First I want to say thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and knowledge on this board. It has made me a better brewer, better than I would have ever been on my own reading a few books. I would like to hopefully return the favor and share one of my experiences as a result of all I have learned here.
Every year I like to brew a Bohemian Pilsner for Super Bowl. Last year I gave myself plenty of time and ended up with a really good beer. This year I was not so lucky. Between holidays and other commitments I didn't get to brew until December 31st. So I had a bit of a challenge on my hands. Can I brew a lager and have it ready to serve in around 30 days? Using all that I have learned here I figured why not give it a try.
Before brew day I had stepped up a nice healthy starter. My Bohemian Lager strain was ready to go. Brew day went well. My recipe was fairly simple. I hit all my targets such as mash temp, efficiency, volumes, etc... into the fermentor with plenty of O2 it went. I pitched my yeast and it started chugging away in my 52 degree room.
10 days later it was just ending around 1.008 FG. I then brought it into my 68 degree room and let it sit for 4 days. So far 2 weeks and it smelled and tasted wonderful from my samples. From here it went into a keg. The keg sat in my fridge around 38 degrees for another two weeks, carbing up and settling.
Finally on day 28 I pulled a pint. Slightly hazy as expected but after a few draws it cleared. The taste? Malty, slight crispness, Saaz hops present but not overpowering. Amazing, this was so much better than last year and in much less time. By Super Bowl Sunday this thing poured about as clear as I could have hoped and it tasted just as amazing as the first pour. So there it was, a wonderful lager done in around a month. Thanks to everything and everyone I learned from on here. Cheers!
Every year I like to brew a Bohemian Pilsner for Super Bowl. Last year I gave myself plenty of time and ended up with a really good beer. This year I was not so lucky. Between holidays and other commitments I didn't get to brew until December 31st. So I had a bit of a challenge on my hands. Can I brew a lager and have it ready to serve in around 30 days? Using all that I have learned here I figured why not give it a try.
Before brew day I had stepped up a nice healthy starter. My Bohemian Lager strain was ready to go. Brew day went well. My recipe was fairly simple. I hit all my targets such as mash temp, efficiency, volumes, etc... into the fermentor with plenty of O2 it went. I pitched my yeast and it started chugging away in my 52 degree room.
10 days later it was just ending around 1.008 FG. I then brought it into my 68 degree room and let it sit for 4 days. So far 2 weeks and it smelled and tasted wonderful from my samples. From here it went into a keg. The keg sat in my fridge around 38 degrees for another two weeks, carbing up and settling.
Finally on day 28 I pulled a pint. Slightly hazy as expected but after a few draws it cleared. The taste? Malty, slight crispness, Saaz hops present but not overpowering. Amazing, this was so much better than last year and in much less time. By Super Bowl Sunday this thing poured about as clear as I could have hoped and it tasted just as amazing as the first pour. So there it was, a wonderful lager done in around a month. Thanks to everything and everyone I learned from on here. Cheers!