Better Than Water

Ingredients:

3lb Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract

2lb Dry Rice Extract

2oz Hallertau Mittelfrueh Hops

-1oz at 30 minutes

-1oz at 0 minutes

1 Package White Labs WLP830 yeast

1 Whirlfloc Tablet

Preparation:

To make your brew day easier, it's best to organize your ingredients so that you aren't scrambling at the last minute. In a large brew kettle or stock pot, heat 2.5 gallons of water to a rolling boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, divide your hops into two separate batches.
Start chilling 3 gallons of water in a container to be added after you finish the boil. This will help bring the wort to a temperature suitable for pitching your yeast.
Add 5 gallons of water to your fermenter and add 1oz of Star-San or other acid sanitizer. Whether it be a bucket, carboy, or other vessel, it's important for your equipment to be sanitized to avoid unwanted infections to your beer. If you're fermenting in a brew bucket, you can leave the sanitizer solution in the bucket, just be sure to use the solution to sanitize your airlock, bung, funnel, and anything else that may touch your beer after the boil is complete.
The Boil:

Now that your water has reached a rolling boil, it's time to add your first hop addition. Add 1oz of Hallertau Mittelfruh hops to your brew kettle and stir them in slowly. At this point, set a timer for 15 minutes, that's when we add the next ingredient(s). Be sure to keep an eye on your kettle as this could cause the liquid to boil over the top. To help prevent boil over, it helps to have a spray bottle that is filled with distilled water that you can use to knock down the foam.
After 15 minutes passes, briefly turn off your burner and add your 3 pounds of dry malt extract and 2 pounds of dry rice extract. Be sure to stir in the extract until it dissolves completely and then restart your burner. If you don't turn off the burner, there's a good chance that your extract will stick to the bottom and scorch. Add your Whirlfloc tablet at this time, too. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minute timer, your boil is complete! Turn off your burner and add the remaining 1oz of Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops.Now that the boil is complete, everything that touches the wort should be sanitized.
Cool down your wort by carefully moving your boil vessel to a sink or tub filled with cold water. With a sanitized spoon, stir your wort to speed up the cooling. When your wort is cooled down to 90ºF, add the wort to your sanitized fermenter.
Add the 3 gallons of cold water that we set aside at the start to your fermenter. This should bring your wort down to about 80ºF or less. Continue to cool down your wort to about 50ºF before pitching your yeast.
Shake your fermenter, with the lid on, vigorously to add oxygen to the liquid to help promote a strong fermentation. After this point, it is important to minimize oxygen exposure to your fermentation. If you're taking an original gravity measurement, now is the time to do so.
Add your airlock to your fermenter and store in a cool dark place. Your airlock should be filled to the specified line with sanitizer to keep unwanted bacteria out of your fermenter.
Fermentation:

Within 6-12 hours, you should start to see gas bubbling through your airlock. You may see activity sooner depending on the temperature of your fermentation. Let the fermentation continue undisturbed for the next 30 days.

Lager fermentation differs from ale fermentation in a few ways, the most important of which is the fermentation temperature. If you can, try to keep the fermentation between 50-55ºF so that the yeast doesn't produce unwanted flavors and aromas.
If you have the ability to add your fermenter to a refrigerator, do so on day 30. This is known as cold crashing and will help the beer to clarify. After 2-3 days in the fridge, you're ready to package your beer!