Old Style Recipe

Heat strike water

Heat 3.5 gallons of your brewing water to 165°F (74°C) to account for temperature drop when adding grain.

Mash in

Add the crushed pale malt, crystal malt, carapils, and flaked corn to your mash tun. Pour the heated water over the grain and stir to eliminate dry spots. Target mash temperature: 152°F (67°C).

Mash rest

Hold the mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes to convert starches to sugars. Gently stir the mash after 30 minutes to ensure uniform temperature and conversion.

Mash out

Raise the mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes (by adding near-boiling water or applying direct heat) to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow.

Drain the wort from the mash tun into your boil kettle. Sparge with 2.0 gallons of hot water at about 170°F (77°C) slowly and maintain a gentle sparge to rinse remaining sugars until you collect approximately 6.0-6.5 gallons of wort in the kettle.

Bring to a boil

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Watch for boil-overs during the first few minutes.

Bittering hop addition

With 60 minutes remaining in the boil, add 0.75 oz of bittering hops (Magnum or Northern Brewer). Boil for the remaining 60 minutes.

Kettle finings (optional)

With 10-15 minutes left in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish moss (if using) to help clarify the beer.

Aroma hop addition

With 5 minutes remaining, add 0.25 oz of aroma hops (Hallertau or Saaz) for subtle hop character.

Cool wort

At flameout, turn off heat and cool the wort as quickly as possible (use an immersion chiller or ice bath) to around 68°F (20°C).

Prepare fermenter and pitch yeast

Sanitize your fermenter, airlock, and any utensils. Transfer cooled wort into the sanitized fermenter, leaving the last pint for trub. Aerate the wort by vigorous shaking or splashing or by using sterile air. Pitch the packet of ale yeast (or a properly prepared starter) into the wort at about 66-68°F (19-20°C).

Primary fermentation

Close fermenter with an airlock and ferment at 66-68°F (19-20°C) for about 7-10 days or until activity subsides and specific gravity has dropped close to expected final gravity.

Optional secondary

If desired for clarity, rack to a secondary fermenter after primary fermentation (around day 7-10) and condition for an additional 7-10 days at slightly cooler temperature (60-65°F / 15-18°C).

Prepare priming sugar

Sanitize bottling equipment. Dissolve 3 oz (about 85 g) of priming dextrose in 12 oz (355 ml) of boiling water, cool, and add to a sanitized bottling bucket.

Transfer and bottle

Rack beer from the fermenter onto the priming solution into the bottling bucket, gently mixing to evenly distribute. Fill sanitized bottles and cap them.

Bottle conditioning

Store bottles at 68°F (20°C) for 2 weeks for carbonation, then move to cooler storage for maturation. Expect carbonation and flavor development over 2-4 weeks; taste after 2 weeks and again at 4 weeks.

Chill bottles to serving temperature (45-50°F / 7-10°C) before serving. Pour gently to leave sediment in the bottle. This recipe yields a clean, old-style American pale lager/ale hybrid character — amber-gold color, moderate maltiness, restrained hop bitterness and a crisp finish.