Red Rover, Come Over

This is a trial recipe, just trying to make a nice smooth red lager, something fun to sip while enjoying the forth-coming spring here in Wisconsin.

This recipe has been developed for a 10 gallon batch, fermenting in two 6.5 gallon fermentors for primary fermentation, and two 5.5 gallon fermentors for second stage fermentation. Then the two are combined together in a larger volume container for bottling to ensure equal distribution. It is critical for this that the larger volume holding container is very throughly cleaned and 1 stepped.

Brewer:	Backwoods Brew Boys		Email:	eric.helwig@gmail.com
Beer:	Red Rover, Come Over		Style:	American Lager
Type:	Extract		Size:	10 gallons
Color:	23 HCU (~13 SRM)		Bitterness:	11 IBU
OG:	1.047		FG:	1.010
Alcohol:	4.8% v/v (3.8% w/w)
Water:	Plain softened water
Grain:	16 oz. American crystal 40L 16 oz. Belgian CaraVienne
Steep:	Place crushed grains into grain sack. Place grain sack into water and bring to 155 degrees. Hold for 20 - 30 minutes. Remove the heat and steep for 5-10 minutes. Remove the grain sack, and proceed to boiling.
Boil:	30-60 minutes	SG 1.157	3 gallons
	12 lb. Amber malt extract
	Before turning heat back on, add liquid malt extract. Turn heat on and stir occasionally as to prevent scorching on bottom of pot. Once you see the boiling begin, place the first 2 ounces of Haller. hops in. Boil for 30 - 60 minutes depending on how bitter you like. I think right in the middle, 45 is nice. (Caution, upon primary boil, the wort level may rise over the top of your pot/kettle, keep an eye on it. If it gets close, turn off heat for 30 seconds, and bring heat back. After the primary boil level rises and falls, it should not rise over the edges again.) Once you have boiled the desired amount of time for bittering, add in the other 2 ounces of hops. *Place 3.5 gallons of water in two(2) fermentors, or 7 gallons in one larger fermentor.*
Hops:	2 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 30 min.) 2 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 60 min.)
Yeast:	The yeast used is Wyeast Bohemian Lager #2124 activator. Make sure when pitching your yeast that you get the wort down to the specified temperature, which I believe to be around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Log:	Recommended lagering lengths: 1. Let stand for 1 - 3 days at room temperature. At this time you should see a rolling head forming, and CO2 being released through the fermentation lock. 2. Place in cool location (48 to 52 degrees F) for 7-10 days. 3. Pull out fermentor(s) for 24 hours to allow for Diacetyl rest. After this period, if you are doing two stage fermentation, place into the second stage fermentor(s). 4. Place in cooler location (36 - 45 degrees F) for 3 - 12 weeks. When bottling, add a total of 1 1/2 c corn sugar to 2 c warm water into the beer for bottling. Mix in and then bottle. Bottle should stay anywhere from 55 - 60 degrees for 2 - 4 weeks.

Recipe posted 02/25/08.