Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Crush the grains (pilsner, Vienna, Carapils) and measure flaked rice. Heat 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of strike water to about 162°F (72°C) to achieve a target mash temperature of 150°F (66°C).

Crush and heat

Add crushed grains and flaked rice to the strike water and stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls. Hold the mash at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes. Perform a gentle stir at 30 minutes to ensure even conversion.

Optional mash out: raise temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve lauterability.

Recirculate first runnings until clear, then lauter into your kettle. Sparge with enough water to collect roughly 6.5 to 7.0 gallons of wort in the boil kettle (adjust based on system losses). Aim for pre-boil gravity that will yield ~1.014 post-boil/after fermentation to reach ~4.7% ABV depending on efficiency.

Bring the wort to a vigorous boil and start a 60-minute timer.

At 60 minutes remaining (start of boil): add 0.5 oz Saaz hops (bittering). If using Irish moss/Whirlfloc, add it with 15 minutes remaining.

At 15 minutes remaining: add 1 tsp Irish moss (optional).

At 5 minutes remaining: add 0.75 oz Saaz hops for flavor/aroma.

At the end of the 60-minute boil, chill the wort quickly to a pitching temperature between 48–52°F (9–11°C) using a wort chiller or ice bath. Transfer chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter. Top up with potable water if necessary to reach 5 gallons final volume.

Take a pre-fermentation gravity reading (OG). Target original gravity ~1.044–1.046 to finish around 4.5–4.8% ABV depending on attenuation.

Aerate the chilled wort thoroughly by shaking, splashing, or using an aeration stone. Rehydrate dry lager yeast per manufacturer instructions or prepare a yeast starter for liquid strains. Pitch yeast when wort is at 48–52°F (9–11°C).

Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 10–14 days, maintaining a stable temperature. Expect active fermentation within 24–72 hours. Monitor gravity — when it is within 1–2 points of terminal expected FG (~1.010–1.012) and activity has slowed, proceed to diacetyl rest.

Raise temperature to 60–64°F (15–18°C) for 2–3 days to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

After the rest, cold crash: reduce temperature slowly to 35–38°F (2–3°C) over 24–48 hours to encourage clearing. Leave at cold conditioning temperature for 2–4 weeks (lagering) for improved flavor and clarity. Longer lagering (4–8 weeks) yields a cleaner profile.

When fermentation is complete and beer is clear, prepare to bottle. Dissolve 3.25 oz (92 g) priming sugar in 1 cup boiling water, cool, and mix into bottling bucket with beer to evenly distribute. Bottle into sanitized bottles and cap.

Condition bottles at room temperature (65–70°F / 18–21°C) for 10–14 days for carbonation, then cold condition if desired. For a lager-style carbonation, target 2.2–2.6 volumes CO2; allow cold conditioning for an additional 1–2 weeks to mellow.

Chill bottles to serving temperature (38–45°F / 3–7°C). Pour gently into a chilled lager glass, leaving sediment in bottle. Enjoy your clean, crisp Dos-style lager.

DOS Lager

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