favorite pilsners???

[WeaseL]

anyone have a favorite Pilsner recipe? ive made one batch from extract, but i kinda want to try some specialty grains along with it. Lemme hear your favorite Pilsner recipe, i'd like to hear yalls thoughts.

[zoom6zoom]

I don't have a recipe, but Dominion's Spring Brew is an Imperial Pilsener and is just incredible... it would be a great find if there was a clone recipe for it.

[WeaseL]

yeah i'd like to try and make a good thirst quenching beer. I drink mostly Coors when im outside working or just outside in the hot weather. So i guess i'd like something sort of like that.

[wortchillergoal]

You do realize that Coors is considered a BMC at this site and that we would rather flush it than look at it.

[WeaseL]

yes i do, i was using it as a reference, when you drink in mass quanities on a regular basis, fancy store bought beer is not an option. its too expensive, at least for me!

and you do realize i was searching for peoples favorite pilsner recipes, and not any lip. im quite aware of peoples thoughts on most macro brewerys on this site, and i agree with 95% of them.

im just trying to better my beer making, its cheaper AND tastes better than store bought. cant beat that with a stick.

-peace

[fretlessman71]

Works for me. Whatever recipe you pick, one thought is to do what Sam Adams did with their Summer Ale and use Grains of Paradise as part of it. Just had the SA SA at the airport in Atlanta, fresh on tap - very nice!

[danno]

first off, do you have lagering capabilities? that's going to be your primary concern...

[wortchillergoal]

If you don't have the ability to lager, I might suggest a light ale . I have done this a couple times and people have enjoyed it. I use Sazz hops, used in some of the well known lagers. and it comes nicley flavored ane easy to drink.

[WeaseL]

ive been sort of confused on the whole laggering process, ive only made one batch of beer so far, and it was a bock style. Do you mean if i have room to ferment a batch of beer in low temps, or is there something else to it. I admit im not up to snuff on laggering.
i do have a spare fridge that i can fit a carboy into though, if thats even part of the process, i sometimes use it to clear up some hard to clear wine i make. i thought i read somewhere that lagers ferment in the 50's, not positive though.

I dont mind trying new stuff, all this is fun to me. I had a blast making my first batch of beer, it was nice to make something other than wine, and it doesnt take as long to be drinkable.

[Grog]

The main ingredient in a Pils is Pilsner malt, so specialty grains don't lend themselves well to this style. But you could do a mini mash, using 2-4 pounds of grain along with your extract to give it something extra. As far as lagering goes, you need to be able to control your temps pretty closely, 50-ish°F for primary, and 32°F-ish for lagering. I agree with Wort, use Saaz!

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by WeaseL
ive been sort of confused on the whole laggering process, ive only made one batch of beer so far, and it was a bock style. Do you mean if i have room to ferment a batch of beer in low temps, or is there something else to it. I admit im not up to snuff on laggering.
i do have a spare fridge that i can fit a carboy into though, if thats even part of the process, i sometimes use it to clear up some hard to clear wine i make. i thought i read somewhere that lagers ferment in the 50's, not positive though.

I dont mind trying new stuff, all this is fun to me. I had a blast making my first batch of beer, it was nice to make something other than wine, and it doesnt take as long to be drinkable.

Having the fridge that you can maintain a constant temp is key to lager brewing. Lager yeast work at lower temps that ale. I do think that the temp should be more in the mid 40s and 32 but that could also depend on the strain of lager yeast. Lagering is letting the beer sit in the cooler temps for a longer period of time than you would let an ale sit for. I hope this helps.

[Grog]

Try this for a Classic American Pilsner. Let's call it "Peace Sells Pils":

6# Extra Light DME
3# US Pilsner
1# Flaked Maize

Mash grains in 1 gallon of water @ 150°F for 45 min. in a grain bag, sparge with 1 gallon @ 168°F.

If you want to go Coors-like use 1 oz of Mt Hood for 60 min. If you want more hop flavor add another .5 oz @ 20 min left and .5 oz @ knock out.

Should give you something along the lines of 5.5 gallons @ 1.058 (@ 45% for the grains) w/ 14 IBU & 5.5 SRM. I have a hopped up all-grain version of this on tap right now and it is very good, nice and refreshing.

[WeaseL]

hey thx grog, ill take that recipe up to the brew shop, he'll have to help get everything and fill me in on some of the abreviations, im still way too new to this to know them all.
but after my first time i should at least learn alot of the concept.

[Grog]

DME = Dry Malt Extract. Get the lightest colored one available.
IBU = International Bittering Unit
SRM = Measure of beer color
(I think I got all of the abbr.)

US Pilsner is just pils malt made in the US. Pils malt tends to be the lightest colored malt available, but you could use any 2-row barley in this recipe because there isn't much malt in it, basically you just need something with enzymes that can convert the starch of the corn. (The only reason I picked that malt was because it is what I had loaded in ProMash.)

If you can do a full wort boil (boil all 5 gallons at one time), if you cannot, you might consider the extract late (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7061&highlight=extract+late) method, to keep the color as light as possible. The longer you boil a high gravity wort the darker it becomes.

[WeaseL]

thx grog that helps alot. you da man!

[HogieWan]

good luck young padawan. May the yeast be with you.

[JHC]

I did a Midwest Supplies kit for a Pilsner Urquell that was great. I bought a thermostat control that has a temp probe that goes into the fridge and then plugs into the wall.. You then plug the fridge into it and it shuts the fridge off and on to keep it at the right temp. It works great but you cannot use the freezer. Any recipe you choose I would definitely recommend plenty of Saaz.
JHC