German Pils

I make a decent Bohemian Pilsner I think anyway. But the German Pils is eluding me. Any hints or recipes from you pils brewers?

You wouldnā€™t want me to run over the same ground Iā€™ve been shooting my keyboard off aboutā€¦ :smirk:
I still think its more of the processā€¦ We know how they brewed a long, long time agoā€¦ But I have read anything about the modern processā€¦
I do not think I could decipher Bohemian from Czech from German style Pilsā€¦ BUTā€¦ When the weather cools off, Iā€™ll try a process my mind keeps returning tooā€¦ Then Iā€™ll weigh inā€¦
Sneezles61

Czech and Bohemian are the same. German pils has more bitterness. The bitterness is what im struggling with. The ones ive made end up being not enough on the palate

Post your latest recipe with the stats- OG, FG, IBUs, etc.

I know its not right for a german pilsner. Why not use some magnum. For bittering

What base malt are you using? I think that is an important aspect in how a pils ends up tasting. Malt sweetness affecting hop bitterness.

Originally ive brewed with the pilsen water this may be the problem. As you can see in the above recipe Iā€™ll try the light and hoppy profile

I just lookedā€¦ yer FG is 1.017ā€¦ wouldnā€™t you do better under 1.010?
Sneezles61

I like the longer boil and the northern brewer hopsā€¦ ifn yer hops canā€™t over whelm the higher FG, add another 1/2 oz. to help add some bitternessā€¦?
Sneezles61

Actually the recipe was updated now it should be .013. I generally end up a little lower than predicted. I try to keep my beer around .012 a little higher for malty styles. Below .010 is in cider territory

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If itā€™s finishing around .013 likely itā€™s not giving you that ā€˜drynessā€™ sensation that needed for the style. In addition, this can mask the bitterness youā€™re looking for in the style.

Ok i updated the recipe and now im predicted .009 i donā€™t dare go lower. I looked at the guidelines for a German Pilsner and it says .008-.013 so im in the ballpark

I also plan on decoction so the color will move a bit and maybe that will keep me close to the gravity i want

Here is my decoction schedule but i may not do the p-rest. I was hoping to talk water
https://www.circlecityzymurgy.com/2016/11/23/anatomy-of-a-recipe-german-pilsener/

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More reading

I guess im going for a northern German pils

From Greg Noonanā€™s New Brewing Lager Beersā€¦
ā€œEpsom salts: Magnesium sulfate- used to increase Magnesium levels when deficient. It is usually not necessary because the yeast can get all the magnesium it needs from the grain. It is also usually avoided in pale lagers.ā€

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I agree i generally donā€™t add any jus trying to move the Cl without adding Ca. Its only .5g so doubt it makes a difference one way or the other. Havenā€™t finalized the water so if the consensus is drop it Iā€™ll probably drop it. Just playing with the #s at this pt. Usually brew with 50:50 for pilsen but thinking about going the other way.

soft water was one of the keysā€¦ Did I see you stomp yer well water down with RO?
Decoctionā€¦ Iā€™ve done steps with the electric breweryā€¦ I want to do some decoctionsā€¦ just to verifyā€¦
Vigorous boilā€¦ You have 90 minutesā€¦ is that a standard for you?.. Iā€™ve not boiled that longā€¦ but usually do a vigorous boilā€¦
And yeast that finish lowā€¦ I do my best to get all my brews lowā€¦ a dry brew is way more ā€œcrispā€ than a sweet oneā€¦
Iā€™m curious, where you get ā€œcider-yā€ from a low FG?..
Our weather will soon turn to freezing at nightā€¦ THAT is what I believe the Germans figured out for their brewing waterā€¦ Even brewing in generalā€¦ Iā€™ll be tinkering with the Pils side soonā€¦ in the meantimeā€¦ Iā€™ll follow yer postsā€¦ Iā€™ll be curious about the tasting notesā€¦ See if you crack the secret to making them elusive brews!
Sneezles61

Well i cut my water for the Bohemian but im going the other way for the Northern German Pilsner ( note the spelling) ive read the northern german pils water is closer to the Dortmund profile

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