German Pils Gavin's Glorious German Pilsner

[jekeane]

If all goes well. I may brew 10 gallons at the start of september and have a buddy split it with me and we can do dry / liquid side by side or maybe just another liquid strain.

 

[Gavin C]

If all goes well. I may brew 10 gallons at the start of september and have a buddy split it with me and we can do dry / liquid side by side or maybe just another liquid strain.

Sounds like a great plan. Best of luck. Hope it turns out to your liking Keano.

 

[jekeane]

what is the time breakdown for your mash schedule? looking at beer smiths chart gives my Venn diagram sweats... Looks like 25-30m at 140 30 at 150 and 15 at 155 is that right? Buddy decided to go in with me and we are doing a big split batch this weekend. 5g on 830 5g on Mexican Lager and 2.5g on a dry yeast.

 

[Gavin C]

what is the time breakdown for your mash schedule? looking at beer smiths chart gives my Venn diagram sweats... Looks like 25-30m at 140 30 at 150 and 15 at 155 is that right? Buddy decided to go in with me and we are doing a big split batch this weekend. 5g on 830 5g on Mexican Lager and 2.5g on a dry yeast.

Yeah. Those timeframes are about right.

 

[h22lude]

This sounds great. I have a blonde ale I'll be making for my next batch but this will be right after that.

For your yeast starters, you do 1g per 10mL. Do you weigh out the DME and then fill the flask up to the marking of whatever you need OR do you weigh out the DME and then put in the amount of water required? For example, if the calculator says 1 liter with 101 grams of DME do you put in 101 grams of DME and then fill the water up to the 1 liter line OR do you put in 101 grams of DME and then put in 1 liter of water?

Do you add a little more for boil off?

 

[Gavin C]

This sounds great. I have a blonde ale I'll be making for my next batch but this will be right after that.

For your yeast starters, you do 1g per 10mL. Do you weigh out the DME and then fill the flask up to the marking of whatever you need OR do you weigh out the DME and then put in the amount of water required? For example, if the calculator says 1 liter with 101 grams of DME do you put in 101 grams of DME and then fill the water up to the 1 liter line OR do you put in 101 grams of DME and then put in 1 liter of water?

Do you add a little more for boil off?

Xg of DME to 10x ml of final starter volume.

• Add DME to flask, add water to reach target volume (e.g.: 100g DME added to flask, add water to reach 1L and you have a starter of SG ~1.040)
  
• Take 1L of water and add 100g of DME and your SG will be ~1.037 with a volume greater than 1L.

Not a big deal but I do the former as 1.040 is the sweet spot for yeast growth-v- economy of starter volume. Any higher SG and you don't get any more growth per g of DME, any lower SG and you're making the starter volume needlessly large.

I don't adjust volume for boil-off as my starters are not boiled for any significant length (1-3 mins is the norm) and are boiled in the flask which greatly reduces volume loss.

Hope that helps. Best of luck with the brew. Hope it turns out well for you.

 

[h22lude]

Xg of DME to 10x ml of final starter volume.

• Add DME to flask, add water to reach target volume (e.g.: 100g DME added to flask, add water to reach 1L and you have a starter of SG ~1.040)
  
• Take 1L of water and add 100g of DME and your SG will be ~1.037 with a volume greater than 1L.

Not a big deal but I do the former as 1.040 is the sweet spot for yeast growth-v- economy of starter volume. Any higher SG and you don't get any more growth per g of DME, any lower SG and you're making the starter volume needlessly large.

I don't adjust volume for boil-off as my starters are not boiled for any significant length (1-3 mins is the norm) and are boiled in the flask which greatly reduces volume loss.

Hope that helps. Best of luck with the brew. Hope it turns out well for you.

That's what I figured but wanted to make sure. I have been using a pot for my starters and I did boil off a noticeable amount. I'm going to try using my flask with this batch. Only issue is, I have glass stove top which I have read can crack the flask. I'm going to figure out another way. Maybe put the flask in a pot of water.

Haven't brewed a lager in a while. Can't wait to try it. I wish I didn't have this blonde ale to make.

 

[TastyAdventure]

Gonna brew this tomorrow. My first lager! And my first time building up RO water

 

[wyowolf]

I brewed this yesterday, cant wait to taste it. Above you show using 5 Oz hops, but when I plugged that in Beersmith, it was WAY over bittering? BS said to use 3 so thats what I did.

put in the fridge to cool down to 50 then will pitch the yeast tonight, stepped it 4 times so hopefully that is enough.

 

[Gavin C]

I brewed this yesterday, cant wait to taste it. Above you show using 5 Oz hops, but when I plugged that in Beersmith, it was WAY over bittering? BS said to use 3 so thats what I did.

put in the fridge to cool down to 50 then will pitch the yeast tonight, stepped it 4 times so hopefully that is enough.

Hope it turns out great for you. Keep us posted.

The data I include in the recipe is from Beersmith.

Differing boil-times and alpha acid content will impact the estimated IBU's the software calculates. My numbers are correct (insofar as they are an estimate based on data available to me)

 

[wyowolf]

Hope it turns out great for you. Keep us posted.

The data I include in the recipe is from Beersmith.

Differing boil-times and alpha acid content will impact the estimated IBU's the software calculates. My numbers are correct (insofar as they are an estimate based on data available to me)

I wonder why there is so much of difference? I used the same ingredients.. except i didnt use the Saaz hops as I only had the Hals.

 

[Gavin C]

I wonder why there is so much of difference? I used the same ingredients.. except i didnt use the Saaz hops as I only had the Hals.

Are the AA% for the hops the same?
Are the boil times the same?
Is the gravity of the wort similar?

The type of hop is a non-issue WRT raw calculations of IBU.

 

[wyowolf]

Boil times same yes, the AA i believe were 4.4? or 4.3... they are US hals not german. My gravity was lower about 1.044, my new eBIAB system has consistently given me low numbers

going to go home and play around with the numbers.. I dont see why that should be so much different in my case since I am using virtually the same ingredients and procedures...

 

[Gavin C]

Boil times same yes, the AA i believe were 4.4? or 4.3... they are US hals not german. My gravity was lower about 1.044, my new eBIAB system has consistently given me low numbers

going to go home and play around with the numbers.. I dont see why that should be so much different in my case since I am using virtually the same ingredients and procedures...

That's the reason. Your hops are much higher in AA. 50+% higher

 

[wyowolf]

yes, going back home and checking I can see yours are about half. But when I look them up in Beersmith I get

US Hal 4.5
Ger Hal 4.8

why are yours different? sorry not trying to be difficult, just curious. Before I would have just entered all this into BS and not checked, but when it came back so much different I was confused.

 

[Gavin C]

yes, going back home and checking I can see yours are about half. But when I look them up in Beersmith I get

US Hal 4.5
Ger Hal 4.8

why are yours different? sorry not trying to be difficult, just curious. Before I would have just entered all this into BS and not checked, but when it came back so much different I was confused.

No worries at all. Not difficult whatsoever.

The hops can be any number AA%. The two you give are just two default values that the software creator decided to include. The numbers bear no relation to the true AA% of your hops. The writer may just as easily have assigned a different value.

You can and should add/edit any hop in the software to match reality.

Year to year, crop to crop, alpha acid content will vary. Every hop you buy will have an AA% on the pack. That's the number to use, not a default value in a program.

Every recipe out there can and should be tweaked to meet the specifications of your hops if you want to match the IBU of the recipe.

There are a lot of default values in beersmith; not just in the ingredient section, that seem to confuse people. They are rarely useful.

 

[wyowolf]

Thank you very much, I didn't realize that. I just plug in the values and assume they are correct.

I noticed the style of MH calls for 16 to 22 IBU, but yours seems much higher?
mine are at 20.

No worries at all. Not difficult whatsoever.

The hops can be any number AA%. The two you give are just two default values that the software creator decided to include. The numbers bear no relation to the true AA% of your hops. The writer may just as easily have assigned a different value.

You can and should add/edit any hop in the software to match reality.

Year to year, crop to crop, alpha acid content will vary. Every hop you buy will have an AA% on the pack. That's the number to use, not a default value in a program.

Every recipe out there can and should be tweaked to meet the specifications of your hops if you want to match the IBU of the recipe.

There are a lot of default values in beersmith; not just in the ingredient section, that seem to confuse people. They are rarely useful.

 

[Gavin C]

Thank you very much, I didn't realize that. I just plug in the values and assume they are correct.

I noticed the style of MH calls for 16 to 22 IBU, but yours seems much higher?
mine are at 20.

If I understand you to mean MH=Munich Helles that does sound right for the IBU level. This is a Pilsner recipe though.

I do have a Munich Helles recipe in the forum too if that's what you're describing. Sorry if I have the wrong end of the stick.

 

[wyowolf]

If I understand you to mean MH=Munich Helles that does sound right for the IBU level. This is a Pilsner recipe though.

I do have a Munich Helles recipe in the forum too if that's what you're describing. Sorry if I have the wrong end of the stick.

Damn, now I'm an idiot. you're right. For some reason i was thinking this was a MH...

well , I made something other that the Saaz hops i followed everything else pretty much exactly.

now i remember, i was reading your MH thread and got the two confused for some reason.

 

[Gavin C]

Damn, now I'm an idiot. you're right. For some reason i was thinking this was a MH...

well , I made something other that the Saaz hops i followed everything else pretty much exactly.

now i remember, i was reading your MH thread and got the two confused for some reason.

No worries mate. Easy mistake to make. Not a biggie. Sounds like you'll have a nice crisp tasty Pils on your hands. Let me know if there are any other wrinkles in either of the recipes you'd like me to iron out. Happy to help out if I can. Best of luck.

 

[TastyAdventure]

This is great! I shorted my recipe 5 ibus and now I wish I hadn't though

 

[zrule]

Yes

Entered a
German Pils (Firestone Walker Pivo Pils Clone)
American Premium Lager
Euro Amber Lager
Belgian Wit
English Dark Mild
Lawnmower Beer

Had a huge office pool party a few weeks ago and having family reunion this weekend so I brewed a lot of easy drinking beers for those events and I figured I might as well enter them.

> Tipsy.....I am looking for a recipe for Pivo Pils...care to give yours? Thanks

 

[NTexBrewer]

> Tipsy.....I am looking for a recipe for Pivo Pils...care to give yours? Thanks

This is the recipe that I use, it is from the December 2015 BYO Magazine

 

[Gavin C]

Brewed up another variant batch of this Pils this morning.

Slightly altered hop schedule owing to different AA% of the hops.

Changed up the yeast too

Hot Break

Cold Break

Hops

OG as planned 1.047

Yeast

Fun brew all in all.

24 hours post pitching at 48°F

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1481494472.381233.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1481494652.355009.jpg

3 weeks later
FG 1.008

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482783257.378156.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482783324.026975.jpg

Harvested Slurry form FV at Kegging (~3 pints)
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482784138.443090.jpg

 

[NTexBrewer]

Hey Gavin!

Just read your article in Zymurgy.

Nice article! Gotta try your recipe soon!

 

[Gavin C]

Hey Gavin!

Just read your article in Zymurgy.

Nice article! Gotta try your recipe soon!

Thanks.

Let me know if you have a crack at it. I have a keg lagering now. Hope to enter it in the BBBO again.

 

[oljimmy]

Just a vote for this one, it's a hell of a recipe. Crisp as you like it. I will say, having made it twice, I seriously recommend WLP 830/833 over Saflager 34/70... the latter just doesn't deliver that up-front crisp lager character.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I have a few questions on my first Lager attempt.
If I changed the pilsner to 2 row and used 34/70 yeast leaving everything else the same would that give me more of an American Pilsner/lager. It seems the hops would still work.

How do I know if I need the acid malt? I attached my mostly useless water report I waited 2 weeks for.

Would this work for a fast lager method?

5 days at 50 deg (or whatever you would recommend)
free rise to room temp 65 deg and leave for a week
Crash to 32 for 7 days
Keg carb drink.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=599980

 

[augiedoggy]

I just made 11 gallons of this myself only I cut down on the recipe by a lb of pils because of my efficiencies and I still hit 1.046 into the fermenter... I also used up an abundance of 34/70 I had in the fridge (5 packages was needed according to beersmith..)

 

[Gavin C]

I just made 11 gallons of this myself only I cut down on the recipe by a lb of pils because of my efficiencies and I still hit 1.046 into the fermenter... I also used up an abundance of 34/70 I had in the fridge (5 packages was needed according to beersmith..)

Hope it turns out well for you Augiedoggy.