Fred's Birthday Beer (a.k.a. Wine-Art Canadian Lager Beer) -- Extract Recipe

Big Brew 2006

For 5 gallons using a 3-gallon boil.

O.G.: 1.035 to 1.040
F.G.: 1.000
IBU: unknown
SRM: unknown
BU/GU Ratio: unknown

Fermentables
2.5 lbs. Pale Liquid Malt Extract
3 lbs Sugar (save 2 cups sugar for bottling)

1 tsp Citric Acid
1tsp Gypsum (optional)
1 tsp Yeast Energizer -OR- 2 tsp Brewing Salts
1 tsp Heading Liquid (Reportedly this was a tincture made from bark that helped with head retention. This is optional.)
1 tsp Ascorbic Acid
1.5 tsp salt

Hops
2 oz. Compressed (Plug) Hops, 1 hour 15 min.
0.5 oz. Loose (Finishing) Hops, 0 min.

1/2 tsp Beer Finings, added at 15 minutes

Yeast
Lager Beer Yeast

Method
1. Bring 2 - 3 gallons of water to a boil in a stainless steel or enamel kettle. Add the salt, and the citric acid, and when the water boils, add the malt extract. After the wort has been boiling for 15 minutes, add the compressed hops broken up. Boil for 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Add the finishing hops tied in a cheesecloth, turn the heat off, and strain the wort over the sugar (3 pounds minus 2 cups) into your primary fermenter. An ordinary household strainer or several layers of cheesecloth will do. Add the balance of cold water necessary to bring it over the 5 gallon mark by about ½ gallon. The finishing hops are left in the wort for a time. Cover the primary fermenter and let cool to about 70 degrees F.
2. When the temperature is 70 degrees F or lower, add your yeast. Your gravity should be about 1.035-1.040 (Balling 9-10%). Add water or sugar to adjust gravity as necessary.
3. In 1 - 3 days when the head has built up and the gravity is down to about 1.028 - 1.030 or so, skim the foam (especially the dark gummy resins) off and remove the hops.
4. In 4 - 5 days (steam beer) or 8 -14 days (lager beer), or when the gravity is down to 1.010 (Balling 2.5%), siphon into carboy or plastic secondary fermenter. Add yeast energizer or brewing salts. Dissolve beer finings in ½ cup water, boil, and add to brew. Attach fermentation lock.
5. Lager in a cool place 55-65 degrees F (steam beer) or 38-48 degrees F (lager beer) for 10 - 21 days (lager beer, 4 weeks to 3 months), or until gravity is 1.000 (Balling 0%).
6. Siphon into primary fermenter. Dissolve two cups corn sugar into a small amount of beer to make a syrup (boil beer and sugar for 3 minutes, stirring), cool and stir gently along with heading liquid and ascorbic acid.
7. Siphon into beer bottles and cap.
8. Store for 10 - 14 days at 60 - 70 degrees F. Chill and serve.