German Pilsner Procedure Check

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

husky

hop addict
Joined
13/2/09
Messages
868
Reaction score
508
Location
VIC
Hi guys, Im looking to put down the following German Pilsner in the coming days.


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: German LAger - Batch 24
Brewer: Braden
Asst Brewer:
Style: German Pilsner (Pils)
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 26.00 L
Boil Size: 37.18 L
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 6.2 EBC
Estimated IBU: 33.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 74.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.57 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 100.00 %
55.18 gm Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [5.20 %] (60 min)Hops 29.0 IBU
25.08 gm Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [5.20 %] (10 min)Hops 4.8 IBU
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Bohemian Lager (Wyeast Labs #2124) [StarteYeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Lager mash
Total Grain Weight: 5.57 kg
----------------------------
Lager mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
10 min Protein rest Heat to 52.0 C over 2 min 52.0 C
45 min Sacc rest Heat to 63.0 C over 2 min 63.0 C
20 min Alpha rest Heat to 72.0 C over 2 min 72.0 C
10 min Mash Out Heat to 76.0 C over 2 min 76.0 C


The recipe and mash schedule come from reading I have done on the forum and in various books.

My questions are:

Does the mash schedule look ok? I dont fully understand what the purpose of each step is however it seems to be a popular schedule for this type of beer. If someone could explaing the purpose of each step for a pilsner and comment if any changes are required.

Secondly water profile. What should I be aiming for. I understand a pilsner requires a soft water which Melbournes water generally is and alos a more SO4 sominant profile. My starting point is:

Ca(ppm) - 4
Mg(ppm) - 2
Na(ppm) - 5
Cl(ppm) - 8
SO4(ppm) - 1


When I add small amounts of salts to bring the ppm into the reccomended range my mash ph is still low. Could I use a small amount of salt and some citric acid to drop the ph? The ezy water calculator has a section for lactic acid to drop the ph, could citric be used instead?

As with all lagers I believe the yeast is important. I used half the wyeast pack in a 2L starter and will step that up to a 4L in the coming days. I realise the step is only 2 x but I dont think the 2L will cut it according to mr malty. Sound ok? Planning to ferment at 9 degrees.


Any info greatly appreciated

cheers
 
The mash schedule looks fairly good to me. Sure there are things you could change, but take this one as a starting point and go from there.
I tend to do a 5 minute protein rest only, but have done longer ones before as well. For me, the shorter ones seem to work slightly better, but because I ramp up slowly, I spend more time in that area anyway, whereas if you do infusions you won't.

I work on ro water, so not sure what you should add based on yours, but I usually go with a little bit of calcium chloride and a little less of calcium sulphate only for pilseners.

Make sure you get as much oxygen as you possibly can into the sort before pitching, especially when fermenting at 9. If you have a 5 L starter vessel I would go with the full 5 L. It's hard to over pitch lagers at these temps.

Anyway, I think you're on the right track there' should turn out as a good beer if everything goes to plan. Give it a D rest once you get below 1.020 and crash chill for as long as you can, but try it after a week and go from there.
 
Melbourne water ph is neutral isn't it? Ie ~7? A 100% Pilsner mash will lower the ph to within acceptable ranges. You could try a few grams Calcium Chloride in the boil for flavour, if you want, but your water is pretty good as is.
 
Secondly water profile. What should I be aiming for. I understand a pilsner requires a soft water which Melbournes water generally is and alos a more SO4 sominant profile. My starting point is:

a bohemian pilsner requires soft water, whereas a german pilsner requires medium sulfate water

it is a german pilsner you are making isnt it ?

then the sulfates are probably in your favour
 
a bohemian pilsner requires soft water, whereas a german pilsner requires medium sulfate water

it is a german pilsner you are making isnt it ?

then the sulfates are probably in your favour


Yeah, its a German pils. What I was trying to say was I have read it should be sulfate dominant, however I have only 1ppm SO4 standard. I assume this must be increased but not sure to what degree.
 
have a read of this

http://www.melbournebrewers.org/index.php?...&Itemid=103

get your calcium levels up to 50ppm, using calcium sulfate if its a medium sulfate water you are trying to replicate, but personally i prefer only adding calcium chloride for a pilsner

Yeah, its a German pils. What I was trying to say was I have read it should be sulfate dominant, however I have only 1ppm SO4 standard. I assume this must be increased but not sure to what degree.
 
Back
Top