"Quick" BIAB Pilsner?

[Mr Ed]

Hey all, so im hoping to make some sort of German brew to contribute to Oktoberfestivities but I dont really drink German beer or know anything about it, let alone know recipes/techniques to make it. Ive done a little googling and hoping to put some sort of simple recipe together to brew this weekend, and have it drinkable for early an event on 5th of October.

Heres my plan:
5kg Voyager Atlas pilsner malt (Roughly 20L batch)
CZ Saaz hops (schedule to be determined)
S189 yeast
(Keeping it simple as ze Germans would demand)

I'll have a tinker with brewersfriend later on tonight to figure out my IBUs/OGs/etc but have a few things Im unsure of....

1. I see the pilsner recipes generally have a stepped mash temp process. (ie 20min at 53°, then 20min at 60°, then....), I dont think i'll be able to do that in any sort of accurate way. I use a burner to heat my water up, then I transfer the pot to an insulated base and wrap it up. It holds my mash temp pretty well, but I cant leave the insulated jacket on it while Ive got it on the burner or it'll catch fire. I have a 2200w electric stick element but its probably not gonna heat it up quickly or evenly. Im guessing people normally do this sort of thing with a RIMS/HERMS system? Is there a simple way to do this I havent thought of? Is it really necessary?

2. Timing wise, I figure 2 weeks in the FV (@12°C), 1 week cold crash, transfer to keg and that leave it to lager for a couple weeks. Sound ok?

3. Alternatively, anyone got a link to a simple BIAB pilsner theyve made that turned out good?

Basically, if its almost certainly gonna be a mediocre outcome with the equipment and time I have, I'll just buy some pilsner and spend my time making something else.

Thank you in advance for your advice kind & learned brewers

 

[homebrewnewb]

can you ferment under pressure? i.e use a spunding valve?
and, can you control your fermentation temperature.

 

[Mr Ed]

Dont have the equipment to do that. Dont know much about fermenting under pressure, is it quicker?

 

[Bribie G]

I've basically given up on using lager yeasts for making lagers, as there are several yeasts now available that will do a really convincing faux lager a lot quicker.

However S-189 is probably the pick of the bunch when it comes to a quick lager. Basically you pitch two packets of it at 13 degrees and let it rise to 19 over about 10 days, then lager it for 10 days. Bacchus brewing used to do more or less that, and their lagers were clean and very drinkable. !!

Other yeasts I have used include - for some weird reason - Mangrove Jack's New World Strong ale that seems to be good for a huge number of styles and is very clean at lower temperatures.

Your malt and hops sound good... with BIAB I just do a single infusion mash. Say 64 degrees for a lager, then hoist the bag and ramp up to boiling. As it rises, the wort passes through the Alpha Amylase "zone" anyway and cleans up any remaining starches.

The guy who regularly took out awards in the Nationals with his lagers and pilsners only did a single infusion.

You've got five weeks, should piss it in

 

[Mr Ed]

Cool thanks man, I'll order my ingredients

When you say "lager for 10 days"... is that in the same FV, or transfer to a secondary, or in a keg? And at room temp or keep it at fridge temp?

 

[homebrewnewb]

here is a good read for you https://www.bayareamashers.org/wp-c...ebrewCon16-Fast-Lager-Yeast-Fermentations.pdf

 

[RdeVjun]

Can't fault Bribie's advice in the slightest.
Some Biofine, BrewBrite, Polyclar or similar should also help with clarity, if that's your thing, even a Cask Widge if you are caught on the hop for time before the event.

 

[Bribie G]

Just cold condition in the same fermenter but drop to around 3 degrees. Transferring would inevitably cause some oxidisation but ten days plus ten days in the single fermenter isn't going to be long enough to cause yeast autolysis that could introduce off flavours.
You didn't mention whether you are kegging or bottling.

If kegging then go Biofine. After the cold crash, a capful of Biofine into the keg and transfer the lager cold.
I love trotting out some photos hehe.

 

[Mr Ed]

Kegging. This will be one of my first keg batches, I'll be building the keggerator this weekend too if I get a chance!

Thanks again guys

 

[Bribie G]

Photos or it didn't happen.

 

[philistine]

Going back to your step mash question (as in how could you do it)
Assuming youve got enough space in your mashing vessel, you could do a simple boiling water addition to bring up the temp.

Basically you have a measured volume of water in a separate pot and you being itnto the boil, then add it to your mash at the designated "step" time and stir it in.

Works great for a two step mash, gets a bit tricky for a three step - but not impossible!
This online calc has worked really well for me in the past and its pretty simple to work out.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/

You just fill out all the bits and then scroll down to a second bit that allows you to add "steps".
Punch in your starting temp and volume, then punch in your desired step temp and it tells ypu how much boiling water to add to get there.
Like i said, ive used it numerous times in the past and its pretty much spot-on.

As for "does it matter?", "whats the point?", "does it work?" - who cares! It adds a layer of complication to the process that I actually enjoy . Maybe you will too

 

[Mr Ed]

Hmm, I guess theres the simple way I hadnt thought of.. I like it!

I do my mash and boil in a cut down keggle, total volume is around 35L so pending a bit of number crunching Im sure its doable

 

[philistine]

Just one thing worth noting is that water boiling point varies with altitude.
For example, i once lived in melbourne which is virtually at sea level. Water boils at 100c at sea level.
Then i moved out of the city and my first couple of step mash brews were off target.
Then I realised that im now sitting at just under 600m above sea level and water boils at 98c here.
Its not a big deal, but still worth noting if you wanna try and aim for accuracy (which is half the fun i reckon)

 

[Mr Ed]

Yeah its 98.5° or something here. I doubt my temp measurements are that accurate though so its probably not something that will hugely effect me, however I will use that for my calcs so at least in theory Im doing it properly.

 

[Lionman]

Given its the actual temperature of the mash thats critical, altitude will not have any affect.

It will impact the hop utilisation and evaporation loss in the boil, slightly, unless your on a mountain. I cant see how it would affect mashing.

Altitude (actually its atmospheric pressure) doesn't make thermometers inaccurate it just changes the temperature at which water changes phase from liquid to gas.

 

[manticle]

They're talking about infusion step mashing so the boiling water temp has a direct effect on mash temp

 

[Lionman]

They're talking about infusion step mashing so the boiling water temp has a direct effect on mash temp

Ah yip, missed that bit. Fn idiot. haha

 

[manticle]

You wouldn' be the first person to forget to use their eyes. I do it regularly.