Czech Premium Pale Lager Pilsner Urquell knockoff

[Pivovar_Koucky]

Unless you are really confident in your recipe and brewing process I am not sure you would benefit from spending more money on floor-malted. Even a german pilsner malt would probably be fine. If you have everything else down and you are looking to take your bohemian pilsner to the "next level" you might try the floor-malted.

I don't think that lagering ~38-39 F is going to be a huge problem.

 

[bellmtbbq]

Unless you are really confident in your recipe and brewing process I am not sure you would benefit from spending more money on floor-malted. Even a german pilsner malt would probably be fine. If you have everything else down and you are looking to take your bohemian pilsner to the "next level" you might try the floor-malted.

I don't think that lagering ~38-39 F is going to be a huge problem.

I mean I've brewed quite a few lagers but no BoPils. I'm going all in... Why enter this competition if your not there to win

 

[Pivovar_Koucky]

I mean I've brewed quite a few lagers but no BoPils. I'm going all in... Why enter this competition if your not there to win

If it's like that then spend the money and go for it, it's only like $0.10/lb anyway right?

 

[bellmtbbq]

If it's like that then spend the money and go for it, it's only like $0.10/lb anyway right?

It's more like I can get Bohemian Pilsner at my LHBS, apparently, but I'd have to order away for the floor malted stuff. I talked to Michael Dawson and it sounds like I'm good.

 

[haberlet]

This is a major bump but after reading all these comments, I wanted to assure folks that this is an incredible recipe and the only way a BoPils should be done. I hadn't seen this recipe before but it's exactly what I do, to a T, and it turns out better than any decoction workaround or addition.

Keep the ingredients simple and the process complex and you'll get a superior product.
-T

 

[finsel]

Hi guys!

I had same question about the first decoction step.

"from whyrat:
...for the 1st pull you didn't include a ratio for the amount that should be pulled. I aimed for 25% but that seems like it was too low as my resulting temp was low after returning it to the mash. I had to add some additional boiling water to hit the target temp for the rest period. ..."


My First question is: use the "heavy" mash?
And for the second question I'll try to use formula below.
(I'm still building my new kitchen so I had no chance to play...)


Formula :
decoction_volume = [total_mash_volume * (target_temp - start_temp)] / (boil_temp - start_temp)

so in our case we have something like this:
decoction_volume = [5g * (127F - 90F)] / (198F - 90F)
decoction_volume = [5g * (37K)] / (108K)
decoction_volume = 1.71 gallons (~6,5Litres) ( around 34%)

Note: 198F may change.

Tks guys! And have a good beer!
Frank

 

[haberlet]

Didn't really follow that formula, but here's my advice:

1) Thick mash means scooping or straining out the malt, with enough wort to cover. After you've done a few of these, you'll start figuring out the appropriate amount of liquor to malt, but at first, leave the decoction a little thinner so it's harder to scorch. You'll also boil off a bit so give yourself some room for error the first time.You won't get quite as much Malliards, but that's not an issue in a pilsner. Just scoop out the malt and top up with wort so it's barely covered.

2) Regarding the quantity, here's a simple trick. One quart of thick mash per pound of grist. That simple. The BeerSmith calculator and similar formulas are very precise, but they come in under for many people as the mash cools down during the transfer. The most frustrating problem with a decoction is coming in under temperature and having to pull more or do a "mashout" of sorts, which throws off your sparge volume, etc. You'll probably only need 75% of that quantity, but pulling extra ensures less work. Just gradually add it back as it cools. My stovetop system has horrendous heat efficiency so I end up using almost the entire volume. Work with that simple guideline initially, you'll thank me later. And use this rule for any 20-30 F jump.. If it's only a 10 F, you could pull half a quart a pound.
-T