Pilsner Malt and American Ale Yeast

I made a yeast starter yesterday with WLP001 California Ale Yeast for my brew day tomorrow and just noticed that I don't have enough Pale Ale malt (have around 5.5lb and need 11lb) for the recipe. So now I'm in a bit of a pickle and was wondering what I should do. I have two more yeasts in the fridge (WLP510 Bastogne Ale and WLP566 Belgian Saison II). With those I have recipes for an Orval clone and a standard saison which I have the ingredients for but the OG of both are rather high (~1.056) to not use a starter and both yeasts were manufactured in October so I really don't trust that they will perform perfectly.

So my question is, do I just go ahead and brew a saison or the Orval clone and wait until next week for the American Pale ale or does anybody have any nice suggestions for a beer that could work with WLP001 and Pilsner malt as a base (I have Dingemans)? I could also maybe go half-half on the base malt as I still have those 5.5lbs of Maris Otter. I have plenty of crystals, Munich, amber, biscuit, wheat, chocolate, black, etc and I have a ton of different European and American hops so I'm really open to any suggestions.

Thanks!


Edit: I should mention that I do 5.5 gallon AG batches

Using Pilsner malts in an ale is fine. Most sours are brewed with Pilsner malt (and wheat). Pilsner malts are less/lower kilned than 2-row or Pale Ale malt, around 1 °L less, which on that scale is 30-50% less! That could make a noticeable difference in flavor and color, given the amounts used. Depending on the other malts in your recipe, it may not be all that noticeable, though.

When substituting with Pilsner malt, you could add a little Munich or Victory (Biscuit) malt to compensate for the less toasty flavor and color the ale malts would have given you. 2-3% should do it. Alternatively, use 50% Pilsner and 50% Maris Otter to substitute for your missing Pale malt. Or make the Maris Otter shine a bit more and use all of it instead of the Pilsner.

To reduce DMS in the final beer it is advised to boil worts derived from Pilsner malts for 90 minutes instead of 60. However, recent research points to overkill, at least on homebrew scale. A good vigorous boil for 60 minutes should drive off most DMS, whether it is Pilsner or Ale malt.

If you decide to use the Pilsner malt and want to boil 90 minutes, just boil for 30 before starting your recipe's hop schedule. Or add your bittering hops at 90 for a few more IBUs, then add all other hops on their schedule.

Those yeasts being in the fridge from October definitely need a starter, so I would not push those ahead over using of Pilsner malt in your ale.

With half pilsner and half Maris Otter you could go for a British Golden Ale. WLP001 is fine for the style as are American hops applied gently (e.g., aim for an OG around 1.050, and, for example, an ounce of Citra at 15m and another ounce to dry hop) . It does not seem like a popular style in the US, but you are aiming at something pretty much like a light lager in body, with a hopping that is similar but lighter than an APA.

You can also go for British hops like in Hop Back Summer Lightning (OG 1050, Challenger to bitter and EKG for aroma and steep / dry hop). One of my local ones that is absolutely excellent is Otley O2. They provide quite a bit of info on the website (Malts are Pale, UK Lager (similar to Pilsner), and a tad of Wheat Malt, it has an OG of about 1.041 for 4.2% abv, 40 IBU and hops are Nugget to bitter, and Cascade, Chinook and Columbus for aroma and dry hop).

Taking a massive punt on the O2. If I tried to clone it I'd start at

4lb MO, 4lb Pilsner, 4oz Wheat malt

1/2oz Nugget @ 60m
1/3oz Cascade, 1/3oz Chinook, 1/3oz Columbus @10m
Dry hop: 1/2oz Cascade, 1/2oz Chinook

Wow! Thanks for the great and swift replies. I might shoot for that Otley O2. As for American hops I have Columbus, Amarillo and Cascade so I'll probably sub the Chinook for Amarillo or Cascade.

They stopped using Amarillo a few years back, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was it used to be like five years ago! It's very easy drinking stuff, you just down it like water. Amarillo would work well as it has a more balance leaning more on floral and citrus over grapefruity.

I found a ratebeer review that summarises what it is like when in good condition: "Pours light gold with a white head. Lemon, floral hoppy aroma. Light body, mild carbonation. Grassy, with light toast and lemon. Straightforward, refreshing and tasty. "

Thanks for all the suggestions! The beer has hit FG and already tastes good from the sample I tried.

Post pictures, notes and recipe if it turns out ok!

Here's the recipe I used:

All-Grain 23L

2.20 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.9 EBC) 48.5 %
2.20 kg Pilsen (Dingemans) (3.2 EBC) 48.5 %
0.14 kg Pale Wheat (Dingemans) (3.2 EBC) 3.0 %
17.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min 28.8 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
11.00 g Amarillo [9.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min 4.3 IBUs
11.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min 2.7 IBUs
11.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min 6.8 IBUs
1.2 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast
17.00 g Amarillo [9.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days
17.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days

Est Original Gravity: 1.043 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.2 %
Bitterness: 42.6 IBUs
Est Color: 6.9 EBC

Mash In Add 11.81 l of water at 75.6 C 68.5 C 60 min

I'm extremely surprised at how well it turned out. It has a full-bodied taste but is still light and the hops shine through without being overbearing and that's just from the sample I pulled from primary! Here it is dry-hopping in secondary. Can't wait to keg it Thanks so much for the help everyone!

So I've been away for the last two months and only just got a chance to try it. It's wonderful! Perfectly balanced, nice malt backbone, hoppy, floral, fruity and bitter. Really easy to drink and perfect for the coming months. Here's a picture of a pint I just pulled from my kegerator. Thanks again everyone!

You should add it to the recipes data base