European Pilsner
 

Looking for feedback on a few things. is 150F for 60 minutes a good mash temp for this light bodies lager?

going to do my first batch sparge (usually fly sparge). should i strike with about 180, or a little lower at 170-75?

lastly, for my yeast starter, do you ferment it at 65 vs. cooler lager yeast temp of 45F?

Thanks

Strike about 10 degrees hotter than you'd like the grain bed to be, as adding the grains to the water will bring the temperature down that much. Approx. 153 F is recommended for good Saccharification. To quote John Palmer, "a mash ratio of about 1.5 quarts of water per pound grain, pH of 5.3, temperature of 150-155°F and a time of about one hour."

I was questioning beer smith...it said 148f for strike. Maybe I should target 152f. How hot should batch sparge water be...assuming I'm targeting bringing mash temp up to about to about 165F?

I just ran these numbers using the Brewzor app on my phone.
Grain weight 10lbs
Grain temp 65F
Target temp 150F
Mash-in volume: 4.25 gal (1.5 quarts per lb)

Mash water temp should be 160.2F with these numbers. So you should probably have the water a little hotter(maybe 1-1.5F) to hit 150F, as you'll lose some heat as you mix in the grain. If it's too hot just add a little ice or stir it around until it cools to 150F. For your starter you should ferment near 70F. This will get growth faster and won't have any negative effects on the lager yeast. Just cool the starter when finished to drop the yeast and then decant the beer on top prior to pitching.

My bad...mash temp of 148 not strike temp.

I just brewed a very similar recipe using BrewSmith and it came up with a 148F mash temp for mine too. Wort tasted wonderful, very close to estimated OG, fermenting happily along now.

BeerSmith gives you one of three mash temps based on whether you choose light body (148), medium body (152), or full body (156)

I usually shoot for 152 on most all of my beers. If you want something light and dry by all means 148 will be fine.

Good feedback, thanks. Anyone able to guide me on temp of batch sparge water? Not sure if I strike and stir vigorously at 175f or lower. Usually fly sparge but want to try batch and see how it goes.

I usually heat the sparge water to 180 but it doesn't really matter much

I'm just confused being new to this. Everything says don't use water over 170f or you will leach tannins , but batch sparge directions say heat water to180-5 to bring mash up to 168-170. What's the answer!