Style Of The Week 7/6/06 - German Pilsner

[Stuster]

As has been pointed out to me by a veteran brewer, the cold weather is a perfect time to brew lagers so this week we'll be looking at the German Pilsner style. The BJCP style description is below, from here. The style differs from the original Bohemian Pilsner (like Pilsner Urquell) with the most obvious difference being the hops used.

So how do you do your German Pils. What grains do you use? What hops and when? What kits have you found to be good or bad? What bits do you add to these kits? What is your favourite yeast for this style? What commercial beers show off this style best? It may be helpful to describe your fermentation process. How long do you lager for? What temp? etc. etc. Let's share our knowledge and drink better beers. :beerbang:

2A. German Pilsner (Pils)

Aroma: Typically features a light grainy malt character (sometimes Graham cracker-like) and distinctive flowery or spicy noble hops. Clean, no fruity esters, no diacetyl. May have an initial sulfury aroma (from water and/or yeast) and a low background note of DMS (from pils malt).

Appearance: Straw to light gold, brilliant to very clear, with a creamy, long-lasting white head.

Flavor: Crisp and bitter, with a dry to medium-dry finish. Moderate to moderately-low yet well attenuated maltiness, although some grainy flavors and slight malt sweetness are acceptable. Hop bitterness dominates taste and continues through the finish and lingers into the aftertaste. Hop flavor can range from low to high but should only be derived from German noble hops. Clean, no fruity esters, no diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body, medium to high carbonation.

Overall Impression: Crisp, clean, refreshing beer that prominently features noble German hop bitterness accentuated by sulfates in the water.

History: A copy of Bohemian Pilsener adapted to brewing conditions in Germany.

Comments: Drier and crisper than a Bohemian Pilsener with a bitterness that tends to linger more in the aftertaste due to higher attenuation and higher-sulfate water. Lighter in body and color, and with higher carbonation than a Bohemian Pilsener. Modern examples of German pilsners tend to become paler in color, drier in finish, and more bitter as you move from South to North in Germany.

Ingredients: Pilsner malt, German hop varieties (especially noble varieties such as Hallertauer, Tettnanger and Spalt for taste and aroma), medium sulfate water, German lager yeast.
Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1.044 - 1.050 1.008 - 1.013 25 - 45 2 - 5 4.4 - 5.2%

Commercial Examples: Bitburger, Warsteiner, Knig Pilsener, Jever Pils, Holsten Pils, Spaten Pils, Victory Prima Pils, Brooklyn Pilsner

Let the debate begin.

 

[Tony]

Lots of pils malt, some wheat to 5% maybe.

A bit of vienna to 20% is nice too.

Hellertau is my fav german hop and tettnanger is great in it too.

WLP 830 Is perfect. Brew at 10 deg, lager for atleast 2 weeks at almost freezing.

just the usuall stuff

cheers

 

[mje1980]

100% pils makes a good pils as well. Dead easy. 2278 is a good yeast too.

 

[bindi]

Lots of pils malt, some wheat to 5% maybe.

A bit of vienna to 20% is nice too.

Hellertau is my fav german hop and tettnanger is great in it too.

WLP 830 Is perfect. Brew at 10 deg, lager for atleast 2 weeks at almost freezing.

just the usuall stuff

cheers

Much the same as Tonys but with Wyeast 2124 or 2206 [have not tried WLP 830 same as Wyeast?] a little carrapils is nice.

 

[Trough Lolly]

A German Pilsner! :blink: What about the original pilsner! Oh for F88K's sake...there's no such thing....!
...
...
Just kidding!!

This is a great style and one of my favourites - but to be honest, I've been making them in the dead of winter here in Canberra since I've never had a temp controller for the fridge and I was never much of a fan of pear juice...until dear old Mum did the right thing and bought me a temp controller as an excellent birthday pressie! :lol:

I use the KISS principle with these - 90% or more Weyermann Pils malt with a touch of Weyermann melanoidin or caramunich and a smidgen of wheat malt if I want a touch of colour and body in the final product. Balance the malt with plenty of fresh Hallertau for bittering and a decent whack of Tettnang for flavour and you're on the way, IMHO...
I'd also like to shamelessly and without any authorisation, plug a German Pils recipe that Ray Mills posted on the OzCraftbrewer forum - Click here for the recipe list - Ray's North German Pilsner is under Section 07. Pale Lager - and let me assure you that there was a savage knife fight amongst those of us lucky enough to steward the 2004 Nationals and get a taste of Ray's Pils after the judging for that flight had completed!

Keen to see other brewers recipies on this great style! C'mon, dust off the recipe book folks!!

Cheers,
TL

 

[JasonY]

Well I haven't done too much experimentation with this one but I have brewed about 4 batches of 100% Weyermann Pils (sometimes 200g of carapils), SaazB and Wyeast 2247 European Lager and it is one of my favourite beers. Can't beat one of these on a hot summers day!

Upgrading my cold fermenting capacity to 50L so I can do double batches of these since they take a bit longer.

 

[Tony]

I have been using the WLP 833 german bock yeast latly. I love it.

here is my little Ger Pils recipe.

cheers

German Pils

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

02-A Pilsner, German Pilsner (Pils)

Min OG: 1.044 Max OG: 1.050
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 45
Min Clr: 4 Max Clr: 10 Color in EBC

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

Batch Size (L): 52.00 Wort Size (L): 52.00
Total Grain (kg): 10.60
Anticipated OG: 1.048 Plato: 11.80
Anticipated EBC: 6.3
Anticipated IBU: 41.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.9 9.00 kg. JWM Export Pilsner Australia 1.037 3
5.7 0.60 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 4
9.4 1.00 kg. Weyermann Vienna Germany 1.038 7

Pot

 

[Stuster]

Pot

Using the other member of the hop family I see. But what schedule, any particular variety? :lol:

I see you used SaazB, JasonY. Has anybody else used any of the NZ hops such as Pacific Hallertau for this style? (I only ask as I have some in the freezer waiting their turn.)

 

[Trough Lolly]

Looks like Tony's got his own little "Strawberry Fields Pilsner" happening, based on the hop schedule!!
TL

 

[crozdog]

I've been doing a couple of Pils recently & plan another this weekend. I use the following for a double batch

8kg Joe White Pilsner malt
0.9kg Joe White Munich
0.2kg Carapils

40g SAAZ B @ 60 mins
45g Czech Saaz @ 20 mins
30g Czech Saaz @ 5 mins

using White Labs yeast either Southern German Lager (WLP 838) or Czech Budejovice Lager (WLP 802). Yumm

Recipe courtesy of Gerard.

Cheers

Crozdog

 

[Asher]

Back in the days of 'pre advertising' h34r: there was a Pilsener brewing champ called Ray Mills... Do a search around the net & you'll dig up a copy of his 2004 ABC 1st place getting 'North German Pilsener'. From memory it was a very simple recipe and like Jason, Rays recipe is a modern interpretation of the style. Straw in colour with no roasted grains apart from some Carapils. Hops being the driving character....

I'm making one on a WY2007 Pilsen yeast cake next weekend myself... Although I prefer Hallertau & its Clones where Ray is a Tettnanger man... :beer:

Ray - I'd love to hear how this recipe has progressed in the last couple of years?

Asher for now

 

[Steve]

To be honest I dont think Ive had a German Pilsener? except commercial of course. I've done a couple of the Grumpys MasterBrew Schultzheiss German Lagers and they were pearlers. Might sound like a dumb question but whats the difference between a German Lager and a German Pilsener if by the looks of some of the recipes a lot of people yeast liquid lager yeasts? :blink:
Cheers
Steve

 

[Stuster]

Well a pilsener is a lager, but a lager isn't necessarily a pilsener. Clear?

I'm not sure what kind of lager that Grumpy's MB is. It could be lots of things, Dortmunder Export perhaps? Have a look at the BJCP style guidelines. The first five are the lager styles, with lots of sub-styles. Today's is just 2A.

 

[Steve]

clear as mud
Cheers
Steve

 

[agraham]

Nice idea Steve...I put down a simple german pils on Saturday and she is bubbling away as we speak:

4.5 kg Weyermann Pils
500g weyermann light munich

Hallertau to 30 IBU
Wyeast 2308 munich lager.

2 weeks @ 10 degrees
1 week in secondary @ 10 degrees

Bottle and enjoy.

I dont have a fridge to lager the beer, that is a wait in progress.

Andy

 

[warrenlw63]

If we're looking for good commercial expamples of a Nth. German Pils. Jever gets my vote.

Mmmm..... Hops INXS. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[smashed jaffa]

I'm putting down one of these this weekend as follows;

3kgs Weyermann Pilsner
0.5 kgs Weyermann Vienna
0.25 carapils

Tettnang hops

Wyeast 2124

Single infsuion mash. This is my second AG.. Yippee.

I kind of like this style and have been impressed by the redoak Bavarian Pilsner they have and hope to eventually by way of trial and error get something similar. Unless someone out there has a better idea ( which is most probable!)

Smashed


Q does anyone know how to change the text below my picture? After tasting the reards from the dark arts (AG) I have no intentions of doing anymore kits!! h34r:

 

[Kai]

I still haven't brewed one, but I have a recipe planned out for the coming months:

Onk Valley Pils

OG 1.047
40 IBU
8.5 EBC

90% Weyermann Pils
7.5% Weyermann Munich
2.5% Weyermann Acidulated

Hallertauer Magnum (13.9%) bittering
1g/L Hersbrucker plugs flameout
0.33g/L Tettnanger flameout
0.33g/L Spalt flameout

2278 Czech Pils

50:50 tapwater and springwater

65C mash
Ferment at 10C, raise to 18ish for a week or so near end of ferment.

Hops are mainly chosen to use up what's left in my collection.

 

[Trent]

Well well
Seeings as my fridge is sitting happily at 8.5C, and has been for the last couple of weeks, I decided to go against the fibre of my brewing, and go for a lager. I had decided to to a German Pils after tasting a delicious one at our BJCP meet a few months back (weltenburger?). I was actually gonna post a few questions tonight about this beer, so thanks for whoever it was that started this thread (Stuster?). Anyway, I was probbaly just gonna go for 95% JW pils, 5% carapils, and all hallertauer. My main question was going to be, do I HAVE to do a triple decoction (never attempted one before), or can I feasably get away with a step mash (50C-66C-75C mashout)? That said, will a single infusion at 66C be good enough with JW pils, as I am assuming it is pretty well modified. If going for a single infusion, will it be malty enough? Another question I was discussing with Chilled this arvo regards cold break. Does cold break affect the flavour of the beer at all, being as there is nowhere for bad flavours to hide? I use a CFC, and wondered if it wouldnt be smarter to chill and then leave overnight in the fridge at 8.5C, and then rack off break material into the fermenter, aerate and pitch? Or is it fine to leave the cold break in the beer and pitch straight away (I can get my CFC output down to about 8C). I am sure these questions have fairly basic answers, and are rudimentary level, but I am new to lagers, and would hate to muff it, with all the extra work that goes into em and all. I am working on getting a pils culture, so it may be a few weeks, but want to be all knowed up for when I get round to it. Big thanks again for starting this thread :super:
All the best
Trent
EDIT - As far as diacetyl rest goes, if I raise it to ambient when it is 3/4 attenuated, and leave it for 2-3 days, will that be enough? And do I even NEED a diacetyl rest if I start and keep my ferment and 8-9C?

 

[Jazman]

bascialy i use 95% pils and the rest carapils and bitter to around 35 ibu using tettnanger or bitter with perle or northern brewer and finish of with tettnanger . I did one last year r with southern cross hops wich was good but it would be better with the german noble hops