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

Amber Lager: Straight forward and easy drinking, toasted grain and strong malt backbone. Crispy always.

Crush all grain to a medium-fine consistency (not pulverized) so husks are intact for good lautering.

Crush Grains

Heat 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of strike water to about 164°F (72°C). Dough in the crushed grains to target mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets.

Mash In

Hold mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes to develop a balanced fermentable profile with a substantial malt backbone and some residual dextrins for mouthfeel.

Mash Schedule

Raise mash to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow during lautering.

Mash Out

Recirculate until runnings are clear then sparge with enough water to collect ~6.0 gallons (22.7 L) of wort pre-boil. Typical sparge water at 170°F (77°C). Total pre-boil volume accounting for boil-off: ~6.5–6.75 gal (24.6–25.6 L) depending on system losses.

Sparge

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

Bring to Boil

Boil for 60 minutes. Add hops and clarifying agents per schedule: at 60 minutes (start of boil) add 1.0 oz Hallertau (bittering). At 10 minutes left add 1 tsp Irish moss/Whirlfloc and at 5 minutes add 0.5 oz Tettnang (aroma). Total boil time 60 minutes.

Boil Additions

At end of boil, turn off heat and chill wort quickly with an immersion chiller or plate chiller to around 55°F (13°C) for lager yeast pitching (or 60–62°F / 15–17°C if using a warm fermentation protocol). Transfer to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind as much trub as possible.

Top up with pre-boiled, cooled water to reach roughly 5.25 gallons (19.9 L) if needed to hit target batch volume (accounts for boil-off and losses).

Aerate the cooled wort thoroughly (pure oxygen for 60–90 seconds or vigorous shaking/stirring for several minutes) to support a healthy lager fermentation.

Oxygenation

Pitch a healthy lager yeast: rehydrate or make a starter appropriate to the yeast strain and wort gravity. Target pitch temperature ~50–55°F (10–13°C) for most lager strains.

Pitch Yeast

Ferment at 50–55°F (10–13°C) until vigorous activity subsides (typically 7–10 days depending on yeast and fermentation vigor). Gravity should drop steadily toward terminal gravity.

Primary Fermentation

After primary fermentation, raise temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 2–3 days to allow yeast to clean up diacetyl and any other off-flavors.

Diacetyl Rest

Gradually cool the beer to near-freezing temperatures (34–38°F / 1–3°C) over several days and lager (cold condition) for 4–6 weeks to clarify, round flavors, and enhance crispness.

Lagering / Cold Conditioning

Prepare priming sugar: dissolve 4 oz (approx. 113 g) corn sugar in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water, cool and add to bottling bucket. Rack beer gently on top of priming solution to avoid oxygen pickup.

Bottle or keg as desired. If bottling, fill and cap bottles. Condition at room temperature for 2 weeks for natural carbonation, then chill and lager for another week for improved clarity and finish. If kegging, carbonate to ~2.4–2.6 vols CO2 and then cold condition.

If adjusting water, add tiny amounts of gypsum and calcium chloride (as listed) to strike water before mashing. Aim for a balanced soft-to-moderate profile emphasizing maltiness and drinkability. Do not over-salt—these additions are optional and minimal.

Pilsner malt (base)

Munich malt (20L)

Caramel / Crystal malt (40–60L)

Melanoidin or Victory malt (for toasty/biscuit notes)

Carapils / dextrin malt (for body and head retention)

Hallertau (or similar noble aroma hop) — bittering/late addition

Tettnang or Saaz — aroma/flavor

Clean lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or White Labs WLP830)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (optional, for clarity)

Water (brewing/manifold)

Corn sugar (for bottling) or priming sugar

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) — small pinch to accentuate mash clarity

Calcium chloride — small pinch to round malt characters

Pipeworks Brewing Co. Amber Lager

Make Pipeworks Brewing Co. Amber Lager Recipe in just 11h 12m. Amber Lager: Straight forward and easy drinking, toasted grain and strong malt backbone. Crispy always.

Pipeworks Brewing Co. Amber Lager

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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