Equipment:
- Lager refrigerator
- 5-gallon food-grade plastic buckets
- Bucket lid with airlock
- Food thermometer
- Stovetop
- Brew kettle (large stew pot)
- Cheesecloth or canvas bag
- Dry malt extract
- Crushed crystal malt
- Ice
- Large sink
- Lager yeast
- Hops
- Corn sugar
- Water
- Clean all equipment thoroughly. Immerse it in clean boiling water, with no soap. This will remove 99% of all germs.
- Put two gallons of water into the brew kettle or stew stew pot. Place this on a stove over medium-high heat, and bring to a slow boil (which will occur at approximately 160 degrees).
- Put appropriately 1/4 pound of the crushed malt extract into a piece of clean, dry cheesecloth, and securely tie into a bundle. Place this bundle into the water, and keep it there until the water becomes golden. Next, carefully remove the bag, squeezing any excess liquid from it.
- Remove the water from the heat source. Quickly stir in around 6 pounds of the crushed crystal malt, putting in two cups at a time. Stir the liquid thoroughly to ensure the malt has dissolved. Place the liquid back on the stove, and bring to a boil.
- Place two ounces of hops into a clean, dry cheesecloth, and tie into a bundle. Place the bundle into the boiling water, and keep it there for between 45 and 60 minutes.
- Fill a large sink or tub with ice. Carefully remove the liquid from the stove, and put it in the ice bath. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the liquid--when it has reached 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be removed from the bath. At this point, carefully remove the bundle of hops.
- Carefully pour the liquid into a five gallon plastic bucket. Mix in one pack of lager yeast, and two to four pounds of corn sugar. Finally, fill the bucket up the the brim with water. Secure the bucket tightly with a lid, and rotate it to mix in the new ingredients.
- Place the mixture into the lager refrigerator, at a temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. After two weeks, the temperature can be raised to between 60 and 65 degrees. At this point, the liquid should be moved into a new bucket. Use a cheesecloth to drain the liquid as it is being transferred from the old bucket to the new one.
- Place the liquid back into the refrigerator. Lower the temperature of the refrigerator each day by five degrees until you reach between 35 and 40 degrees. At this point, leave the lager to sit for at least six weeks--however, for optimal flavor, let it sit for between a year and eighteen months.
