Brewing up a snakebite, lager advice needed

[capoeirista13]

Hey there, so my dad wants me to try brewing a beer. I'm not really a beer guy, but I think that snake bites are almost tolerable (for those of you who don't know, a snake bite is half lager and half hard cider. I've never seen one homebrewed though, just mixed at a bar.) I've made wine, mead, and hard cider, but I have yet to attempt making any kind of beer because I don't like it much. I think this could be an interesting thing to make, the only problem is that I need some help on the beer/lager portion of the recipe and process. I also have no idea what yeast I would use. I actually am such a beer noob, that I don't even know which of the ingredients create which part of the flavor in the final product. Also I'm not entirely sure which ingredients even have the sugars. So without further ado, does anyone have any advice for a beer noob?

 

[akueck]

My advice would be: don't start with a lager.

I've never done lager, but the rule you should follow if you do is "pitch a ton of yeast". There are pitching calculators (e.g. mrmalty.com) that can help you figure out how much yeast you need, but the point is that lagers need a lot of yeast since you ferment very cold. Other than the big pitch and really, really good temperature control, making a lager should be like making any other beer. But again, I've never done it so there might be more nuance I'm not aware of. I would definitely say that without some space that keeps a constant temp (usually around 50 F) that you should not try making lager. Temp swings, even the warming/cooling cycle in a typical room over the day, can mess up your lager. Ales are less sensitive to this, but not immune.

You can read all about brewing beer at howtobrew.com. Check it out, let us know if you have questions.

 

[wildaho]

My advice would be: don't start with a lager.

Ditto! I have tried a few lagers and most have them have failed due to lack of low temperature control. Some have worked (maybe three out of a dozen) but then I had access to some properly attemperated walk-ins in some restaurants at the time.

 

[capoeirista13]

How can you tell whether it is successful or not?

 

[wayneb]

If fermentation sticks before you've reached your target attenuation, then it has failed.

 

[capoeirista13]

ooohhh, so you keep a lager in a low temperature area even during fermentation, I see.

 

[Medsen Fey]

If you don't you end up with a steam beer rather than a lager (not that I don't appreciate a good steam).

 

[capoeirista13]

Well thanks for the advice gents. I don't think I have enough of a consistent temperature anywhere in the house, but I've got to check the basement temperature because that's official. If the temperature seems somewhat constant down there I'll try to make a drink w/ a lager yeast, some cider, and a bit of wheat influence.