Quote:
Originally Posted by CalmYourself
Doing a SMaSH with pale malt only (Pilsner was too expensive) to give the DMS the biggest chance of coming through. I'm betting it's all a big giant myth.
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I just brewed a German Pils as well; now in WinPak awaiting a Munich Dunkel brew tomorrow so I can ferment them together in the same fridge using the same temps for primary, secondary, fining, etc.
DMS is NOT a problem with PALE Malt. It can be with LAGER/PILSNER malts, however. The difference is the temperature they are kilned at. The reason pale malt is a darker lovibond than Pilsner is b/c it is kilned at a higher temperature. At that higher temperature the precursor of DMS, SMM (s-methymethionine which converts to DMS in the boil) is volatized away and the residual left is so low that any DMS produced in the boil is below the flavor threshold.
Lager/Pilsner malt at around 2 Lovibond is kilned at a low enough temp that the SMM remains...thus the DMS issue for beers using it.
One way to handle it is to just use pale malt (for your lagers instead of German, UK, or Belgian Pils/Lager malt). End of problem.
For those choosing to use Pilsner/Lager malt solutions you can use include:
- Boil over 90 minutes (the half-life of DMS in the boil is 35 minutes) so a longer boil reduces DMS, volatizing more of it.
- TRADITIONALISTS: Cool down the wort as quickly as possible because while in the whirlpool the temperature is high enough to continue to produce DMS, which without the boil and evaporation to volatize and remove it, it goes back into the wort.
- Add a piece of copper pipe to the boil kettle or two copper pennies (prior to Dec. 1982 - 95% copper then, and 5% zinc. After that essentially the inverse is used). Many sources believe the contact with coppper converts the sulfur to a benign compound. The zinc is good for yeast during fermentation as well.
- Ferment above 46*F
- Use yeasts that produce less DMS
- Avoid whole hops for dry-hopping. They can add up to 15 ppm by themselves. No problem with pellets, plugs or iso-acids in this regard.
-NO CHILL: Instead of going directly from kettle to WinPak (and thus potentially allowing DMS to continue to form in the wort over 176*F), simply cool the wort to 175*F (takes 2 minutes if that with a IC), whirlpool, let sit for 20 minutes and THEN transfer to Winpak eliminating most of the hot break while essentially eliminating the DMS production).
Pasteurization occurs at 140*F. One minute at 140* gives one PU (Pasteurization Unit). At 175*F you have approximately 5 PUs, which is the range commonly used by most craftbrewers. I.e., bacteria should not be a problem.
I PBW the WinPaks after use; rinse thoroughly, use StarSan (make sure pH is below 3 to be effective) and haven't had any problems so far. Last Dusseldorf Alt I made using 70% German Pils malt using the above approach. It sat in a WinPak for a month at room temperature before I could get to it. Absolutely no problems with bacteria. I do wort stability tests at transfer to Winpak and when pitching. No problems. Clear as a bell, smells great, tastes better.
Just one guys' thoughts and current approach. May buy an ice machine yet!
Back to Munich Dunkel set-up.
BTW, the sources for all of the above are Briggs, Boulton, Lewis, Fix, Noonan, Hornsey, Bamforth, Priest, Miller, Palmer, DeClerck, Goldammer, Hardwick, Korzonas, etc. I didn't make any of this up. These are the latest professional brewing tomes.
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