Homebrew - Vienna Lager
This was a style I had been enjoying at the bar so I decided to get a kit and give it a go. I used a kit from Brewers Best and did a very simple extract brew with a 60 minute boil and Irish moss. The really exciting part was using my new stir plate to grow the starter. I am not sure how well it worked beyond my normal procedure but it looked cooler.
During primary I put the fermenter down by the front door which during winter was a pretty cold place in the house. This seemed to keep the temperature near the what lager yeast prefer. For lagering I finally bought a temperature controller for the brew fridge to keep things closer to ideal temperatures.
Starter: 06 Feb 2014 Brew: 09 Feb 2014, OG 1.053 Secondary: 23 Feb 2014 (14) Bottle: 06 Apr 2014 (42), FG 1.010, ABV %5.76 Ready: 02 Jun 2014 (57) Summary: Primary 14 days, Secondary 42 days, Condition 57 days
I did sneak a few of these over the weeks but two months seems about right for a lager review. The head on the pour was excellent, with great volume and retention without being too huge. The beer looked great in the glass like a commercial beer. It smelt a bit green and the first taste was also a little homebrewy but neither were too bad. It was a little sweet if you thought about it but the malt and hop balance was good. On the whole I think this was a good (and easy) kit for a decent lager. This is a style I like to drink and would like to make my own recipe for.
Starter
Brew
Secondary
Bottle
