Pilsner in a Month

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librewer

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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! :mug:

SuperBowlPils.jpg
 
Good stuff. I like to lager for quite awhile but it's not always practical. A few strains are quite sulphury for awhile so require extended storage to get the beer at its best.

It's valuable for brewers to know they can make good lagers on a shorter timeline than many would expect.
 
Here are the goods...

Grain Bill:
9# Bohemian Pilsner Malt
8 oz. Caramel Malt - 10L
6 oz. Melanoidin Malt
6 oz. Wheat, Flaked

Color: 5.0 SRM

Hops/Additions:
.625 oz. Magnum (14.00% Alpha) @ 70min
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 30min
1 oz. Saaz (4.00% Alpha) @ 20min
1 oz. Saaz (4.00% Alpha) @ 5min

Bitterness: 44 IBUs

Yeast: Wyeast 2124 - Bohemian Lager (stepped up ~390bil yeast cells)

Mashed in at 149F for 60 Min
70 Minute boil
Measured OG of 1.052

Fermented 10 days @ ~52F
3-4 days diacetyl rest @ ~68F
Measured FG of 1.008
ABV 5.8%

Kegged and held at 38F for 2 weeks.

Fermentation was VERY stinky... sulfur production was strong for a few days but receded quickly. Everyone who has tried it loved it. I think it is very Euro-like in it's balance and body. The Saaz hops give it a floral quality that is the signature of Bohemian Pilsners.
 
A few strains are quite sulphury for awhile so require extended storage to get the beer at its best.

Any specific strains you're thinking of? I'm pretty new to the lagering business and have a rye pilsner (ryesner?) sitting in secondary at 35*. Was thinking of doing two months. Brewed with Wyeast Czech Pilsner
 
Nicely done! It is always impressive how pitching a large healthy volume of yeast and controlling your fermentation temperatures will result in a great beer with a quick turn around time. I brewed up a Dortmunder Export in a similar manner - two weeks in the carboy and now it's sitting in the keg carbing/lagering. I'm hoping that will also be great within 4 weeks of the brew date. Great job!
 
I have heard people boiling for 90 min when using pilsner malt to reduce the "corny" flavor. Is the bohemian type of pilsner malt different in that regard?
 
I have heard people boiling for 90 min when using pilsner malt to reduce the "corny" flavor. Is the bohemian type of pilsner malt different in that regard?

My understanding is that you want a 90 minute boil for all pilsner malts to get rid of DMS, but I could be wrong about that. I'm pretty much boiling everything for 90 minutes these days anyway.
 
Gonna try something very similar, but will be bottled. I guess I'll have to either add on two weeks, or bottle lager/carb?
 
My understanding is that you want a 90 minute boil for all pilsner malts to get rid of DMS, but I could be wrong about that. I'm pretty much boiling everything for 90 minutes these days anyway.

There are a few threads about this, but I personally have not experienced it. I do between 60 and 90 min for my recipes and don't adjust that just because I'm using Pilsner malts. An open vigorous boil seems to be enough at 60 but it certainly doesn't hurt to go longer. I've always wanted to do a comparison of a 60 and 90 batch. I'll just have to put that on the list of "comparisons" I always think about doing.
 
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