Krombacher Pils?

I had Krombacher Pils for the first time a few nights ago and it was GREAT! Such a great clean hop crispness.

Two questions:
1. The bottle was marked Krombacher Pils and said "Ale" at the bottom of the label. Is this really made with an ale yeast?

2. I have scoured the forum for recipes for a clone, but there isn't one, nor does AHS have one. I don't know much about pils as I'm usually a dark beer drinker. Can anyone suggest a good similar recipe here?

Thanks,

Jordan

I think there was a thread recently discussing how beer in TX must be labeled "ale" even if it's a lager.

If you poke around with Google a bit you will likely find a decent clone recipe. If all else fails take (for a 1.050 5.5 gallon pilsner) about 9# of Pilsner malt, 1# of Carapils, a few ounces of something else interesting if you feel daring, 35 IBU worth of FWH Saaz hops, 5-10 IBU worth of Saaz or something German at 30 minutes, and a nice clean lager yeast. Presto! Delicious pilsner. Mash in the low-to-mid 150s and do at least one decoction if you feel adventurous.

Do you have a picture of the bottle, and where did you buy it if you don't mind me asking?

Hi,

Krombacher is one of the lightest Pilsners in Germany. According to some german homebrew forums this can be something equal. I haven't brewed this myself.



cheers

Glad to find this. I toured the Krombacher brewery back in 2001. I very refreshing, crisp pilsner. One of my favorites!

Howdy,

Where did you find this? what were the specific boiling temps/ times and what about lagering temps/ instructions? Just looking for some more specifics.... I have sterling and german tradition, so hopefully that will give a comparable flavor/bitterness...

aggiecowgirl12 said:

Howdy,

Where did you find this? what were the specific boiling temps/ times and what about lagering temps/ instructions? Just looking for some more specifics.... I have sterling and german tradition, so hopefully that will give a comparable flavor/bitterness...

Click to expand...

I'm going to guess that the boiling temp for this recipe is 212-ish. With Pilsner malt you want to boil for 90 minutes, as the recipe says. Maybe you meant mash steps. If so, you can go as crazy as you want with multiple mash steps, or keep it simple and go one step. If you want foolproof, go with a 60 minute mash at 149. Adjust mash temp upward to get your beer a little maltier; 152 will still be pretty safe.

If you use the W-34/70 yeast specified in the recipe (which I think is a good idea for new lager brewers; two packages rehydrated as per the product sheet instructions is a good cell count), you can go fairly cool with your ferm temp (probably down to 45, but if so pitch at least three packages for 5.5 gallons) or ferment it around 50 (fermentation, not ambient temperature). Ferment it down to about 1.020 then take it out of your ferm chamber and let it rise to room temperature (or just adjust your temp controller to somewhere over 60) for at least a couple of days (I often leave it for at least a week), then rack it to a secondary and lager it as cold as you can (well, not under 30 or so) for as long as you can stand to wait. A rule of thumb is a day per gravity point (i.e. lager it 7 weeks if you hit an OG of 1.049).

Good luck!

osagedr said:

I'm going to guess that the boiling temp for this recipe is 212-ish.

Click to expand...

HAHAH!

osagedr said:

If you want foolproof, go with a 60 minute mash at 149. Adjust mash temp upward to get your beer a little maltier; 152 will still be pretty safe.

If you use the W-34/70 yeast specified in the recipe (which I think is a good idea for new lager brewers; two packages rehydrated as per the product sheet instructions is a good cell count), you can go fairly cool with your ferm temp (probably down to 45, but if so pitch at least three packages for 5.5 gallons) or ferment it around 50 (fermentation, not ambient temperature). Ferment it down to about 1.020 then take it out of your ferm chamber and let it rise to room temperature (or just adjust your temp controller to somewhere over 60) for at least a couple of days (I often leave it for at least a week), then rack it to a secondary and lager it as cold as you can (well, not under 30 or so) for as long as you can stand to wait. A rule of thumb is a day per gravity point (i.e. lager it 7 weeks if you hit an OG of 1.049).

Click to expand...

Yeah good tips. I like that 34/70. Its very consistent for me. Your schedule is about what I do too. Good stuff.

I've got a Bohemian Pils thats about ready to keg that's pretty much this recipe and schedule. The sample last week tasted good, so fingers crossed.

ghpeel said:

Yeah good tips. I like that 34/70. Its very consistent for me. Your schedule is about what I do too. Good stuff.

I've got a Bohemian Pils thats about ready to keg that's pretty much this recipe and schedule. The sample last week tasted good, so fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

Gonna do 10 gallons of Boh pils this weekend with Wyeast 2278.

Hmm 212 seems really high though doesn't it? I dont have a mash tun setup yet, so I was planning on doing a partial sparge. I'm figuring on keeping the grain bag in the pot for about 60 minutes at around 175 to be safe... Then pull it out and pour a gallon of 178 degree water over top to rinse the grains. I'll be using sterling and german tradition hops, I figured out the correct amounts to use of each that would get me pretty close to the same IBU's of the recipe, so we'll see how they taste. I'm thinking like, 2 weeks in the primary stage, then about a month and a half lagering? I think that will be enough right? I'm using a white labs yeast (in the vial). On our first lager, I think the "warmest" I could get our fridge to was about 55 for that first stage, then I steadily lowered it about 3 degrees per day for the secondary fermentation until I hit 35 degrees.

I guess I'm just asking for advice on exact times, temperatures, just worried at how long after I pull the grains out that I should add my first batch of hops. Everything I've seen says 30 minutes, then another 30, then 5 minutes before flame out....

I have been to Attendorn, Germany in 07 and drank my fair share of this beer at that time. That's the whole reason I started homebrewing! Lol, I would be interested in a Krombacher clone, I hope this works!! I have asked for it at our local Party Store but they look at me like I have 4 heads. Thanks for the recipe, I will try it out