Bo Pils with Sterling

[jbsg02]

After seeing Sterling as a good Saaz replacement and even have seen a NHC gold medal czech pils recipe using all Sterling I am going to use it in my own recipe. The Sterling hops I have are 10.5% AA, I know that will affect my bittering addition a lot, how much late hopping would you suggest for this. Might even skip a 60 minute hop addition and start my bittering hops at 30 minutes. Then an ounce at 15 and maybe another ounce at 5 min. Thoughts?

 

[Dcpcooks]

I think this is dependent on how long you want to Lager it for. If your going traditional timelines I wouldn't cut the bittering hop or focus on late additions. With a few months Lager time your aroma hops will drop out.

If your going with a quick turn time and warm ferment you could go the route your asking about. I'd still do a 60 min addition to insure your hops/ibu's are in balance

 

[jbsg02]

I think this is dependent on how long you want to Lager it for. If your going traditional timelines I wouldn't cut the bittering hop or focus on late additions. With a few months Lager time your aroma hops will drop out.

If your going with a quick turn time and warm ferment you could go the route your asking about. I'd still do a 60 min addition to insure your hops/ibu's are in balance

Thanks, shoot for about 25-30 IBU from the bittering addition? Then the rest to get to about 40 IBU from the later hops?

 

[Dcpcooks]

Sounds about right. I'd probably do the late addition at 15 and 5.

I do use sterling a lot for classic style beers. I think you'll enjoy it. I also like crystal and sterling together.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I'm a Sterling fan also. But for the Bo Pils I just brewed last Friday I chickened out and used Saaz for my final hop addition. For roughly 7.5 gallons boiled and 6.1 gallons in the fermenter I added hops at the remaining boil times as follow:

1/2 oz. Magnum, 60 min., 12.4% AA
1 oz. Sterling, 15 min., 8.4% AA
1 oz. Saaz, 5 min., 3.0% AA

 

[jbsg02]

I'm a Sterling fan also. But for the Bo Pils I just brewed last Friday I chickened out and used Saaz for my final hop addition. For roughly 7.5 gallons boiled and 6.1 gallons in the fermenter I added hops at the remaining boil times as follow:

1/2 oz. Magnum, 60 min., 12.4% AA
1 oz. Sterling, 15 min., 8.4% AA
1 oz. Saaz, 5 min., 3.0% AA

I already have 4oz of Sterling

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

I already have 4oz of Sterling

It will serve you well indeed. You can use it for all of your hops additions.

What is your grist weight, and how many gallons will you expect to have at the start and end of the boil? Plus how long will you be boiling? I'll try to come up with a hopping schedule suggestion for you.

PS: You've got some high potency Sterling there. The last pound I purchased was only 8.4% AA

 

[jbsg02]

It will serve you well indeed. You can use it for all of your hops additions.

What is your grist weight, and how many gallons will you expect to have at the start and end of the boil? Plus how long will you be boiling? I'll try to come up with a hopping schedule suggestion for you.

PS: You've got some high potency Sterling there. The last pound I purchased was only 8.4% AA

Just got it from farmhouse brewing supply, it was the 2016 crop. Trying to end up with 5.5 gallons, probably 10 lbs pilsner and maybe 1/2 lb carapils. 60 minute boil, maybe 90 for a little wort darkening.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

You could try adding 1/2 ounce for each addition at intervals of:

1/2 oz, 60 min. remaining in boil
1/2 oz, 15 min. remaining
1/2 oz., 5 min. remaining
1/2 oz., Flame out (only if desired, not in my opinion necessary)

That would get rid of 1-1/2 to 2 ounces of it, and should get you about 32 IBU (Tinseth method).

For only about 22 IBU's, completely drop the addition at 15 minutes.

For 26 IBU's, drop the 5 min addition, and move the 15 min addition up to 10 minutes remaining in the boil. In looking at it, this (26 IBU's) appears to be a really good choice. It all depends upon how hopped you like your beer.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

The reason why I don't specifically recommend flame-out or dry hopping additions with Sterling is that I have done this, and the spiciness predominates to a degree that I don't personally desire. I think it is noticeably more spicy than Saaz. The flame-out and/or dry hop Sterling idea might work well for a spicy/festive seasonal winter ale or lager though.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Kinda Off topic but I use crystal as a bittering hop and sterling as the aroma hop for my farmhouse saison. That spice plays nicely with a bit of fruit and bubblegum.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Kinda Off topic but I use crystal as a bittering hop and sterling as the aroma hop for my farmhouse saison. That spice plays nicely with a bit of fruit and bubblegum.

Try a Saaz or Sterling at the start (17 ish) and some Citra late (4 to 5 ish), with 3711 at 80F to 82F. Freaking yummy. My go to Saison is basically Pilsen, Munich, Vienna, and a bit of a Carapils.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Try a Saaz or Sterling at the start (17 ish) and some Citra late (4 to 5 ish), with 3711 at 80F to 82F. Freaking yummy. My go to Saison is basically Pilsen, Munich, Vienna, and a bit of a Carapils.

I will give that a shot! I've been using saison 2 from white labs the last few batches. I pitch warm and let it run. I have tried it as high is 90 but I love it at 82. Cheers Sir!

 

[sslater]

OP - First time I tried using 100% Sterling hops in a Bohemian Pilsner it finished with some citrus flavor in the finish...which I later learned you can get a little bit of with Sterling. I like me some citrus, but not so much in a Bohemian Pilsner.

My recommendation is - use Sterling early and no later than a 10 minute addition if you can get Saaz for your final Hop addition. That's what I've done in the couple Czech style beers brewed thereafter. And better results where I didn't notice any citrus.

***********
One other idea...and I have not used it in a Bohemian Pilsner - but IF I wanted to use one of the other "born in the USA" (Oregon State) hops...OR for whatever reason couldn't get Saaz, Santiam is another good hop that is some spicy with good flavor and is good for late additions....very similar to GERMAN Tettenanger. I suspect that using Santiam as the final finishing Hop might be better than using Sterling at 0 minutes. Or use Sterling at the finish as well, and you might like it, but could add some citrus to your BoPils.