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2B International Amber Lager

League Casa Cerveza (II)

Brewed 2020-05-27 Batch · 23 L Owen Paterson

Grain bill

Bestmalz Vienna Malt 2.2 kg 46.8%
Bestmalz Pilsen Malt 1.2 kg 25.5%
Bestmalz Munich Malt 0.8 kg 17%
Gladfield Sour Grapes Malt (Acid Malt) 0.25 kg 5.3%
Bestmalz Red X 0.2 kg 4.3%
Weyermann Carafa Special Type 2 0.05 kg 1.1%

Adjuncts

Whirlfloc half tablet @ 15 min
Yeast nutrient 1.5 g @ 15 min

Hop schedule

Hop 60 minWP 85°C
Pacifica 20g30g
Saaz 20g30g

Yeast

Mangrove Jack's M54 California Lager2 packets

Water additions

Calcium Chloride 3.6 g
Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum) 3.3 g

About This Beer

The second run of Owen’s League Casa Cerveza, brewed three weeks after the first — the same League of Brewers International Amber Lager kit, brewed identically. A good amber lager is worth repeating, and back-to-back brews of the same recipe are a sound way to get reproducible results dialled in early on.

The grain bill is the same Bestmalz-heavy Continental build: Vienna leading at nearly half the grist, Pilsen and Munich behind it, and Bestmalz Red X plus a touch of dehusked Carafa Special II for the amber colour, with Gladfield Sour Grapes acid malt setting the mash pH. Pacifica and Saaz again split evenly between a 60-minute addition and an 85°C whirlpool for roughly 20 IBU of soft, malt-forward bitterness.

Brew Day

As before: mashed at 65°C for 60 minutes with a 16.19 L strike, mashed out at 77°C, and fly sparged 17.02 L at 76°C to a 28.5 L boil. Pacifica and Saaz at the start of the 60-minute boil, Whirlfloc and yeast nutrient at 15 minutes, and the whirlpool charge held at 85°C for 15 minutes.

Fermentation

Two packets of Mangrove Jack’s M54 California Lager, rehydrated (100 ml water at 20–25°C, stirred to a cream for 8–12 minutes) and pitched. Fermented at 15°C for about a week, a diacetyl rest at 18°C, then a cold crash to 2°C and at least a week of lagering before packaging to 2.7 volumes.

The figures shown — OG 1.047, FG 1.008, 5.12% ABV, ~20 IBU — are the kit’s estimates at 75% efficiency.