Lager · BJCP 2A

American Style Lager

Name: American Style Lager
Yield: 20 L
Cuisine: USA
Ingredients: 3.15 kg Pilsner malt; 0.85 kg Flaked maize; 0.2 kg Carapils / Carafoam; 19 g Perle; 33 g Saaz; SafLager W-34/70

A pale lager, light-bodied thanks to 20% flaked maize, clean bitterness from Perle and Saaz — close to familiar canned lager.

Light, crisp
Hint of sweet corn
Clean bitterness

Origin: USADifficulty: AdvancedReady in: 5 weeks❄ Needs chiller

Recipe source: Castle Malting® — American Style Lager · view original ↗ (scaled to 20 L at 72% efficiency)

Against BJCP 2A guidelines

OG1.046

ABV4.9%

IBU20

SRM3.1

Stats calculated from ingredients (Tinseth · Morey) — real results depend on efficiency and water.

Choose your KRS brewer

40L brewer (B40)30 L in the kettle → ~26 L beer50L brewer (B50)45 L in the kettle → ~40 L beer70L brewer (B70)65 L in the kettle → ~58 L beer

Sized for the 50L brewer (B50): 45 L pre-boil, 60-minute boil (~3 L boil-off, ~2 L kettle and chiller loss) → about 40 L into the fermenter.

Brewhouse efficiency: 72%All-in-One brewers usually hit 68–75%. Use 70% for a first batch.

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.009
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 20
SRM: 3.1
EBC: 6

Malt & sugar

Malt & sugar	Amount	Share
Pilsner malt	6.3 kg	75%
Flaked maize	1.7 kg	20%
Carapils / Carafoam	0.4 kg	5%
Σ	8.4 kg

Hops

Hops	Amount	Use	Time
Perle 7% AA	38 g	Boil	50 min
Saaz 3.5% AA	66 g	Boil	10 min

Yeast

SafLager W-34/70 · 4 pack(s) (11,5 g) · Ferment at 10–13°C

Water (estimate for an All-in-One brewer)

Total water: 52.6 L
Mash water: 25.2 L
Sparge water: 27.4 L
Pre-boil volume: 45 L

Estimated ingredient cost for this batch

Reference retail prices from ABV Beer Shop · 24/09/2026

Cost of what you use: ₫1,382,000
Retail purchase: ₫1,526,000
Per litre: ₫34,600
Per 330 ml glass / bottle: ₫11,400

Show cost per ingredient

Ingredient	Amount	Reference price	Cost of what you use	Retail purchase
Pilsner malt	6.3 kg	Weyermann Pilsner · ₫46,100/kg	₫290,430	₫299,650 (6.5 kg)
Carapils / Carafoam	0.4 kg	Weyermann Carapils · ₫60,000/kg	₫24,000	₫30,000 (0.5 kg)
Perle	38 g	Hallertau Perle · ₫137,000/100 g	₫52,060	₫137,000 (1 × 100 g pack)
Saaz	66 g	Saaz · ₫127,300/100 g	₫84,018	₫127,300 (1 × 100 g pack)
SafLager W-34/70	4 pack(s)	SafLager W-34/70 11,5 g · ₫232,900/pack	₫931,600	₫931,600 (4 pack(s))

Not included (buy elsewhere, no reference price): Flaked maize.

Retail purchase rounds hops and spices up to 100 g packs and malt up to 0.5 kg — leftovers keep for the next batch. Excludes power, water, CO₂ and cleaning chemicals. Prices may change.

Mash

52°CProtein rest5 min
63°CBeta rest (drier beer)40 min
72°CAlpha rest (iodine test)15 min
78°CMash-out2 min

Boil

Boil 60 minutes

Carbonation

2.5 vol CO₂

Fermentation

10°CPitch lager yeast at 10°C2 days
14°CRise to 14°C to finish (diacetyl rest)5 days
8°CDrop to 8°C, harvest yeast1 days
1°CLagering12 days

Tips for success

Flaked maize goes straight into the mash — no cereal cook needed.
Needs 10–14°C: use a jacketed fermenter and chiller.
Converted from Castle Malting's (Belgium) 100 L recipe — Château malts replaced with equivalents.