Mexican Agave Lager All Grain Recipe Kit Northern Brewer

Mexican Agave Lager

Combining an incredibly refreshing light lager and distinctly Mexican agave, Mexican Agave Lager is one seriously satisfying beer. This ostensibly uncomplicated recipe produces an elegant, easy-sipping lager finishing dry and crisp with understated flavor complexity culminating in a crescendo of herbaceous, grainy hop and malt character laced with striations of mildly honeyed agave charm. Mexican Agave Lager is akin to vacation in a glass, whether actually on vacation, or just relaxing after a long day.

Mexican Agave Lager Brewing Notes:

• Style: International Pale Lager
• Fermentation Range: 50 – 55°F
• Original Gravity: 1.050
• SRM: 3.4
• IBU: 22
• ABV: 5.3%

Mexican Agave Lager Tasting Notes:

• Aroma: Medium-low sweet malt aroma with low to moderate earthy and floral hop character. Clean fermentation with very low to no sulfur.
• Appearance: Light straw color with very good clarity and a dense, bright white foam head.
• Flavor: Moderate grainy malt flavor of fresh white bread. Medium bitterness with medium-low floral and herbal hop flavors. Neutral fermentation flavor profile and finishes crisp and quite dry.
• Mouthfeel: Light body with medium-high carbonation.

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Notes from Brad, Northern Brewer Head Brewer:

“As the humble light lager continues to pry its way into the craft beer scene, what better way to highlight the preeminence of its mass appeal than to create a Mexican-inspired adjunct lager? Everyone loves a cold, crisp, refreshing and approachable light beer to take the edge off a hot day, or to simply enjoy while lounging in the backyard around a fire. Out of the various regions producing light lagers, I would have to say that Mexican brewers really nailed the style – easy sipping beers that just exude refreshment and relaxation. These beers are really some of my favorite light lagers, and this recipe is my take on the classic beers brewed around Mexico. To add a bit of a twist, 100% pure agave syrup is utilized to both increase the gravity of the beer and also to encourage a high level of attenuation to ensure the final product is as dry, crisp and refreshing as absolutely possible.

The recipe may seem simple, but as some wise-ass once said, “keep it simple, stupid”. With the KISS principle in mind, I set forth to create a recipe that not only captures the essence of a light Mexican lager, but also employed the use of another region-specific ingredient – agave syrup. Since agave syrup is highly fermentable, a dash of dextrin malt is added to the recipe to maintain a slight bit of body to prevent the beer from becoming overly dry, and in the case of the all-grain recipe, a slightly elevated mash temperature will also help to hold on to some body in the beer. Keeping in line with classic brewing techniques of these thirst-quenching beers, traditional noble hops are used to impart a mild bitterness and offer a hint of prototypical herbal, floral and slightly earthy flavor to the beer. The recipe calls for a whole ounce of Tettnang hops towards the end of the boil, but if you would prefer a more subdued hop flavor in the beer, simply cut that addition in half, or even quarter it to accentuate the slightly sweet and grainy malt character and to coax out the delicate flavor left behind by the agave addition. As with any lager, always be sure to pitch a large, healthy dose of yeast and keep that baby cool. In my brewing trials, I pitched the yeast at 48F (a bit below the recommended fermentation temperature for the liquid strains), and let the batch free rise to 52F to complete the fermentation process. Once the yeast appears to be finished, a diacetyl rest is always recommended to be absolutely sure the yeast has done its job and cleaned up any possible off flavors. From there, lager as usual, package, pour and finally enjoy when your day calls for a cold refreshing beer. ¡Salud!”