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White Lager
So I'm sitting here drinking Shmaltz Brewing's Albino Python White Lager, and it's really good. I wanna make some. Their mix of spices is really different, but I figured if I start with a basic while lager recipe I can experiment with the spice. Only I can't find a single white lager recipe anywhere.
I looked up Shmaltz's web site and here's what they have to say about the beer:
Malts - Specialty 2-row, torrified wheat, Weyermann acidulated, flaked oats, caramel pils
Hops - Warrior, saaz, summit
Spices -Ginger, crushed fennel, orange peel, coriander
ABV 6%
I've found some vague references to white lager as an American Wheat brewed with lager yeast, and using that and the above I can mock up a recipe in Beer Smith, but it's pure guesswork. Does anyone have a white lager recipe they can post? Or even better, a clone of this particular one?
Quick update... like an hour after I posted this I got an email from Zak at Shmaltz Brewing. Try this, guys: google any product name from Shmaltz (He'Brew, Albino Python, etc) and wherever you see anything about the beers on a blog or anything ... Zak's there, posting a comment or a thank you. He is a one-man viral marketing machine. I bet if I stuck my head out my back door and shouted "Shmaltz Brewing!!" Zak would walk up and say hi.
BTW, Hi Zak, since I know this post will come up on your radar.
So Zak offers to find out what he can about the recipe. I emailed him my hacked-together recipe that I did in Beer Smith and he said he'd pass it along to the brewers for comment. If I hear anything back I'll post it here.
Seriously, you have got to buy some of this guy's beer. Support anyone who stays this close to his market. I mean it. And it's wicked good too. (And part of the takings from their Coney island brand goes to a local charity that's trying to revitalize Coney island. I don't know anything about Coney except it's where the Warriors are from, but that's heart)
I tried their He'Brew Pomegranate ale too. Very nice.
I will be waiting for your post. A Witlager! I can't wait.
Unfortunately I don't think I can get any of Shmaltz's brews out here in Montana (strange alcohol laws: you can't purchase any alcoholic beverage unless it is supplied by a licenced distributer.) I'll check with the guy at my local beer shop though.
I love wheat beers especially german ones (love the cloves and bananas) so any new style of wheat beer is a must try for me and if I can't get it than I'll brew it myself so keep me posted.
You might be a homebrewer if:
Your kids think Santa would prefer a home brew over milk.
Lee wrote:
Malts - Specialty 2-row, torrified wheat, Weyermann acidulated, flaked oats, caramel pils
Hops - Warrior, saaz, summit
Spices -Ginger, crushed fennel, orange peel, coriander
I have only ever brewed one lager before. I'm more of an ale guy. Sorry... no recipe.
You should be able to get most, if not all, of this from your homebrew store.
However, summit hops are hard to find. They are a drawf variety of hop grown on low trellis system. The oldest reference I can find is 2006. No store I have found carries them right now. Summit are a HIGH AA hop, 17-19%, with citrus, orange, and tangerine flavors. I know this because one of my most favorite pales, Widmer W07, was brewed with it, and I LOVED it.
That said, Warrior and Saaz shouldn't be hard to find. Instead of Summit, you might consider Columbus or Chinook, since they are both high in AA, and are similar to Centennial, which gives some citrus aromas.
The hardest part about using a recipe posted on the brewery web site is the amount of ingredients. Most don't tell you how much of each to use. It's all guess work.
2 row will be the vast majority, and I'm guessing the wheat and oaks is between 1/2 and 1 pound. Carapils is also very low. I never use more than 1# in a 10 gallon batch.
As for hops, without knowing the amounts of time of additions, that is just a gamble. Sounds like Zak is your best bet.
If anyone's interested, here's what I ended up with.
Albino Python White Lager Clone
Partial Mash
1.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract
3.33 lb Wheat Liquid Extract
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1.00 lb Oats, Flaked
1.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified
0.75 lb Acid Malt
0.50 oz Galena Hops (60.0 min)
1.00 oz Crushed Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 oz Grated Ginger Root (Boil 12.0 min)
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 oz Crushed Fennel Seed (Boil 5.0 min)
WLP833 German Bock Lager
Mashed at 150 for a light body.
Zak had passed the recipe to his brewers and they said it looked good, although they suggested an American Lager yeast. I'm a cheap bastard, so all my lagers this winter used the same yeast, harvested from each batch for the next, so that's what this got. I also went off the board with the hops since hop character isn't a factor in this beer and I just wanted to hit a reasonable IBU (20).
I really like it, although it doesn't taste like the Shmaltz product. But wtf, it's a spiced lager, I've never heard of such a thing before. It was really popular at a dinner party I took it to. I will probably add it to my winter lager rotation, maybe make one every couple of years.
Awesome! Strong work. I think I'll put this one down for next spring. I'll probably try it without the spices first just so I can see how a white lager tastes. Thanks for posting. I'll post results when I get them. I probably won't be lagering till next year hence the delay.
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