DMS vs whirlpool hop additions in a pilsner

I made a pilsner the other week and have a lot of DMS in the finished product. I had a good strong boil for 90 minutes.

However, I added a bunch of hops at flameout and let them sit for 20-30 minutes. It was cold outside (vermont) so the temperature dropped quite a bit in those 20-30 minutes. However, I didn't track how much it went down.

I suspect that the cause of my DMS was due to the flameout additions and not chilling it faster.

My questions are,
A confirmation that this is the likely candidate for DMS?
If this is the cause, what would be the best approach with adding hops at flameout and wanting them to steep before chilling? Or is this a bad idea with pilsner malt based beers.

Do you have the capacity to chill it faster? In a couple of blonde ales I've done (85-90% pilsner malt), I've landed a solid late-hop aroma with 1 minute and flame-out additions, with rapid (<10 min) chilling using an immersion chiller. No noticeable DMS, and no issue getting a good aroma.

Yes I can chill faster, but wanted the hops to steep for 20-30 minutes. I was trying out some techniques I use in my IPA.

If it is in fact DMS, just chill it down to under 185ºF at flameout and then do your hop stand. SMM doesn't convert under 185ºF.

dstar26t said:

If it is in fact DMS, just chill it down to under 185ºF at flameout and then do your hop stand. SMM doesn't convert under 185ºF.

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The SMM to DMS conversion does take place under 185* its just slow. The time it takes SMM to convert to DMS at 212 (boiling at sea level) is about 38 minutes, at 185 it would take over 5 hours for that to occur.

My bet is that there is there was a nice amount of DMSO in the grain which yeast convert to DMS, if your unlucky. Or there was condensation falling back into your wort.

If you try it a couple more times and can't get rid of the DMS you can try what budweiser does and 'strip ' the wort by pumping air through the wort as a cools down (looks like you are boiling it). not something I would strongly recommend though. You could also try using CO2 but i don't know if it would do the same thing.

Next time you buy the grain see if you can get the malt specs, see how old the grain is and SMM levels (maybe they'll even have DMSO but its rare)

boomernintysix said:

Or there was condensation falling back into your wort.

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Interesting point there. I brew outside and it was really cold + making 5 gallons in a keggle. So there was was probably a fair amount of carbonation.