1st Borough Lager Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

1st Borough Lager (21 Litres)

The hippest beer this side of Bushwick, ‘1st Borough’ is a Vienna style lager with attitude. While you’re free to make your own mulch using a custom fixie, you won’t need to add dandruff from your beard; this amber coloured brew is all caramel malt with lifted floral, citrus, and biscuity aromas. Medium bodied and so ironically bitter you’ll need to adjust your tortoiseshell frames, this refreshing lager is one you’ll want to try before it decides it’s ‘so over.’

Ingredients

1 x 1.7kg Real Ale
2 x 500g Light Dry Malt
1 x 25g Hallertau Mittelfrueh Hop Pellets
1 x 25g Cascade Hop Pellets
1 x 11.5g Saflager W-34/70 Dry Yeast
1 x 250g Dextrose Corn Sugar or Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Amber/Gold
Body: Medium
Bitterness: Medium
Approx. Alcohol Level: 5.2% ABV
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

STEP 1: Mix

In a good size pot (around 8 litres) bring 500g of Light Dry Malt to the boil with 3 litres of water. Add the Hallertau Mittelfrueh Hop Pellets and boil for 15mins. Cool the liquid by placing the pot in a bath of cold water for about 15mins then strain into a Fermenting Vessel (FV). Mix in the Real Ale and the other 500g of Light Dry Malt. Don’t be concerned if lumps persist as these will dissolve over the course of a few hours. Fill with cool water to 18 litres, stir vigorously and check the brew temperature. Top up to 21 litres with warm or cold water (refrigerated if necessary) to get as close to 18C as possible. Sprinkle on the sachets of W-34/70 and brew can yeast then fit the lid.

STEP 2: Brew

Place the FV in a location out of direct sunlight and try to ferment at 15C. Fermentation should take around 10 to 12 days. At around day 7, add the Cascade Hops (we recommend wrapping them in a mesh cleaning cloth, pulled straight from the wrapper). On day 10 check the specific gravity (SG). Check the SG again the following day and so on.

STEP 3: Bottle

The brew is ready once the SG has stabilised over a couple of days, expect about 1006 to 1010. Gently fill clean PET bottles to about 3cm from the top. Add 2 carbonation drops per bottle and secure the caps. Store the bottles upright in a location out of direct sunlight at or above 18C.

STEP 4: Enjoy!

After at least four weeks, check for sufficient carbonation by squeezing the PET bottles. Bottles kept unrefrigerated should improve with age. When ready to drink, chill the bottles upright. The chilled beer may be poured into clean glassware, leaving the sediment behind. Expect the alcohol content to be approximately 5.2% ABV.