Pilsner, isn't it a lager????

[Schmoe]

For those that have been giving me sound advice, I thank you. I went ahead and racked to secondary last night and WOO HOO, I got beer. It smelled like beer, it looked like beer and it tasted like beer. I guess the yeast just took off quickly or I didn't have the lid on tight enough. All is good so far. Well, I decided to stick with the extract kits once more. This time I got the Brewers Best Continental Pilsner. Isn't that a lager? Instruction sheet said to fermet between 68 and 72F. About the same as the ale I did last week. I'm confused. Can you make an ale type beer a pilsner?

 

[Pablo]

Yeah well Pilsner is a lager. Cheap kit.

 

[tom slick]

if you are fermenting at 68-72 then it is not a lager (pils is just a type of lager) it's an ale that is disquised as a lager. lagers are generally more difficult to make because of their cool fermentation requires more then a cool closet and their light flavor will not mask mistakes as well as stronger flavored ales. your kit is for beginners so it has you make a fake pils. beers are either ale or lager, period. every other name is a style of either an ale or lager. the easy way to remember it is ale = quick fermentation at higher temps lager = slow fermentation at lower temps. there is more that differentiates them but that is the most basic.

 

[Schmoe]

I called my LHBS and they said the same thing as you, it's "kind of" like a lager, but not really. Still a good beer though. I'll go ahead and try it and then I think I'll jump over to a heffe.

 

[moribundman]

Quote:

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beers are either ale or lager, period.

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Well, a few types of beer defy classification. There is the oldest type beer, which is brewed without adding yeast artificially. That type beer can be extremely strong (over 50% alcohol!), which can make it unsuitable for drinking (it's used for cooking). There isn't even a handful breweries that make that stuff, as far as I know. Then there is also "smoke beer" that can be brewed as an ale or a lager. There is also "white Pilsener" that is brewed with both, top and bottom fermenting yeast.