Big Ideas for Small-Scale Craft Brewing: Don’t Miss a Full-Day of 10 Live Online Seminars at the 2026 NanoCon. Register now and Save 25%!

recipe

Birch Sap Lager

Birch Sap Lager

(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.052  FG = 1.013 IBU = 37 SRM = 3  ABV = 5.1%

Ingredients:

5.8 lbs. (2.6 kg) extra light dried malt extract
6.9 AAU Northern Brewer whole hops (60 min.) (0.76 oz./22 g of 9% alpha acids)
4.0 AAU Hallertauer whole hops (30 min.) (1.0 oz./28 g of 4% alpha acids)
5.0 gallons (19 L) birch sap
White Labs WLP820 (Octoberfest/Märzen) yeast

Step by Step

Heat birch sap slowly and bring to boil. Add malt extract. Bring to boil. Total boil time is 60 minutes. At boil, add Northern Brewer hops. Pitch Hallertauer hops at final 30 minutes of boil. At final 15 minutes of boil, add Irish Moss for clarity. At end of boil, chill wort and pitch yeast. Primary ferment for 10 days at 63 °F (17 °C) Secondary ferment for 2.5 months at 46 °F (7.7 °C). Cold filter and serve from a keg.

You might also like…

recipe

Gluten-Free Pale Ale

This is a recipe I have brewed many times in many ways and is a great starting recipe for anyone trying to get their start in brewing, let a

recipe

Sunflower Seed Dark Hefeweizen

This recipe takes advantage of the head retention power of wheat to blend in some flavors of toasted sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are ve

recipe

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!: Rosée d’hibiscus (Pinkish hibiscus) clone

Very pink, very floral, very crisp and light bodied — very drinkable! This beer’s color and aroma are quite eye-catching and aromatic. L

recipe

Nu Zuland Saison

Michael Tonsmeire provides one of his favorite saison recipes *One of the two Brettanomyces strains I used in this beer was obtained from ho