First Boil

[stuchambers]

Hey guys on sunday I hope to put this one down just after your thoughts on the recipe

1 can coopers pilsner
700g LDME
700g Dex
30 min 6 litre boil
20g summer saaz 30 min
20g summer saaz 15min
10g summer saaz 5min
s23 yeast
batch size 23l

using spreed sheet i should get 1.046 OG, 1.010 FG, 30.3 IBU

Does my hopping schedule seem ok. This is my first attempt at adding hops.

Cheers Stu

 

[raven19]

If you are looking to increase your aroma, you could increase your 5 min addition amount and move it to say 1 min.

It looks good to me at first glance.

 

[stuchambers]

A pilsner should have that hop aroma so what if I use this.

20g 30min summer saaz
20g 15min summer saaz
20g 1min summer saaz

Do I have to crash cool this liquid by straining it into a cold wort or placing the pot in ice cold water or will the hops stop bittering enough when just removed from the heat.

One more question why does the boil have to have a gravity of 1.040?

 

[raven19]

Well you want some sugars in the wort while boiling to help in gaining the potential bitterness from the hops, hence the 1040. Or do you mean the preboil gravity - after boiling it will increase due to evaporation of some water from the wort.

An alternative for your late hops is the hop tea method, using a coffee plunger or you could dry hop (but dry hopping can lead to perceived grassiness on the pallette).

In your case doing a small boil, just go with the water bath in the kitchen/laundry sink as soon as the boil is finished. This worked a treat for me back in my partial days.

Good luck with the brew!

 

[stuchambers]

Heu guys,
I did this recipe last night.
The boil seemed to go fine no hiccups, the final hopping schedule was
20g at 30 min
20g at 20 min
10g at 10min
10g at 1 min
all additions summer saaz.

Only problem was couldn't wait for wort to cool enough it was about midnight when I pitched and we were still at 24 degrees, this morning the brew was 18-20 and now it is 16-18 should drop a little more tonight. the airlock is bubbling so the yeast hasn't been harmed but will those higher temps give me any bad flavours? I was using s23 yeast

Cheers Stu

 

[kelbygreen]

no you should be fine infact its best to pitch a little higher and bring temps down I think. Its only when the yeast start working that the temp is critical but I wouldnt pitch any higher then 24c. When I finish a boil i put the lid on stick it in the sink and fill the sink with water so the water in the sink is same hight or higher then the water in the pot. check sink water temp every few mins when its hot drain and refill. till its luke warm it usally only takes 2-3 go's

 

[stuchambers]

Hey all just an update
this brew has been bubbling away since friday night.
the temp has stabilised to 13 degrees and the gravity has dropped from 1.054 to 1.022.
If i can get my hands on another fermenter I will try racking this one (first attempt).
It had a full hop aroma and was rather bitter maybe a little too bitter for my taste.
Will this bitterness mellow with age? I do understand it is still very early days for a Pilsner.

Cheers Stu

 

[stuchambers]

Another update
I have racked to secondary on the 7th of november. A 25 litre barrel purchased from bunnings at less than half the cost of one from the LHBS.
checking the gravity every 3 or 4 days it has been dropping steady last test was on friday gave me 1.014 it tasted great too I was very happy, and knowing it should only improve with age is a bonus.
I am going to bottle on wednesday and try my hand at bulk priming which is a first for me.
I am having a great time brewing and this site makes it an awful lot easier with so many people willing to help.
My next brew is going to be a chocolate stout and then a lemon/lime infusion.

Cheers Stu

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah If you can chill it to near freezing for a few weeks it will drop the yeast and lager it, Its something you dont have to do but if you can it will make the beer better you spent this time making it good why not go one step more and make it better? also I cc for 5 weeks with my last lager poured it from the bottle and was crystal clear all sulfur smell and taste was long gone just a perfect clean clear beer. But in saying that never tried to bottle straight from fermenter so cant comment if it makes a huge difference.

 

[Bubba]

A pilsner should have that hop aroma so what if I use this.

20g 30min summer saaz
20g 15min summer saaz
20g 1min summer saaz

Do I have to crash cool this liquid by straining it into a cold wort or placing the pot in ice cold water or will the hops stop bittering enough when just removed from the heat.

One more question why does the boil have to have a gravity of 1.040?

1040 is a standard gravity to ensure that you maintain a similar gravity in your wort...in other words if you had a gravity in your boil that was only 1020 you would dilute the starting gravity in the fermenter when you add the boil to it, and if it was very high at say 1080, you would also inflate your starting gravity.
It is just really to ensure similar gravity to your wort and enough malts to get a good hop boil, and that your starting gravity in your fermenter is not abnormally altered by adding your boil.