I love me a crisp, clean, dry and bubbly pilsner. There is just something about the “blank slate” of this style that really allows one’s brewing skill to shine.
If you care to, share and describe your best experience with this style, including but not limited to:
-grain bill
-mash profile
-water profile
-boil times, hops and additions
-favorite yeasts, amounts and temps, up to and including, ferment schedule!!
-best served as?
Looking forward to being schooled here…
Thanks guys! :cheers:
I brewed a pilsner this year that turned out very nicely. It was an extract beer. We called it “Blow My Windmill” pilsner. You can check it out here… http://howbrewbeer.com/brewbeer-blowmyw … ilsner.htm
This is my most recent pils. been fermenting at 49 degrees for 3 weeks now. Probably let it come up to low 60’s for a few days later this week and keg/lager for 4-6 weeks. Infusion mash for 75 min. 90 min. boil. Water was 100% RO water with the additions listed below. This one was a bit “bigger” than past couple I did. generally around 1.05 on gravity and an ounce or two less of hops, but otherwise about the same.
Pilsner
Style: Bohemian Pilsener
Type: Calories: 196
Rating: 0.0 Boil Size: 8 Gal
IBU’s: 35.22 Batch Size: 6.25 Gal
Color: 4.1 SRM Boil Time: 90 minutes
Preboil OG: 1.056
Estimated Actual
Brew Date: - 11/03/2012
OG: 1.060 1.060
FG: 1.015 1.015
ABV: 5.90 % 5.89 %
Efficiency: 80 % 81 %
Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
12.00 lbs 87.67 % Pilsner (2 Row) Ger 60 mins 1.037
1.00 lbs 7.31 % Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt 60 mins 1.037
0.50 lbs 3.65 % Briess Carapils Organic 60 mins 1.034
3.00 ozs 1.37 % Acid Malt 60 mins 1.027
Hops
Amount IBU’s Name Time AA %
1.00 ozs 20.87 Pearle 60 mins 8.00
1.00 ozs 8.02 Saaz 30 mins 4.00
1.00 ozs 6.32 Saaz 20 mins 4.00
2.00 ozs 0.00 Saaz 0 mins 4.00
Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg Czech Pilsner Lager starter Wyeast Labs 2278
Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 g Gypsum 15 mins Mash
1.50 g Calcium Chloride 15 mins Mash
0.50 g Epsom Salt 15 mins Mash
1.00 oz Irish Moss 15 mins Boil
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient 15 mins Boil
Now I see why you’re the Braufessor! That’s a nicely complex recipe. I bet it’s fantastic tasting. May save this one for later. Thanks.
Looks fantastic, I have never done a pilsner with an OG over 1.048; I almost always use Czech Saaz, though, brings it another step closer to Urquell… 
Yeah - I have never been much over about 1.050 or so either. Generally do a slightly smaller version of the same recipe. couple pounds less pilsner, a little less on the hops. We’ll see how this “bigger” version turns out.
My simple pils recipe is pretty good for the work put into it.
6lbs pils LME
3 Gallon boil
Mix 5 oz of noble hops(preferably one of each type), then separate into 1 oz portions. Add at 60, 20, 10, 1, and dry hop respectively. I like 2124 lager yeast. Make a starter with it, pitch at ferment temps, ferment @ 54-56, diacetyl rest if necessary, lager as long as you’d like. Dry hop for 7 days before bottling/kegging. Skipped the secondary.
OG is around 1.035, FG usually around 1.010. About 35 IBUs.
My first and best pilsener was made in 1995. I used 100% Irek’s Pils Malt, Perle for bittering and Saaz for flavor and aroma, WYeast 2206. I saved some of the wort for krausening by putting it in sanitized Grolsch bottles. I added it to the keg and let it carbonate for a couple of weeks before lagering it. At 2 weeks it had a ton of acetaldehyde. By 6 weeks it had a great, bread dough, malt character, a nice hop flavor and aroma and a ton of bitterness because I used 2 Oz. of Perle instead of 1 Oz. It probably had 50-60 IBU, but that malt character was fantastic. I have made several good lagers since then, but none have had that depth of malt character. Fortunately, there are some good lager brewers in my area so I get a few good ones.
I usually brew Belgian Blonds and Saisons for my refreshing type beers. They are basically pils malt bills with a different yeast profile than lagers.
[quote=“SA Brew”]My first and best pilsener was made in 1995. I used 100% Irek’s Pils Malt, Perle for bittering and Saaz for flavor and aroma, WYeast 2206. I saved some of the wort for krausening by putting it in sanitized Grolsch bottles. I added it to the keg and let it carbonate for a couple of weeks before lagering it. At 2 weeks it had a ton of acetaldehyde. By 6 weeks it had a great, bread dough, malt character, a nice hop flavor and aroma and a ton of bitterness because I used 2 Oz. of Perle instead of 1 Oz. It probably had 50-60 IBU, but that malt character was fantastic. I have made several good lagers since then, but none have had that depth of malt character. Fortunately, there are some good lager brewers in my area so I get a few good ones.
I usually brew Belgian Blonds and Saisons for my refreshing type beers. They are basically pils malt bills with a different yeast profile than lagers.[/quote]
Forgive me, but what is acetaldehyde? Is that an off-smell? How do you tell that your brew has it? Thanks.
Just brewed this one the other day.
11 lb Pilsner malt
1 oz Perle 60 min
0.5 oz Hallertau 15 min
0.5 oz Hallertau 1 min
WL German Lager X yeast (WLP835)
90 minute boil 5.0 gallons
She’s rocking and rolling at 52 F right now!
Good Luck
Acetaldehyde is an aldehyde of pyruvic acid (Noonan’s definition, not mine.) Basically it is a green apple flavor created by the yeast and reabsorbed by the yeast as the beer completes fermentation. By introducing fresh wort, I created a second fermentation in the keg and it created a very tart, green apple flavor that went away as the beer lagered. Many people think Budweiser has some of this character. The flavor is definitely much tarter than Bud is though.
Roger that. Didn’t know that. Read something in Wikipedia about the hangover affect.
[quote=“shredd3r”]My simple pils recipe is pretty good for the work put into it.
Mix 5 oz of noble hops(preferably one of each type), then separate into 1 oz portions. Add at 60, 20, 10, 1, and dry hop respectively. [/quote]
You know, I have never thought of a hopping schedule like this; I think that is worth some experimenting, and not just on one style! Thanks for the info.
I could definitely see it also working for an IPA or pale ale-ish type beers. It gives that pils a nice hop character…while still staying a err…hoppy pils 
:cheers:
