Brewing Jamil’s Pilsner Ale for the second time, but using some good homegrown Sterlings. I want to smooth out the bitterness by decreasing the 60 min hops and adding a FWH addition. So my question is - how does FWH work in a 90 min boil? Can I still calculate it based on a 20 min addition?
Here’s my recipe:
10 lb Pilsner malt
0.5 lb Carapils
1 oz Sterling, FWH
0.5 oz Sterling, 60 min
1.5 oz Sterling, 15 min
2.0 oz Sterling, 0 min
US05, pitched around 55 degrees, fermented in the upper 50’s.
The last time I brewed this recipe, I used a different hop schedule (1.5 oz Sterling @ 60, 20, and 10 min) and it was good but too bitter for a Pilsner. So I moved 1 oz of the 60 min hops to a FWH addition, and also increased the late hops and moved them closer to the end of the boil. I love the clean herbal flavor and aroma of Sterling hops - they might be my favorite of the varieties I grow. Today is my birthday, so this is my birthday batch (although I won’t brew until Monday, most likely).
My main concern here is avoiding an overly bitter beer but still getting lots of clean hop character. Let me know what you think. I’m posting this in recipe exchange as well as general, hoping to get some good feedback. Thanks!
In my case, the “20 min. addition rule” is based on a 60 min. boil. I set FWH utilization in Promash to be -65, which equates to adding it 2/3 of the way through a 60 min. boil. When I use FWH in a i90 min. boil, I still use the -65 figure, but then it works out to 2/3 of the way through 90 min., or the same as a 30 min. addition.
Cool - I’ll enter it as a 30 min addition and adjust from there. I’m still using Qbrew for recipe design. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a program, but Qbrew does what I need. I’m jumping between Qbrew, Bru’n Water, and EZ Water Calculator to pull this all together. Does Promash or BeerSmith include water adjustment tools?
Comparing these two hop schedules, do you think I’ll end up with a less bitter brew? I’m using all homegrown Sterlings, and shooting for less bitterness and more flavor than my last batch.
Original schedule: 1.5 oz 60 min
1.5 oz 20 min
1.5 oz 10 min
New Schedule:
1 oz FWH
0.5 oz 60 min
1.5 oz 15 min
2.0 oz 0 min
Comparing these two hop schedules, do you think I’ll end up with a less bitter brew? I’m using all homegrown Sterlings, and shooting for less bitterness and more flavor than my last batch.
Original schedule: 1.5 oz 60 min
1.5 oz 20 min
1.5 oz 10 min
New Schedule:
1 oz FWH
0.5 oz 60 min
1.5 oz 15 min
2.0 oz 0 min[/quote]
As a total WAG, I’d say the new schedule will be closer to what you want. But you’ll have to brew it to really know.
