So much work, for a Pilsner?

[Oldsock]

Yesterday I spent 9 hours brewing a Czech pilsner. Did my first triple decoction (100, 148, 162, 170), 99.5% Weyermann floor malted Bohemian Pils and .5% acid malt to lower the mash pH. The mash/sparge liquor included 6 gallons of distilled water to cut my moderately minerally tap water. That was followed by a 90 minute boil with four additions of Saaz (1.5 oz @ 60, 1.25 oz @ 30/10/0).

After the boil I chilled it to 50 F using my new submersible pump to circulate ice water through my chiller after ground water brought it down to 70 F (I wanted to get it down to 45 F, but 7 lbs of ice just wasn’t enough). Then I pitched the 3 L starter of WY2001 I had made a week earlier which I decanted and then fed with 1 L of the wort taken at the start of the boil. Left it at 45 F ambient, hopefully fermentation has started by the time I get home tonight.

Hopefully the results are worth all of that effort. I’m entering this beer in the August Pilsner Urquell contest in DC, should be plenty of time to ferment/lager and force carb this one before then. Really looking forward to drinking it once the summer heat arrives.

 

[Yooper]

Yeah, it's a lot of work! Mine (a BoPils) came out great, but no way do I want to make more than one a year. I usually only make about 3-4 lagers a year anyway, but anything that much of a pain I usually make in January when I'm happy to brew all day.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Well imo it was a total waste...oh wait...you're in DC and not NY...in that case you may have a chance.

 

[Oldsock]

Agreed, I enjoy a well made lager, but not enough to justify the time/effort more than a few times a year. If I have time in two weeks I'm thinking of doing a Tmave (Czech Dunkel) with the yeast cake from this, but I think I'll just do a step infusion (maybe a single decoction).

 

[Oldsock]

Well imo it was a total waste...oh wait...you're in DC and not NY...in that case you may have a chance.

I imagine that judging 50 Czech pilsners will be incredibly difficult given how similar they’ll be (not much variation in malt/hop/yeast, just process). I doubt I’ll win since my lager skills/experience aren’t what they could be (my last BoPils failed to start fermenting), but I’ve got a shot given how few homebrewers specialize in making lagers.

Good luck.

 

[paraordnance]

I just did 2 lagers side by side, one after another. In fact I brewed 4 of them so far in 2 months, not much difference compare to ales but I don't bother with decoctions.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Wow, I read your post and it sounds almost exactly what my upcoming Saturday (national homebrew day) will be! I've got plans for a double decoction Czech Pils. I'm also going to use a ratio of filtered tap water and distilled water to soften it up a bit. I'll be doing a 120 min boil, with FWH. These BoPils brews are a ton of work, but are very worth it when done right.

I hope yours turns out well, and good luck in your comp!
TB

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I imagine that judging 50 Czech pilsners will be incredibly difficult given how similar they’ll be (not much variation in malt/hop/yeast, just process). I doubt I’ll win since my lager skills/experience aren’t what they could be (my last BoPils failed to start fermenting), but I’ve got a shot given how few homebrewers specialize in making lagers.

Good luck.

Definitely. I doubt I will either but a 'free' 1 in 50 shot (prob even better since I bet some folks bail) for an $8K trip to Prague is just too good to pass up. Good luck to you too, I haven't even brewed it yet and I'm prob brewing something else this weekend and next weekend (need to use up some fresh yeast cakes)...and the lager fridge is already full conditioning a Maerzen and an Imp Pils.

I might have to employ some Beechwood aging to speed it up.

 

[Oldsock]

Happy to report it was just starting to ferment when I got home last night, and had a three inch krausen when I checked this morning.

Definitely. I doubt I will either but a 'free' 1 in 50 shot (prob even better since I bet some folks bail) for an $8K trip to Prague is just too good to pass up.

The problem with winning an $8,000 trip is that you’ll have to pay ~$2,000 in taxes on it. $2,000 for a trip for two to Prague sounds like a decent deal, but not a steal.