Latest Czech Pilsner

[quote=“dannyboy58, post:20, topic:24662, full:true”]Walmart sells hops???
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It’s a lot like amazon now. Basically an open air market that outside vendors can sell on. BE CAREFUL as you may not be buying from Walmart! This means they may not honor a warranty or exchange/return.

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Interesting. I had no plans to buy from them though. Looks too sketchy.

Amazon sells Premiant pellets in 2 oz packages, but they source them from Chicago Brew Werks, which is where I got them along with the Prostejov malts.

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OK… I’m cleaning my burnt element and harvesting yeast today from the Rye bock… So I am going to brew a lager next W/E… Pils to be the target…
Danny, have you made one with just Pils malt? I also will get some RO water to thin mine out…(soften)… Now might be a good time to get my head wrapped around ml/L equivalents… Math…:disappointed: Sneezles61

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I am finishing the last of my Czech Pils and I’m going to have to try again…
8.75 lbs Bohemian Pils (hats off to LHBS)
1 lb carapils
1 oz Tetang 60min
2 oz Saaz 30 Min
1 oz Saaz 10 min
1 oz Tohoma Flame out (not very traditional but yummy)

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My typical pils is just Pilsen malt with a little carapils to help with head retention and a tiny bit of carafa special II for color.

Ive brewed it with built up distilled and with cutting 50/50 distilled and my well water. Last year or so I’ve just used my well water with enough lactic acid to bring the pH and alkalinity in check. Pretty happy with the results.

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OK… correct for pH, and thats good enough for me… I think I’ll toss in about 6 oz C-40… Mainly to get a bit of color… I’ve got the Madrina hop for dry hopping… Today I’ll get my starter going… I hope the burnt taste doesnt keep following the yeast… I see I have some 34/70 as a backup… Sneezles61

I was always under the impression that a Pils was as light as possible and you would go to extreme measures to do so. Why add any color?

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I like the darker golden color of Urquell. So I’ve always put a couple ounces of carafa in unless I’m doing a decoction mash.

Because I’m left handed?? My eye sure likes a gold hue in the glass… Yeah, I should just go minimally basic this first round… I can add color later… I guess… I can… :sunglasses: Sneezles61

The first time I brewed a straight Pilsner I used 50/50 distilled and well water it tasted off. The one I’m lagering now is straight Pilsner with 100% well water and adjusted the pH with acid malt. Actually the recipe has 1 lb white wheat and a few ozs acidulated malt so I guess it’s not 100% Pilsner. It’s very light probably the lightest one I’ve made and the samples so far are nice. Used that Kazbek hops @damian_winter turned me on to

I ordered some Premiant hops that @1pivoman mentioned. Thought I’d give them a try in my next pils. Planning to brew a decoction mash pils very soon.

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Going to do a step mash… seeing as how easy it is with my electric heating… I’ll also correct pH with citric acid… Sneezles61

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I see you have gotten into brewing lagers It doesn’t seem that long ago you turned your nose up at them. Have your taste changed or is it the challenge

A combo of both… I try lagers at the breweries in Duluth, and there are some very nice ones that I enjoy… As I get a bit older… the high gravity brews just don’t fit my taste as much… I enjoy hoppy brews as much as I’ve always had… Seems to be fewer selections with the “old classic hops”… Sneezles61

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I like to brew them and have them on hand. If I’m out and they are charging a premium I’ll generally order something I can get my monies worth. I go to the bowling lanes and can get a pitcher of New England Breweries Sea Hag for $14 went to a restaurant and they wanted $7 for a pint.

I find the same regarding high abv beers. I don’t necessarily need lawnmower beer but a reasonable sessionable beer that I can drink 3-4 of is nice. I’ve kind of been stuck on my IPAs and pilsners of late. Had a vienna last week after a buddy kept talking about how good it was. It is a damn fine vienna. So I brewed a few different styles just to force myself to branch out. I’ve mentioned a few in another thread.

My same buddy has been bugging me to brew a lower abv pilsner. Like lawnmower beer level so he can have a few when he’s over and not worry about driving home. I’m going to try a pils in the sub 4abv range and I have the prepro lager in the queue as well.

This current pils has me a bit frustrated. I chilled it to 58 with the plate chiller then put both fermenters into the swamp coolers and added frozen bottles like always. The water in the swamp cooler was 44 according to my thermapen. The fermometers read 57-59 for the last couple days…just got a thin layer of krauesen. I had made a 1L starter with fresh urquell yeast and it was pitched at fluffy high krauesen. I expected it to take off…I’m beginning to wonder it the wort did chill down to 44 and the fermometers just didn’t read correctly? Today one reads around 52 and has the most krauesen. The other still reads higher and his a much thinner krauesen starting to form…making me wonder what the temp really is in there…may just dip the thermopen in starsan and find out…

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How did you aerate the wort pryer to pitching?

I really like the 4.6 up to 5.6… Enuff flavor and balance but I don’t get ripped up if I have a half dozen… This home brewing makes some very good drinking brews… I do have a hard time shelling out my money for anything more than a pint when out and about…
Pilsner this W/E, then I have enuff rye to redo my Rye bock… Sad… I’ll dump out 10 gallons… It looks good, but it tastes like burnt popcorn…
I had a fun twist of events this last W/E… A friend of ours was over in Ireland… She went to a “brewing class” at Gilleland(?) where they brewed an Irish red… She was able to take a picture of the recipe!! Looking forward to an X-beerment… AND THEN… Per chance I ran into a fella that is a Maltster at Rahr… I would love to swap brews for barley with him… He said they like to give them a sack from time to time… promote the hobby! Sneezles61

Another reason to brew a smaller test batch.

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