Homebrewing is an old, traditional hobby that’s gaining back its popularity again. It’s a social and fun activity with a beautiful purpose – creating your own alcoholic beverages just the way you like them. You can use spirit essences to give your homemade whiskey a unique flavour, but when it comes to beer, it’s most important to pick the right brewing kit that contains all the supplies, equipment and instructions you’ll need.
Lager brewing kits are some of the most popular choices as lager is the most commonly consumed beer in the world. It’s a bottom-fermented beer, crisp and refreshing. Since lager is a brewing technique, it includes different styles of beer, from dark to pale and malty to sweet, so there is a lager style for every drinker’s taste.
Craft beer is focused on taste, not profit, and that’s what makes it so special. After all, homebrewing was inspired by the craft beer revolution and the need for homemade over mass production. In a way, it’s an artisan pursuit and is all about creating beer in your favoured style.
However, most homebrewers begin with ales as they’re the safety nets for new brewers. You might have heard that it’s hard to homebrew a good lager, but the truth is it requires time, patience, attention to detail and a good lager kit. So, make sure you buy your lager homebrew kit from a popular beer specialty store or online site that offers products of an appropriate age.
How Do You Make Homebrew Lager?
Lager can be a challenge to make as it needs lower temperatures during fermentation to get the desired results. To get a crispy and clean lager flavour and aroma, as in commercial lagers produced around the world, start with selecting your lager homebrew kit.
The four basic steps you’ll need to follow are prepare, brew, ferment and bottle. You need to make sure to sanitise all the equipment before you start the process and keep in mind that it might get messy at times. However, the fun part is mostly about experimenting and learning throughout the process. You may be surprised how many things there are about your favourite beer that you were not aware of.
Lager is a derivation of the German word lagern, meaning “to store”. The original lagers were products of long-term storage in cold caves over the winter. True success in lager brewing can be achieved only by waiting for each phase in the fermentation and conditioning process to run its course at its own pace. It may take weeks or even months to develop, however, craft lager is always well worth a crack.
In case you don’t get it quite right the first time, it’s not a big deal. Look at it as part of the fun and most importantly, don’t give up. One of the greatest benefits of homebrewing is the freedom you get in making beer up to your taste and preferences, and over time it’ll just become simpler and you can only enjoy it more.
Lagers are a tighter group of beers than ales. Their characteristics include light and crisp taste, smooth and mellow. Also, most lagers are less bitter than ales and have more carbonation. With a few exceptions, it’s generally recommended to serve lagers cold. Pour slowly and enjoy your beer, with family, friends or by yourself.
Beer is a social drink, and unfortunately, we’re living in times of social distancing. But don’t let it discourage you, instead use this time for perfecting your home brewing game. It’s challenging and rewarding at the same time and a great hobby for these pandemic days.
Enjoy Your Lager the Right Way
Lager is a crisp, clean beer with a gentle sweetness and a fluffy foam head. The best lagers balance sharpness from the hops with the delicate malt flavour. Colours can range from light to golden straw and in general, lagers are a good choice for food pairings, best enjoyed in a tall, stemmed glass with a pizza, hot dog, fish and chips or roasted meet.
It’s an interesting fact that before the technological advance of the 19th century, most lagers were darker than the lagers these days. If you prefer richer, woodier and smokier beers than dark lagers are a great choice for you. You can go from reddish-brown lagers with medium bodies to dark lagers with chocolate flavours. The ideal way to enjoy a dark lager is to drink from a stemmed goblet with a barbecue, smoked meat or fish, or blue cheese.
Make sure you have the right glass and remember that the pour can make a big difference. Pouring your beer in a glass the right way agitates its aromas and flavours. First of all, remember that the glass must be clean. Hold the glass to a 45-degree angle and pour your beer, aiming for the middle of the slope until the glass is half full.
Then slowly tilt the glass upright as you pour the rest of the beer and keep aiming for the centre of the glass. In the end, there will be a lovely, two fingers tall head, and what’s left for you is only to enjoy your beer. And of course, share it with family and friends who will appreciate it.
