Help adjust Pisler Urq-Ale for less ABV

[rayandkerry]

Hi, all.

This is my first real post. New brewer, long time lurker.

By far, my favorite commercial beer is Pilsner Urquell. Just LOVE the stuff. So my first batch was a modified version of the first Pilsner Urquell extract recipe I found on the web, using an ale yeast. I call it Pilsner Urq-Ale! ;-)

Here’s the recipe I used: http://store.homebrewheaven.com/articles/PilsnerUruquellRecipe.htm

I didn’t have the grains it called for, so I used the used a pound of Pilsner malt I bought at my LBS instead, and used a smidge less DME (as 1 lb of grain was more than the above recipe called for). Most everything else was as specified in the recipe.

At the suggestion of a guy at my local brew store, I chose Wyeast 2112 and fermented in basement between 59-62 F for 8 days, then moved it upstairs to 65-68 F for another 10 days. From there I put it in the keg and into the fridge. A couple of days later I hooked it up to the CO2 and was drinking it just a little less than 4 weeks after brew day. It’s delicious!

But...it is quite a bit stronger ABV than Pislner Urquell, which is 4.4 ABV. My Pilsner Urq-Ale is somewhere between 5.6 and 6.0 ABV , which means I have to drink…GASP…less beer! So something must be done! OK, not really, but I want to try any ways just for the sake of fun and learning.

So, starting my previous batch, what are your opinions on the best way to drop down the ABV to about 4.5% without making it lame? I have done a number of searches and don't want to do anything drastic like boiling after fermentation, freezing, etc. And I don't want REALLY low ABV, just a bit lower perhaps. I am hoping to make a small tweak to the ingredients and process to get there...not sure if that is realistic.

Based on my lurking around this and other brew sites, I am guessing that I might want to use a higher percentage of steeping grains than the last batch and use less DME. I am also guessing that if I steep the grains at a higher temp than 150 F it would help with body and “mouthfeel”?

So what kind of ABV could I expect if I modified the 5.75 lb DME with 1 lb crushed grains I used on the first Pilsner Urq-Ale (which produced 5.6-6.0 ABV) by swapping out 1 lb. of DME for 1 lb of crushed grains? So it would be 4.75 lb. DME with 2 lb. crushed grains.

Any advice you can offer on how to calculate the ABV ahead of time would be greatly appreciated, as would any advice on how high to go with the steeping temperature and how long to steep (I steeped at 150 F for 30 minutes) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, all!

Ray

 

[duboman]

4.75 pounds of DME will provide an OG of about 1.043

1 pound of DME = 45 gravity points
45 x 4.75 = 213
213/5= ~43 or 1.043

The actual ABV will be determined by the actual final gravity which should fall between 1.010 - 1.020 depending on your yeast health, pitch rate, aeration, and temp control.

The steeped grains may add a few gravity point to the OG but not much to worry about

Hope that helps


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[rayandkerry]

OK, great. That actually sounds about perfect. Adding a few points for grains makes it about 1.046. If the FG gets down to around 1.015 I should be in the range of 4% ABV, which is closer to Pilsner. I think I'll give it a go. Thanks.


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[rayandkerry]

Ok, so I downloaded the trail version of Beersmith and used the Partial Mash option to enter the original recipe.

I then tweaked the recipe to use 4.4 lbs Pilsner Light DME with a roughly 2 lb. mixture of crushed grains that I had available in my fridge. So in total, it was:

4.4 lbs Pilsner Light DME
9 oz. pilsner grain
1 lb. 1 oz. cara-pils
4 oz. TF & Pale Crystal (20 - 27 L)
2 oz. crystal 60L

Beersmith calculated an OG of 1.046. I brewed it last nit and my measured OG at 75F was somewhere between 1.046 and 1.048, so this puts me in the 4.5 ABV range if I get down to an FG of 1.013. I used Safale 04 in the hopes of ending up right about there. We'll see what happens.

Thanks again.


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