After the relatively heavy Weissbier and the screwed up SNPA clone, I wanted to try out a light beer. The goal was a drinkable beer with around 3% ABV. I wanted to go with a standard mash program, not Springmaischverfahren (where you pretty much skip the maltose rest and go straight to 72°C). At first I was going to go for a light Weissbier as I have some of the stripped Gutmann yeast in the fridge. In the end I decided to go for a bottom fermenting lager - a kind of light Schankbier.
Given that something like this can go really wrong really fast, I decided to try out a small mash first. The goal was about 7l of beer. For small, experimental brews I already had bought a 15l pot that can be used on a normal induction/ceramic/gas hob, like in any kitchen. I got a big net curtain at IKEA to try the BIAB ("Brew In A Bag") process. Here, you mash in the net curtain in the pot. When the mash is done, you lift the mash up in the curtain. The wort remains behind. This actually worked quite well. I was able to hit my goal of about 8.5 Brix. I had about 9l of wort. It was pretty cloudy though, as could be expected from BIAB.
Boiling, cooling and adding yeast was the same as any other beer, except that I had to take care not to add too much hops. I was aiming for 23 IBU but then decided to stop around 19 because light beers don't have the malt background to counteract hops - meaning that even 23 IBU would come across as very bitter. The beer was supposed to be something like a Munich Helles, so it didn't have to be too bitter anyway.
Since yesterday it is fermenting at 10°C. I worked out that the Stammwürze was almost exactly 8°P (perfect landing). Currently we are at 6.4°P, so something is happening. I'll leave it ferment away until it stops. It tastes very sweet right now, so hopefully it will dry up as time goes by. I'll have to deal with the cloudiness afterwards too. Some Biersol and gelatine will sort it out no doubt.
