Style Of The Week 28/3/07 - Bohemian Pilsner

[mika]

In Dry yeast there's really only one choice I think, W34/70.
I'm trying to think if there's a way to get away from boiling the kit and still getting the hop bitterness into as any boiling may well darken the malt a little...maybe it's not worth worrying about.
Guess you could go a real light sugar soln (~1030 using some of the LME) to boil the hops and get good extraction then throw everything else in 5min from the end.

Just my thoughts on the matter, don't know if they're worth 2c

 

[bugwan]

It's barely on topic, but I visited the Pilsener Urquell Brewery in Plzn a few years back. On the tour, I got chatting to one of the assistants in the cellar (lined with dozens of huge casks). A taste was allowed for visitors, so I savoured the flavour of the real thing, bright from the cask. Unbelievable!
About 40 minutes later, my new mate (whose only English was the word "another?") and I stumbled out of the cellars and into the light of day. Such a great memory...!

Good luck brewing up this elusive lager... If only I had room in my keg fridge for a fermenter. I'll have to wait until the depths of a Melbourne winter before getting going.

 

[drsmurto]

Sorry for reviving an old thread but am new to AG and playing the catch up game on all these threads.

Am thinking of brewing a pilsner, starting of very simple to get an idea of the style before complicating things. From what i have read in this and the saaz thread its quite a difficult beer to nail.

I love Budvar so want to go the all Saaz route but the current batch of Saaz is only 2.2% AA. Not really practical to bitter with? Could i cheat and get 20-25IBUs with NB first and then hit it with late additions of Saaz. Or add some Saaz to bitter with as well?

Was also thinking of using 100% bo pils, mashing low, 64. I realise a lot of people step mash, or decoct but i want to start of basic and see what effect each of these methods does to the end result.

Yeast - if i can get it, wyeast 2000. Otherwise, 2278.

Comments?

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[tangent]

use the saaz, just use more!

 

[sluggerdog]

If you want to use something with a higher % try some Saaz B, won't be to style however it will come though nicely.

Probably making it a better beer then using all saaz IMO.

So Saaz B for bitter, finish with normal Saaz.

Edit: For the Bo Pils Malt, I personally wasn't happy with it unless I did a step mash. Now I can't be bothered and use Weyermann Pilsner with 5% Melanoidian.

 

[Stuster]

Sorry for reviving an old thread

Great. Exactly what I hope will happen to these threads. :super:

I certainly think you could use NB for bittering. I used Magnum for the last Bo Pils I did (first and only for this year ) and it does seem to have worked out pretty well. I'm a novice with lagers though, so Tangent may well be right.

 

[tangent]

depends if you like citrus IMO. Kiwi hops seem to be very lemony to me.
i'd rather use Bsaaz than Northern Brewer though, but I can't stand NB.

 

[drsmurto]

Well i was hoping to keep it simple and traditional so i guess i need to keep it all Saaz.

180g seems overkill tho......

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 25.00 L
Boil Size: 28.62 L
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 6.4 EBC
Estimated IBU: 32.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.50 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 100.00 %
120.00 gm Saaz [2.20 %] (60 min) Hops 25.3 IBU
30.00 gm Saaz [2.20 %] (30 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
30.00 gm Saaz [2.20 %] (10 min) Hops 2.3 IBU
1 Pkgs Budvar Lager (Wyeast Labs #2000) [Starter Yeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.50 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 15.00 L of water at 69.8 C 64.0 C

 

[tangent]

more hop flavour, more hop filtration, it's all good! just low a/a.

 

[matti]

Just a snip from Blackbock links earlier in the thread.

The barley malt that goes into Pils-making, nowadays, is the palest malt available. In fact, such malt is named for the beer for which it is most often used. Brewers the world over now make their best Pils beer only with Pils malt and the best Pils malt comes from Bavarian farms and malting companies.

Unfortunately, several industrial lagers named Pilsner outside of Germany are frequently made with the addition of flavorless rice and corn as cheap starch substitutes for the more expensive Pils malt, and many breweries use chemical agents to enhance the conversion of grain starches into fermentable sugars. Such shortcuts, however, are never ever practiced in a Bavarian brewhouse!


Still waiting for me ag gear buhhhwaaah

 

[Zwickel]

well said matti, youre a proud defender of the German beer culture, your words coming straight from my heart

 

[mika]

Zwickel, whatever happened to your experiment with a no-stepped Pilsener, is that in a different thread ?
Was interested to read your follow up on it all.

 

[Zwickel]

Zwickel, whatever happened to your experiment with a no-stepped Pilsener, is that in a different thread ?
Was interested to read your follow up on it all.

hello mika_lika,
that beer is still maturing, havent try it yet. But soon it will be on tap, Ill keep you updated

Cheers

 

[mika]

hello mika_lika,
that beer is still maturing, havent try it yet. But soon it will be on tap, Ill keep you updated

Cheers

Cool...I wait with a bag of malt in anticipation

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

Great. Exactly what I hope will happen to these threads. :super:

I certainly think you could use NB for bittering. I used Magnum for the last Bo Pils I did (first and only for this year ) and it does seem to have worked out pretty well. I'm a novice with lagers though, so Tangent may well be right.

And I will be doing exactly the same as you Stuster with my next pils attempt (Magnum for bittering), and adding about 90g of Saaz for flavour and aroma in the last 30 minutes of the boil.

C&B
TDA

 

[Stuster]

I used 85g of Saaz in the last 20 minutes, 60g at 20 and 25g at 5. I've sent a bottle in to ANAWBS so we'll see what the judges make of it.

 

[Duff]

Super Alpha also is very good for bittering in a Pilsner, very clean.

Here's the one I did yesterday.


07-42 Pilsner VII

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 40.00 Wort Size (L): 40.00
Total Grain (kg): 8.00
Anticipated OG: 1.048 Plato: 11.81
Anticipated SRM: 3.1
Anticipated IBU: 39.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
100.0 8.00 kg. Weyermann Pilsner Germany 1.038 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
42.00 g. Super Alpha Pellet 11.00 30.1 60 min.
100.00 g. Czech Saaz Plug 2.20 8.7 20 min.
25.00 g. Czech Saaz Plug 2.20 0.7 5 min.


Yeast
-----

DCL Yeast S-189 SafLager German Lager

 

[Zwickel]

....adding about 90g of Saaz for flavour and aroma in the last 30 minutes of the boil.

may I ask how big your batch is?

for a 60L batch Im using around 35g of Saazer hops, thats quite a lot for arome :huh:

 

[blackbock]

I'm more worried about that picture in Duff's sig...

 

[dc59]

Hey brewers just wondering on what peoples thoughts are on S-189 dry yeast for a Bo Pils?

Here is the recipe I'm considering
21L batch.
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 kg Pilsner (Weyermann) (3.3 EBC) Grain 80.00 %
1.00 kg Munich, Light (Joe White) (17.7 EBC) Grain 20.00 %
20.00 gm Magnum [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 27.9 IBU
10.00 gm Saaz [4.20 %] (15 min) Hops 2.2 IBU
10.00 gm Saaz [4.20 %] (10 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
10.00 gm Saaz [4.20 %] (0 min) Hops -

My only other two attempts at the style were done with JW pilsner malt with small amounts of crystal and wheat. Saaz used throughout with 5-10grams of super alpha to help the IBU's, I enjoyed both.

Never used Magnum, S-189 or Weyermann Pilsner so this should be a fun brew day tomorrow .

Thanks David