Tbb 'blonde Bombshell' Lager Recipe

1. Crush and prepare

Crush all malts (pilsner, Vienna, Munich, Carapils) and measure flaked rice. Heat strike water to reach a mash-in temperature accounting for grain temperature (target mash at 152°F / 67°C).

2. Mash-in: Combine crushed grains and flaked rice with strike water to reach and hold 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Maintain gentle, even temperature; stir to eliminate dough balls. Expect an OG around 1.048–1.052 for a blonde lager of this grist.

3. Mash-out: Raise mash to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

4. Sparge: Lauter and sparge with enough 168°F (76°C) water to collect ~6.5 gallons of wort in the kettle (adjust to your system losses). Aim for pre-boil volume that yields 5.25 gallons post-boil.

5. Boil: Bring wort to a vigorous boil for 60 minutes. Add hops as follows: at 60 minutes add 0.7 oz Hallertauer/Saaz (bittering). At 10 minutes left add 1.0 oz Hallertauer/Saaz plus Irish moss/Whirlfloc (1 tsp or 1 tablet). At flameout or 5 minutes after end of boil (whirlpool) add 0.5 oz Hallertauer/Saaz for late aroma and whirlpool steep for 10–20 minutes at ~170°F (77°C).

6. Cool wort quickly using an immersion or plate chiller to pitching temperature (see next step). Target cooling to 50–55°F (10–13°C) for lager yeast pitch; if you plan a diacetyl rest, you may pitch a few degrees lower per strain guidance.

7. Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind. Top up with water if needed to reach 5 gallons (or your target post-fermentation volume). Aerate wort thoroughly (oxygenate or shake/splash) to provide oxygen for healthy yeast propagation.

8. Pitch yeast: Rehydrate dry yeast per manufacturer instructions or pitch a properly prepared liquid yeast starter. Target fermentation temperature: 48–52°F (9–11°C) for ale-style blonde lager character (strain-dependent).

9. Primary fermentation: Ferment at 48–52°F (9–11°C) until activity subsides, typically 7–14 days. Monitor gravity; expect to reach terminal gravity around 1.010–1.012.

10. Diacetyl rest

When gravity is near final (or after ~7–10 days), raise temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 48 hours to allow yeast to reabsorb diacetyl and finish fermentation cleanly.

11. Cold crash: After diacetyl rest, gradually lower temperature to 35–40°F (2–4°C) over 24–48 hours to clear beer and begin lagering.

12. Lager: Maintain beer at 33–38°F (0.5–3°C) for 4–8 weeks for flavor maturation, clarity, and a crisp profile. Longer (8–12 weeks) yields an even cleaner beer.

13. Packaging: If bottling, prime with approximately 4 oz (115 g) corn sugar (adjust to desired carbonation; 4 oz is a starting point for 2.5 volumes in 5 gallons) dissolved in boiling water, cool, add to bottling bucket, then rack beer onto priming solution and bottle. If kegging, force-carbonate to 2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 at recommended pressures for your kegging temperature.

14. Condition: Allow bottles to carbonate at room temp for 10–14 days, then chill and lager further if desired for additional conditioning.

15. Serve: Chill to 38–45°F (3–7°C). Pour gently to leave behind heavy sediment. Expect a pale straw–gold lager with soft malt sweetness, low hop bitterness, and a crisp, smooth finish — the 'Blonde Bombshell' character.