Steveruch
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I'm about one third of the way through a pilsner that I brewed with hersbrucker instead of my usual mittlefruh and I'm very pleased with it.
Pilsner hops
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monkeymath
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I have a pilsner where I used a 50/50 blend of the two hops. I feel they compliment each other well, with the Mittelfrüh providing some sort of floral brightness and the Hersbrucker bringing some deeper woody and some berry notes.
I think I wouldn't do 100% of Mittelfrüh in basically any beer. But a bit of it should do well in basically any pale beer and it's a wonderful "supporting" hop (it's marvelous paired with Cascade). One of my favourite varieties, actually.
I think I wouldn't do 100% of Mittelfrüh in basically any beer. But a bit of it should do well in basically any pale beer and it's a wonderful "supporting" hop (it's marvelous paired with Cascade). One of my favourite varieties, actually.
Nice, lots of quality German hops work great in a pilsner. I am even a big fan of all Loral in a Pils, or even Liberty.
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I've been tweaking my house Summer Pilsner recipe. Made a great Saaz hopped pilsner and this year I believe I'd like to play with some tettnang and mittlefruh. I use all mittlefruh in my Oktoberfest recipe but I'm wondering how it would be in a simple pilsner.
smata67
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Hallertau Blanc goes awesome in a pilsner, adds notes of white wine that works well in the style.
Call me a knuckle-dragging simpleton, but I think Clusters makes an awfully nice pilsner. So does Mt. Hood, Vanguard, and Crystal.
I'm always frustrated with European hops. When you get a good pound, they're amazing, but too often you get the garbage that nobody in Europe wanted to brew with.
Increasingly, I'm brewing with US hops. Are they better? That's not my call to make. I do know, however, that they make a more lively, interesting beer than Europe's Island of Misfit Toys hops.
I'm always frustrated with European hops. When you get a good pound, they're amazing, but too often you get the garbage that nobody in Europe wanted to brew with.
Increasingly, I'm brewing with US hops. Are they better? That's not my call to make. I do know, however, that they make a more lively, interesting beer than Europe's Island of Misfit Toys hops.
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monkeymath
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Hm, I wonder whether the supply situation is any different for us homebrewers in Europe. After all, the situation - only what no brewer bought makes it to the homebrew stores - should be the same. Considering the price we pay is a multiple of the original price...
I now almost automatically reach for Willamette instead of Fuggle. That’s an easy substitution, and a tasty one.
Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Welcome to our Citra....
Going back on topic, Agostino Arioli of Tipopils fame has this to say :
Arioli’s idea to try dry hopping a pilsner didn’t come from the world of lager at all. It came from British ales. “I took my idea from the English beer tradition because they used to dry hop beer in the cask. I saw this in England, and I just thought, ‘Wow, I could do that in my beers because I love hops.’”
His dry-hop variety of choice these days, he says, is mainly Spalter Select.
“To be honest, I’ve tried almost every Noble hop from Germany,” Arioli says. He says he tried dry hopping with Hersbrucker, Spalter, Tettnanger, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh..., “then finally I ended up with Spalter Select. And I’ve been using it at least 15 years now. … It’s a hop that I really appreciate because it keeps a special citrusy, lemon-zest touch. I think it’s a very modern hop—despite that it’s an old one.”
Another reason he sticks with that hop: He likes his source—the Locher family farm in Tettnang—and the quality that he gets from there. He’s not the only one: Other well-known brewer-customers include Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker in California, Yvan De Baets of Brasserie de la Senne in Brussels, and Eric Toft of Schönramer in Bavaria.
jerrylotto
Well-Known Member
I like Saaz for my pilsners
I either use tettnang and mittelfruh or hersbrucker and mittelfruh, i have a soft spot for hersbrucker it was the first hop i ever saw in my first real beer kit back in 2007 once I graduated from mr beer, saaz is really nice too
Interesting commentary for me… German Pilsner is one of my most brewed styles.
I’ve made German Pils with 100% Hallertau MF, that turned out well. First place in the Hoppy Pale European Lager category at the state fair.
Another hop combination that works excellent in German Pilsner and I’ve done well in competitions with are Mount Hood combined with Santiam for late additions (aroma). All US based hops. Santiam has an incredible aroma, but loses it’s punch rapidly in the boil so adding it at the end is great.
I’ve made German Pils with 100% Hallertau MF, that turned out well. First place in the Hoppy Pale European Lager category at the state fair.
Another hop combination that works excellent in German Pilsner and I’ve done well in competitions with are Mount Hood combined with Santiam for late additions (aroma). All US based hops. Santiam has an incredible aroma, but loses it’s punch rapidly in the boil so adding it at the end is great.
ITV
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Magnum, Saphir & Spalt for my Southern German/Austrian Pils.
alastairblake
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super interesting comment! I recently brewed a german pils with Hersbrucker. (i used magnum @ 60 min for bitter) but man, I HATE IT. maybe it is the "berry" component, but the beer smells and tastes sorta like grape and tomato. disgusting. I had previously used the same recipe with Hallertau Mittlefruh, and loved it. the Hall Mit was a batch of 4.1 AAm and was nice. I went to Hersbrucker Spat because Hall Mit was unavailable, and i wanted some AA that was not in the 2s. the Hersbrucker Spat was 4.2, and I am wondering if I have a trash crop......
I really can't say--grape and tomato, while unambiguously unpleasant, aren't flavors that I have any experience with. I'm sorry to hear that.
That really sucks!
When I wrote the above post, some two years ago, I was smarting a bit about some lousy Saaz and a pound of not ideal Haller Mitt I had purchased a year prior to my remarks. Since then, I've been on a lucky streak, but I still use a lot of Vanguard, Stirling, Liberty, etc. It's always nice to score a great pound of imported hops, but you can't really trust that they'll be great.
A final note, after years of using Magnum for cheap IBUs, I heeded Randy Mosher's advice and started using more fragrant hops for my 60min addition. It makes a difference, a subtle one, but it's evident in subtle styles.
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I am almost exclusively an ale guy, but for what it's worth I am utterly pleased with Hallertau Tradition in the Festbier (one of the top 3 beers I've ever brewed) I just kicked today and Tett in a German pils finishing lagering now. It's funny though - I'd seen @Northern_Brewer 's post when I was pulling together this pils (my first pils - in 30+ years of brewing), and went looking for spalter select but came up empty. I just re-read the post and see he mentions Matt Brynildson's use of the hop. I worked with Matt when he was head brewer at Goose Island and I was just a grunt. His knowledge of hops is a world apart, in my opinion.
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