Home Pale Lager (1915)

All-Grain Recipe

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.048  FG = 1.010 
IBU = 22  SRM = 3  ABV = 4.9%

Home Brewing Co.’s Assistant Brew Master Alphonse Gosch gives no information as to whether this beer was lagered at low temperature. He does say the beer was racked to casks after eleven days, which suggests it was not further processed.

Ingredients

6.25 lbs. (2.83 kg) 2-row pale malt
2 lbs. (0.9 kg) flaked corn
1 lb. (0.45 kg) dextrose sugar (0 min.)
5.8 AAU Cluster hops (first wort hop) (0.8 oz./23g at 7.2% alpha acids)
5 g table salt (NaCl) (0 min.)
SafLager S-23 (or a favorite lager strain) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

Mash the malt and flaked corn at 154 °F (68 °C) with 12 qts. (11 L) of water for 60 minutes. Add boiling water to raise the mash temperature to 158 °F (70 °C). Let rest for 10 minutes then run off and sparge with water at about 170 °F (77 °C) to collect 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort. Add the hops to the kettle, run in the wort. Bring to a boil and boil for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the sugar and salt carefully, stirring with a long spoon to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. 

Chill to 40–45 °F (5–7 °C)* and pitch the yeast. Ferment at this temperature for 7–10 days then raise to 65 °F (18 °C) for 2–3 days for a diacetyl rest. Rack** the beer, prime and bottle condition or keg and force carbonate to 2.5 v/v. Serve at about 40 °F (4 °C).

* I am quite sure that this was the temperature used at the Home Brewing Co. so for full authenticity you should do the same. If you cannot maintain this temperature try to keep as close to it as possible.

** I do not believe the Home Brewing Co. used a lengthy low temperature lagering stage but you may do so if you prefer.

Partial Mash Recipe

Reduce both the pale malt and flaked corn to 1 lb. (0.45 kg) each. Add 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Briess Golden Light liquid malt extract and 1 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess Golden Light dried malt extract. Mash the pale malt and flaked corn at 152–154 °F (67–68 °C) in a grain bag in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water for 45 minutes. Remove the bag and allow it to drain into the pot, then rinse the grain with 1 gallon (3.8 L) hot water. Stir in the malt extracts and then add water to make up to 6 gallons (23 L) wort. Add the hops and boil for 40 minutes. Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.