American Golden Lager
This recipe is assembled from the practices documented across this site: the flagship bitterness architecture and fermentation discipline, the tetra swap, the standard mash. All of it is pointed at the most-brewed, most-missed style in America. Is it a clone of anything? We're saying it's built from the documented practices on this site, and we're smiling while we say it.
American Golden Lager
- Protocol
- GFB-R1
- Version
- Recipe v1
- Effective
- August 2026
A 100% sorghum malt golden lager at 10.5°P and 18 IBU — the naked style, assembled from the practices documented across this site. Every flaw in the malt, the mash, or the fermentation walks straight into the glass; that is the experiment.
No cover: There is no hop cover and no roast cover in a 10.5°P golden lager — a buttery, estery, or sulfury fermentation IS the beer, so the fermentation discipline below is not optional. This exact recipe as printed has not been brewed and measured; your batch is the data.
Ingredient bill
| Ingredient | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Pale sorghum malt | ~9 lb (4.1 kg) The all-sorghum base | Documented |
| Gypsum | ~1 tsp in the grist Grist gypsum at ~0.2% | Documented |
| Brewing water | Calcium ~100 ppm Profile your source first | Documented |
| Hops — German route | Magnum 60 min ~9 IBU; Tettnang 15 + 3 min ~4 IBU The earlier documented hop bill | Documented |
| Hops — American route | CTZ 60 min ~9 IBU; Sterling 15 min ~4 IBU The later documented hop bill | Documented |
| Tetra hop extract | ~5 IBU, post-fermentation The head-retention swap | Documented |
| Whirlfloc + gluten-free-verified yeast nutrient | Per supplier, 45 min into the boil | Documented |
| Yeast | Clean ale strain at 20.5°C — or a true lager strain, cold Ale-cool is the documented practice; true lager is style guidance | Documented |
Stage before brew day
Run the standard — and mean it
- Do
- Run the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale, doses scaled to the ~9 lb (4.1 kg) grist. Collect to hit 10.5°P.
- Add
- Per the Reliable Mash run sheet
- Advance when
- Wort at 10.5°P in the kettle.
- Record
- Efficiency vs the sheet · Gravity collected
Sixty minutes, restrained hands
- Do
- Bittering charge at the start (route of choice, ~9 IBU). Whirlfloc and nutrient at 45 minutes. Character hops late per your route (15 min; the German route adds a 3-minute charge).
- Add
- Bittering hops at start
- Whirlfloc + nutrient at 45 min
- Character hops late
- Advance when
- Knockout at target gravity.
- Record
- Hop route, charges, timings · Post-boil gravity
Where this beer is won
- Do
- Pitch adequately, hold 20.5°C for the ale route (or run your lager strain cold per its spec). Watch gravity.
- Add
- None
- Advance when
- Gravity nears 5°P.
- Record
- Fermentation curve · Temperature log
The diacetyl rest
- Do
- At about 5°P, raise to 22°C. Hold until gravity is stable and diacetyl is gone.
- Add
- None
- Advance when
- Stable gravity, clean sensory check.
- Record
- Rest start/end · Final gravity
Crash, tetra, carbonate
- Do
- Crash cold. Dose tetra extract to ~5 IBU post-fermentation. Carbonate and serve. Lager route: three to four weeks cold first.
- Add
- Tetra extract, ~5 IBU
- Advance when
- Carbonated, holding a head.
- Record
- Tetra dose · Head retention with vs without, if you split
| Step | Action | Target | Add | Advance when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mash: more detail | Run the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale, doses scaled to the ~9 lb (4.1 kg) grist. Collect to hit 10.5°P. | the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale Per the Reliable Mash sheet |
| Wort at 10.5°P in the kettle. |
| 2. Boil: more detail | Bittering charge at the start (route of choice, ~9 IBU). Whirlfloc and nutrient at 45 minutes. Character hops late per your route (15 min; the German route adds a 3-minute charge). | Boiling 60 min |
| Knockout at target gravity. |
| 3. Ferment: more detail | Pitch adequately, hold 20.5°C for the ale route (or run your lager strain cold per its spec). Watch gravity. | 20.5°C (69°F) ale — or lager cold To ~5°P | None | Gravity nears 5°P. |
| 4. D-rest: more detail | At about 5°P, raise to 22°C. Hold until gravity is stable and diacetyl is gone. | Raise to 22°C at ~5°P Until stable and clean | None | Stable gravity, clean sensory check. |
| 5. Finish: more detail | Crash cold. Dose tetra extract to ~5 IBU post-fermentation. Carbonate and serve. Lager route: three to four weeks cold first. | Cold and clear — |
| Carbonated, holding a head. |
Run each step with its checks and context
Use the run sheet during a routine mash. Use these expanded steps when setting up the process, training an operator, documenting a deviation, or diagnosing unexpected behavior.
Run the standard — and mean it
Objective
the Reliable Mash produces a glucose-forward wort, and for once that is the point: this style wants dry, crisp, and fully attenuated.
Operating instruction
Run the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale, doses scaled to the ~9 lb (4.1 kg) grist. Collect to hit 10.5°P.
- Per the Reliable Mash run sheet
What good looks like
Wort at 10.5°P in the kettle.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Efficiency vs the sheet · Gravity collected
Level 3 · Mechanism and evidence the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale
Sixty minutes, restrained hands
Objective
Modest bitterness on a base with little malt sweetness to balance — 13 IBU from the kettle, the rest comes later from tetra.
Operating instruction
Bittering charge at the start (route of choice, ~9 IBU). Whirlfloc and nutrient at 45 minutes. Character hops late per your route (15 min; the German route adds a 3-minute charge).
- Bittering hops at start
- Whirlfloc + nutrient at 45 min
- Character hops late
What good looks like
Knockout at target gravity.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Hop route, charges, timings · Post-boil gravity
Where this beer is won
Objective
Clean fermentation with nothing to hide behind.
Operating instruction
Pitch adequately, hold 20.5°C for the ale route (or run your lager strain cold per its spec). Watch gravity.
What good looks like
Gravity nears 5°P.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Fermentation curve · Temperature log
The diacetyl rest
Objective
No hop cover for a buttery lager — the documented rest is the insurance.
Operating instruction
At about 5°P, raise to 22°C. Hold until gravity is stable and diacetyl is gone.
What good looks like
Stable gravity, clean sensory check.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Rest start/end · Final gravity
Crash, tetra, carbonate
Objective
The last five IBU arrive with the foam.
Operating instruction
Crash cold. Dose tetra extract to ~5 IBU post-fermentation. Carbonate and serve. Lager route: three to four weeks cold first.
- Tetra extract, ~5 IBU
What good looks like
Carbonated, holding a head.
Watch for
No additional step-specific warning.
Record
Tetra dose · Head retention with vs without, if you split
Two documented hop routes
Both hop bills are documented practice. Pick one, or split a batch and run the comparison (Research Ask #1):
| Route | Bittering | Character |
|---|---|---|
| German | Magnum, 60 min, ~9 IBU | Tettnang, 15 min and 3 min, ~4 IBU |
| American | CTZ, 60 min, ~9 IBU | Sterling, 15 min, ~4 IBU |
Then the tetra swap carries the last ~5 IBU after fermentation. Head retention on a sorghum base is the whole reason the rule exists.
Mash
Run the Reliable Mash at Homebrew Scale, and for once, the glucose-forward wort it produces is not a compromise but the point: this style wants a dry, crisp, fully attenuated finish, and glucoamylase-finished wort delivers exactly that. Scale the doses to the ~9 lb (4.1 kg) grist.
If you're running the methods for comparison, this grist is the cleanest test bed on the site: nothing downstream will mask a mash difference.
Brew day
60-minute boil. Bittering hops at the start; Whirlfloc and a gluten-free-verified yeast nutrient at 45 minutes; character hops per your route.
Fermentation — where this beer is won
The documented discipline, and this style gives you no room to skip it: clean ale strain at 20.5°C (69°F), diacetyl rest when gravity nears 5°P (raise to 22°C), hold until the gravity is stable and the diacetyl is gone, then crash cold. A true lager strain fermented cold and lagered three to four weeks is the style-true route: guidance, and worth it if you have the temperature control.
There is no hop cover and no roast cover in a 10.5°P golden lager. A buttery, estery, or sulfury fermentation is the beer. Budget your patience here.
Nowhere to hide
This is the classic-styles thesis at its sharpest. A raspberry IPA can hide a thin malt base forever; a golden lager can't hide anything for one sip. If a 100% sorghum malt beer can stand naked at 10.5°P and taste like beer, not like an apology, then the grain, the malt, and the process all held. That's the experiment.
Report back
Nobody has published homebrew-scale results for this recipe. Report gravity readings, mash behavior, fermentation curve, head retention with and without the tetra swap, and honest tasting notes. And if you split the hop routes, that's Research Ask #1 answered on the cleanest possible base. Tell us what happened.
Related
- Oktoberfest Amber Lager — the malt-forward sibling
- Sourcing the Ingredients
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