28th Brew – Vienna Lager - May 1, 2010

I know I have been quiet on the blog for a while, but I am here now. My outside project has taken over most of my time which leaves little time for beer related things. Anyways….

Saturday the 1st of May is National Homebrew Day and our 28th brew. I have chosen to make a Vienna Lager, a new style for me, but not too far from the Marzen we made in 2008. The Vienna Lager style is a German lager that is malty, a little weaker (in gravity and ABV) than its Marzen cousin but has more of a reddish color. Its characterized by its heavy use of Vienna malt and regional yeast used in fermentation.

The Vienna Lager was created by Anton Dreher, son of the owner of Schewechat Brewery near Vienna. Anton created the style in 1841 after isolated lager yeast was first used in a Pilsen in Bohemia. Using this new yeast and previous knowledge acquired on espionage trips to England, Vienna Lager was born.

Chuck will be brewing at my place for the event and we may have one other brewer, but I have not got final confirmation of this just yet. We still have the Old Ale, Bier De Garde, Schwartzbier, and Ritbier on draft so there will be plenty to drink. If you feel like bringing something see if you can find a Vienna Lager as its tradition to sample the beer that we are making.

Hope everyone can make it.