[gmac]

I was going to take a stab at a lager tomorrow.  Here's what I have on hand.  Please give me your thoughts on proportions etc.
10 lbs pilsener malt
2 lbs Vienna malt
4 lbs Crystal 40
(also have 45 lbs of Maris Otter that I wasn't going to use in this brew)
3 oz Saaz hops.

I was originally going to go with just Pilsener malt only and then I started to think about 10+1+1 each of Vienna and Crystal.  Do I need crystal?  I've always used it in ales for body but what do you think here?  Pilsener and Vienna only?  Or just Pilsener and crystal?  Or 8+2+1?  Shooting for around 4.5 to 5% alcohol.  Assume 65% efficiency based on my last batch.

Clearly, I have no recipe or style in mind but my starter is ready and my friend gave me a freezer control so my little freezer is set to 40 degrees.  I was going to wing it but I figured I may as well ask the experts.

[euge]

The 4 pounds of 40L looks a bit heavy handed. Might scale that a bit- maybe a pound at most.

[hopfenundmalz]

I would use the pils and leave the other malts out.  A little vienna would be OK if that is what you want.

You don't have a whole lot of hops to play with.  You should do a 90 min.boil with the pils. So put 2.5 oz in at 90, and add the remaining 0.5 oz late in the boil or at knockout.

Water should be soft if you are doing a Bo-Pils, and the Saaz might go best with low sulfate water.

You said nothing about your yeast strain.  Get the wort cold, add the yeast, oxygenate as best you can, and get it in the freezer.  You can ramp up to the fermentation temp you want - 48-50F works well.  You might want to do a Diacetyl rest if required (taste it) before the fermentation is done.   Then ramp it down to <35F and let it lager for a while, maybe 5-6 weeks.  Carbonate and enjoy.

[EHall]

10# pils
3oz saaz
Go for something urquell style, how many gal you brewing? 5 or 10? Whats above should work for 5gal batch, and you could even subsitute the 2# vienna in there too. Me personally, I'd save the MO and C40 for another few brews.

[tschmidlin]

I agree with the above, I'd go with just the pils and Vienna and leave out the C40 and MO.  With 65% efficiency, you should probably limit yourself to ~11# of grain to keep in the 4.5 - 5% alcohol range.

[Kirk]

to me, and consider the source, MO is a lot like combining 2-row and Munich, so why not try it?  Vienna is one of my favorite malts, and IMHO is unable to hurt your recipe.  cheers!

[gmac]

The yeast I have on hand is Wyeast Czech Pils.  My original plan was to do 10 lbs of pils 2 of vienna, and the 3 oz of Saaz (1.5@60, 1 at 15, 0.5 at flameout).  5 gal batch. 

I bought this a while ago but after seeing some of my water report comments, I thought maybe I should darken it down a bit.  Hence the crystal.  Also, I've only done ales so I'm just used to adding crystal for body.  My water is not soft but it's what I have.  Thought maybe adding the crystal and going for an amber lager would be better.

I wasn't thinking of 4 lbs of crystal, 1 lb at most and maybe less.  That's just all that I have on hand. 

Based on what you're suggesting and I appreciate the thoughts, I may go back to the original plan of 10+2.  Wasn't sure if you used crystal in lagers.  Some recipes I've read have it, others don't.

[hopfenundmalz]

If you don't plan on entering in competitions, and want to use the crystal to help drop the pH, you can do that.  It is your beer.

[Mark G]

The yeast I have on hand is Wyeast Czech Pils.  My original plan was to do 10 lbs of pils 2 of vienna, and the 3 oz of Saaz (1.5@60, 1 at 15, 0.5 at flameout).  5 gal batch. 

I bought this a while ago but after seeing some of my water report comments, I thought maybe I should darken it down a bit.  Hence the crystal.  Also, I've only done ales so I'm just used to adding crystal for body.  My water is not soft but it's what I have.  Thought maybe adding the crystal and going for an amber lager would be better.

I wasn't thinking of 4 lbs of crystal, 1 lb at most and maybe less.  That's just all that I have on hand. 

Based on what you're suggesting and I appreciate the thoughts, I may go back to the original plan of 10+2.  Wasn't sure if you used crystal in lagers.  Some recipes I've read have it, others don't.

If it were me, with that yeast and those hops, I'd either use all Pils, or Pils plus Vienna. If you're worried about your water not being soft enough, get some distilled or de-ionized water and dilute your water with it.