRM = 11 ABV = 5% Ingredients7.7 lbs. (3.5 kg) North American pale ale malt1.25 lbs. (567 g) Vienna
Bell’s Brewery’s Quinannan Falls clone
Quinannan Falls is a dry-hopped India pale lager that possesses a crisp, dry bitterness you would expect from a German Pilsner, but the use of highly aromatic Simcoe® hops from the Pacific Northwest evoke the fragrant pine forests that inspired this summer seasonal beer from Bell’s.
Sommerbier
This beer that lands somewhere between a German Pilsner and a pale Kellerbier.
Dixie Brewing Co.’s Dixie clone
Dixie is an American Pilsner style beer, with adjunct levels a bit lower than most of “Grandpa’s beers.” This extra maltiness gives a bit more robust flavor to it, and a slightly darker color. Its yeast flavor leans more toward the Pilsner style, but uses American hops so that their characteristic citrus flavor comes through.
Olympia Premium Lager Beer clone
Olympia has a very clean flavor, a little malt flavor, a little corn flavor and a little rice flavor, with just a bit of citrus from American hops. There is debate whether the “new” version brewed in California is as good as the original version brewed in Olympia, WA. Afterall, supposedly: “It’s the water.”
Munich Helles
The bittering hop selected here is the Mittelfrüh-like, daughter of Hallertau Gold, Tradition with a nominal average alpha acid rating of 5.5%. It has gentle fruity notes. However, any other German noble hops would work as well. The flavor and aroma hops are, fittingly, Mittelfrüh.
