What water is best for 100% german pilsner malt?

[StonesBally]

I plan on brewing a German pilsner with 100% german pilsner malt, 9lbs. I plan on buying distilled water and building it from scratch. I've never done a beer this pale or with 100% base malt. Any ideas as to what minerals I should add and if I need to use some acidified malt or not? I have made a pale ale with just base malt, but a good portion of it was vienna, no crystal malt at all. It was about 5 SRM, and didn't seem to have off flavors or any issues whatsoever. I used dechlorinated tap water for that though. I have everything ready to go for my first true lager in my new fermenting fridge. I'd like to have it come out worth drinking. Any knowledgeable advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Yooper]

I plan on brewing a German pilsner with 100% german pilsner malt, 9lbs. I plan on buying distilled water and building it from scratch. I've never done a beer this pale or with 100% base malt. Any ideas as to what minerals I should add and if I need to use some acidified malt or not? I have made a pale ale with just base malt, but a good portion of it was vienna, no crystal malt at all. It was about 5 SRM, and didn't seem to have off flavors or any issues whatsoever. I used dechlorinated tap water for that though. I have everything ready to go for my first true lager in my new fermenting fridge. I'd like to have it come out worth drinking. Any knowledgeable advice would be greatly appreciated.

That's an easy one! 100% RO water is great for a Czech or German pilsner. Some brewers feel that they want 50 ppm of calcium to help with yeast flocculation, but that isn't necessary for a beer that will be lagered (as it will be brilliantly clear after lagering. You want about 2-3% acidulated malt, to target a mash pH of 5.3-5.4.

If you want 50 ppm of calcium, you can get there with a small addition of calcium chloride.

 

[StonesBally]

Thanks for the advice I'll give the RO water and acidulated malt a shot. Hopefully all turns out well in a few months down the road when warmer weather started to hit and I have real lager to drink that is homebrewed.