Pilsner Urquell

Mashing
41

[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“damian_winter”][quote=“dannyboy58”]Just finished this off a couple weeks ago and have been contemplating changes to the recipe prior to brewing again, maybe this week.

This was a really good beer but more Helles-like to me. I bit too soft and sweet for a pils which strange given the projected IBUs. I did bag the hops in the boil so I guess that could account for a 10% or so reduction.

I also feel like there was just a bit more body/sweetness than I want…maybe reduce the carafoam to 2 oz? I do want a bit of head and I suppose if I remove the carafoam the pils alone won’t give much right?

I’m thinking of actually going to tradition for bittering and hersbrucker for the 20 min addition since that recipe gave me a really nice spicy bite in a vienna I made last year. It won’t be strictly an Urquell clone at that point but as long as I get the pils character i want I really don’t care. Would also save me a bit on hops since I have those on hand.

Any suggestions or ideas here?[/quote] Here lately I really been digging on Spalt select with Saaz with a lot of my lagers. Together they complement each other very well little spicy and kinda floral and a lot of ways reminds me of how the hops are in pilsner urquell.[/quote]
What’s the schedule like Damian? Are you combining them or using them at different times?[/quote] I’m adding .5 oz saaz and 1 oz splat for 60 minutes and .5 Saaz 30 minutes and .5 spalt 15 minutes. Saaz aa is 4.8 and the spalt are 6.0 aa gives me about 42 ibu

42

This is a Czech Pils I’ve made several times and been happy with

http://www.weyermann.de/downloads/pdf/V ... 202010.pdf

But at 41ibus, yours should’ve been plenty bitter.

43

[quote=“brewingdan”]This is a Czech Pils I’ve made several times and been happy with

http://www.weyermann.de/downloads/pdf/V ... 202010.pdf

But at 41ibus, yours should’ve been plenty bitter.[/quote]

I would’ve thought so too but it’s not. Another thing I considered is leave the recipe as is, remove the carafoam or reduce it by half, and increase sulfates to try and bring out the hop character…

OK my cara was at 3 percent, the article you refernce says 1% so I’ll try reducing that and try their hop schedule as well. I’m using distilled water so I won’t use the acid malt. I may take out the carafa spec because I’d rather concentrate on getting the flavor correct and color can just suffer for now.

44

I brewed this recipe last weekend and kegged it today and started to lager after 2 successive SG readings at 1.013, room temp not degassed. It attenuated better at 75% than last time I brewed it.

edit: hoping this lower FG and better attenuation will give me the crisper cleaner pils I’m going for.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Czech Pilsner
Brewer: Danny
Asst Brewer:
Style: Bohemian Pilsner
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications

Boil Size: 7.25 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.5 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 7.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 41.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 83.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 97.8 %
2.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 2 1.4 %
1.3 oz Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain 3 0.9 %
1.75 oz Saaz [3.60 %] - Boil 75.0 min Hop 4 25.1 IBUs
1.10 oz Saaz [3.60 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 11.6 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 6 -
1.04 oz Saaz [2.40 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 3.5 IBUs
0.22 oz Saaz [3.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 1.1 IBUs
2.0 pkg Urquell Lager (Wyeast Labs #2001) [124.2 Yeast 9 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB - Danny’s
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs 3.3 oz

Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash in Kettle Add 19.83 qt of water at 159.7 F 152.0 F 1:15
Sparge Add 17.67 qt of water at 187.7 F 168.0 F 10 min

Mashed at 152 for 1:15, ph 5.4

Pitched on slurry from 2 gal, 2 step starter that exceeded brewer’sfriend calcs.

fermented at 50 degrees for 3 days then allowed to rise to 61 over the next 3 days

6/2 kegged and lagering, 1.013 first reading room temp not degassed

45

After reading this article many years ago I started to bitter my Czech pils with Clusters:

https://byo.com/hops/item/853-hop-to-style

I really like how well Clusters works as a bittering hop for this style.

46

Kegged and lagering on gas since 6/2. Substantial head and great lacing. Very yummy pils if I do say. Pretty happy with this one. Brewing a batch of this again very soon.

47

For any of the Pilsner Urquell fans still around I thought i’d update this thread. I brewed a couple batches of Bohemian Pils bittered with tradition and late additions of hersbrucker. They were really good spring early summer beers. Very malty and helles like to me but good sharp flavor from the hersbrucker.

Right now I’m drinking a czech pils that I brewed 4/6/16. It’s probably my best czech pils to date. Very happy with it. Not so happy that I accidentally dry hopped the second keg with 2 oz of centennial though…the DH bag was only in the fermenter for 20-30 seconds before I realized my error and pulled it but therre was definitely a little green cloud in the beer when I pulled the bag. Should be interesting.

Anyway, this one is very good. Clean pilsner malt and light spice aroma. Very light caramel aroma as it warms in the glass. Great merengue like head on the pour, dissipates quicker than I’d like but keeps a light head and great lacing. Cutting back the carapils definitely affected the head. Crystal clear, maybe a bit more carb than it needs but the bubbles look cool. Good substantial but easy drinking mouthfeel finishes just dry enough to make you want to keep drinking it. Good balance between bready pils malt flavor and spicy hops.

I pushed the IBU almost to the guideline limit and it’s still not quite as sharp as I’d like it to be. At first I was thinking it wasn’t dry enough but it finished at 1.011. I don’t want to sacrifice mouthfeel by mashing lower. I used 100% distilled water this time and lactic acid to get the mash pH to 5.5. per brunwater. Pilsen water profile. I had considered increasing the sulfates to see if that added dryness and sharpness I wanted but I didn’t try it. Kettle pH was 5.3.

Pretty simple grist bill. I still haven’t done a decoction or step mash for this one. I could probably eliminate the carafa special if I did a decoction but I don’t honestly see that improving the beer for me. It might bring out more malt but I feel good about where the malt flavor is. I want it “sharper” for lack of a better word.

Recipe, process and notes from BS2:

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Czech Pilsner II
Brewer: Danny
Style: Czech Premium Pale Lager
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications

Boil Size: 12.65 gal
Post Boil Volume: 11.65 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.5 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Measured OG: 1.050
Measured FG: 1.011

Ingredients:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
18 lbs Avangard Best Malz Pilsner Malt (1.9 SRM Grain 1 98.1 %
4.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 2 1.4 %
1.5 oz Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain 3 0.5 %
1.25 oz German Magnum [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 29.9 IBUs
5.20 Items Lactic Acid - KpH 5.2 (Boil 60.0 mins) Water Agent 5 -
3.00 oz CZ Saaz [2.60 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 6 11.0 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 -
2.14 oz CZ Saaz [2.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 3.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg Urquell Lager (Wyeast Labs #2001) [124.2 Yeast 9 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB - Danny’s
Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 5.5 oz

Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
BIABMash in Kettle Add 40 qt of water at 159.3 F 152.0 F 60 min
Sparge Sparge to boil volume with water at 190 F 168.0 F 10 min

Notes:

4L starter stepped to 2-3L starters urquell yeast
FR 1.058 5.4pH.kettle 5.3pH
ran short on Saaz hops shorted the 10 min addition, intended 2.5oz

Good fast brew day. Under 4 hours for 11 gals in fermenters
5/21 Kegged 5 gals 1.011

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

48

I do like your attention to details. I’ll be willing to believe you could compete with the actual one. I sometimes wonder if the whirl floc/irish moss affects a brew. As sublet as this grain bill is with the german magnum, I would have thought there should be some decidedly sharp crispness. I even wonder about citric acid. I dabble with citric acid and I can get enough bite that it will push the envelope too far. I typically use RO. Sneezles61

49

Cluster is a fantastic ‘old school’ hop…the majority of the beers I make are made with it (regardless of ‘style’). It has been my favorite almost 40 years and remains so. It doesn’t seem to get a lot of ‘love’ from modern homebrewers.

50

I like that idea @the_professor.

I recently bittered an IPA with Cluster. It definitely had a sharp dry clean bitterness. I may have to try it in the pils.

I’ve bittered all my lagers with german magnum, saaz, or other noble hops.but I’m not married to style guidelines. I just figured that’s what would give me the results I wanted.

I’m brewing an IPA Wednesday but I’m due to brew a pils as soon as I can get a starter made for it and the swamp coolers free of the IPA. Maybe I’ll bitter it with cluster.

51

I just put my last keg of pils in service. I have none in fermenters either. I have a helles as a backup but I guess it’s time to brew pilsner. I really like the current one. it’s been cold conditioning since late march.

I built a 2L starter with 300ml of czech pils yeast from the beer I just put on tap. My intent was to pitch it this afternoon at high krauesen. Well it wasn’t and I couldn’t brew anyway. So now…almost 8PM it’s pretty much where I’d want to pitch it. Too late for this old man to brew without having psyched myself up for it.

Looks like I’m brewing early in the mroning. No beers for me tonight.

The recipe is posted below. I lean heavily on the magnum bittering hops getting almost 30 of my 45ish IBU from them and then hit it with plenty of saaz at 30 and 10 minutes. I chill to 50-52 degrees and pitch, sometimes czech pils yeast sometimes the boh pils yeast. I like both but I think the czech yeast really highlights the plisner malt taste.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Czech Pilsner II
Brewer: Danny
Asst Brewer:
Style: Bohemian Pilsner
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications

Boil Size: 13.25 gal
Post Boil Volume: 12 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.75 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 6.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 45.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.5 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
18 lbs Avangard Best Malz Pilsner Malt (1.9 SRM Grain 1 98.0 %
4.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 2 1.4 %
2.0 oz Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain 3 0.7 %
1.25 oz German Magnum [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 29.9 IBUs
3.00 oz CZ Saaz [2.60 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 5 11.0 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 6 -
2.00 oz CZ Saaz [3.40 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 4.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg Pilsner Lager (White Labs #WLP800) [35.4 Yeast 8 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB - Danny’s
Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 6.0 oz

Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
BIAB Mash in Kettle Add 40 qt of water at 156.0 F 149.0 F 60 min
Sparge Hang bag and sparge with 190+F water for preboil vol 10 min

52

Keg of what

53

Pis…short for pisner :joy:

54

Oh

55

^^^^ oh you guys are nasty… Brew Cat, do you also add the make up water after too? I will assume that Danny Boy is adding to get 13-1/4 gallons… eh? Sneezles61

57

haha…yea…that should have said “pils”…

58

makeup water? I don’t need no stinking make up water…I sparge to get my preboil.

59

I see, my bad for not reading the whole story… I stopped at the 10… My brain inserted the vol, not min… Forgive me… Sneezles61

60

Never…:poop:

61

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