Homebrew Recipe
Riggs Beer Company American Lager
- Method:
- All Grain
- Style:
- American Lager
- Boil Time:
- 70 min.
- Batch Size:
- 5 gal.
- Boil Size:
- 6.5 gal.
- Efficiency:
- 80
- Rating:
- Source:
- Craft Beer and Brewing
- Source Notes:
- From the Riggs Beer Company in Urbana, Illinois, this is an old-school American pale lager brewed using a traditional double-mash process. The grain bill consists of six-row base malt and whole-kernel corn. Here at Riggs Beer, we use six-row barley grown on our Central Illinois farm. Our homegrown, locally malted barley tends to be slightly under-modified. Since you'll likely be buying fully modified six-row, it might be a good idea to swap a half-pound of the six-row with Carafoam or Carapils to help maintain enough body in the beer. The corn we use isn't commercially available; homebrewers can grind whole-kernel corn for the double-mash or use flaked corn in an infusion. Note: Malt mills aren't designed to grind corn; you'll want a coffee mill or something similar. Use a water profile with low residual alkalinity and a calcium profile with CaCl, and CaSO4, roughly in balance. Most water sources will benefit by being cut with 30-50 percent distilled water. Aim for a combined mash pH of 5.4.
- Notes:
- First, the adjunct mash: Mill the grains. Mix 1.25 gallons of 167F water with 1.5 lb of the six-row and all the corn. That should bring the mash to about 154F. Rest 15 minutes. Raise the temperature to 200F and hold for 15 minutes to gelatinize the corn starch. (If using direct fire, continuously stir the adjunct mash to prevent scorching). As the adjunct mash approaches 200F, start the protein rest by mashing in (in a separate vessel) the remaining 5.5 lb of six-row malt at 120F. Once the adjunct mash has been at 200F for 15 minutes, combine the two mashes. Once combined , they should reach about 149F (if needed, heat to 149F). Hold for 30 minutes. Then raise the temperature to 155F and rest 30 minutes. Raise to 168F and mash out. Boil for 70 minutes, following the hops schedule. Chill to 50F, aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 50F until gravity reaches 1.024, then raise the temperature to 54F for 7 days. Chill and rack off the yeast. Lager at 31F for 1 month and carb to 2.8 volumes.
Brew Numbers
| OG | FG | ABV | SRM | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.046 | 1.009 | 5 | 0 | 17 |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % Grain Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt - 6-Row | 7 lbs. | 77.78 |
| Flaked Corn | 2 lbs. | 22.22 |
| Notes: Calls for 2 lbs. whole-kernel corn | ||
| Total: | 9.00 lbs. | |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Boil Time | Use | AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum (US) | 0.3 oz. | 60 | Boil | 14 |
| Crystal | 0.2 oz. | 10 | Boil | 3.5 |
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| Crystal | 0.2 oz. |
| Magnum (US) | 0.3 oz. |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Product |
|---|---|---|
| SafLager | Fermentis | W-34/70 |
| Notes: Any neutral lager strain. | ||
Mash Steps
| Step | Name | Temp | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adjunct Mash | 154 | 15 | All Grain |
| Notes: Mix 1.25 gallons of 167F water with 1.5 lb of six-row and all the corn. That should bring the mash to 154F. Rest 15 minutes. | ||||
| 2 | Adjunct Mash | 200 | 15 | All Grain |
| Notes: Raise the temperature to 200F and hold for 15 minutes. | ||||
| 3 | Protein Rest | 120 | 15 | All Grain |
| Notes: As the adjunct mash approached 200F, start the protein rest by mashing in the remaining 5.5 lbs six-row (in separate vessel) at 120F. | ||||
| 4 | Step Mash | 149 | 30 | All Grain |
| Notes: Once the adjunct mash has been at 200F for 15 minutes, combine the two mashes. Once combined they should reach about 149F (if needed, heat to 149F). Hold for 30 minutes. | ||||
| 5 | Step Mash | 155 | 30 | All Grain |
| Notes: Raise the temperature to 155F and rest 30 minutes. | ||||
| 6 | Step Mash | 168 | 10 | All Grain |
| Notes: Raise to 168F and mash out. | ||||