Meantime London Lager

[jceg316]

I've been drinking this recently and it's surprisingly good. My work have it on tap at their bar, I'd go as far as saying it can rival some Munich Helles I've had.

I'd be really interested in the grain bill used, if anyone knows? It's got a really good malty flavour, wouldn't mind trying to recreate that in a couple of brews I have coming up.

 

[MyQul]

Your google-fu is weak! ....According the below it just uses MO

https://www.diffordsguide.com/beer-wine-spirits/2258/meantime-london-lager

 

[jceg316]

Damn, I'm getting weak in my old age! Thanks for the link, that's really interesting they've gone for MO instead of some sort of lager malt. I'm definitely gonna give that a try.

 

[MyQul]

By the look of the ingredients, if you swapped out the yeast for something English and didnt lager it, it would be an English golden ale

 

[BeerCat]

I have made a few lagers using MO. They came out good. Vienna and Red x are also good 100%. Never tried using English hops though but i really should. Bohemian lager yeast perhaps or Bavarian. I like the bohemian as you can make a clear beer with it in about 3 weeks. Best of luck, will keep an eye out for it.

 

[jceg316]

I have made a few lagers using MO. They came out good. Vienna and Red x are also good 100%. Never tried using English hops though but i really should. Bohemian lager yeast perhaps or Bavarian. I like the bohemian as you can make a clear beer with it in about 3 weeks. Best of luck, will keep an eye out for it.

Staropramen and Pils Urquell are in my top 5 favourite beers of all time (as in the genuine stuff in Prague, not the watery lager we get here) and I would love to recreate that biscuity flavour with a rounded bitterness. I did have planned something like 4kg lager malt, 500g vienna, but I think I'll swap out the lager MO. I was also gonna use W-34/70, have you used this strain before and do you know how it compares to a liquid Bohemian variety?

 

[BeerCat]

I have always made my own recipes but as I am entering a Lager comp next year I started to research the style. Seems some people use a bit of biscuit malt with pilsner to get that flavour. I did a 100% Vienna which was very nice and malty but no biscuit flavours.
i have not used 34/70 yet as I have been trying out the MJ range. Lots of people are making warm fermented lagers with it and it seems to be a popular choice.
I do first wort hopping with mine as read it makes a rounder bitterness. I have not done a side by side test but I find it more convenient if you need to do an extended boil.

 

[jceg316]

I've only used S-23 and W-34/70 as lager yeasts because until now I've not been able to hold a beer at cold enough temps (no fermentation chamber). With the saflager yeasts they are robust and can withstand large temperature swings and ferment out really well. I was always a bit worried that using a liquid lager yeast would be a lot more fussy under those conditions.

This weekend I'm making a kolsch similar to the recipe above, but using some K-97 yeast I've had around. I have a few lagers planned over the next couple of months so will definitely experiment. I'm entering in a beer to the lager competition as well, I wanted to enter this kolsch but it seems they really are only accepting beers made with lager yeasts.

 

[BeerCat]

Ah i am glad you are entering the comp as well, best of luck. If you don't have the ability to cold crash i highly recommend MJ cali lager yeast (2 packs as its slow). It flocs really well and does not need extended lagering. I presume its a bottom fermenting yeast as they do have a cali lager section in the comp.

 

[jceg316]

Thanks, good luck to you too. I now have a fermentation chamber so cold crashing is fine. Also with the colder weather we're now getting I can always leave it outside for a few days!

For the competition beer I will stick with w-34/70 as I know it, but for another beer I might try a bohemian liquid yeast and see what it's like.