Pale malt in a pilsner

Beer Recipe Design
1

Afternoon all,

I recently acquired a half gallon of lager yeast (augisteiner strain I think) from a local brewery. I’d like to do a German pilsner, but all I have for base malt is pale (weyermann pale malt). In the past I’ve only used pilsner malt as a base. Has anyone ever used pale instead of pilsner malt in their pilsners?

2

Yes. You can do it and the flavor might just be a little more “bland” for lack of a better term. Some suggest that pilsner malt gives you more of that “grainy” flavor than you might get from standard 2-row. I have heard of people making pilsners with pale malt instead of pilsner malt for that very reason… to make it a little more bland. My guess is that Weyermann makes a decent pale malt so make it, hop it up nicely and let the Augustiner yeast do its thing. I had a brewer in CO send me some that he got from a yeast bank and it made a very nice Festbier. Cheers.

3

Ken,

Thanks for the feedback. I read on weyermann’s website that their pale ale malt is suitable for lagers and pilsners, so I am going to give it a try. Might add 1/2 lb of carapils and call it a day. I’ve read somewhere (maybe here) that cascade hops have been used to bitter and flavor with. Any thoughts?

4

[quote=“holaday1185”]Ken,

Thanks for the feedback. I read on weyermann’s website that their pale ale malt is suitable for lagers and pilsners, so I am going to give it a try. Might add 1/2 lb of carapils and call it a day. I’ve read somewhere (maybe here) that cascade hops have been used to bitter and flavor with. Any thoughts?[/quote]
I like Cascade but I can’t say that I’ve made a pilsner with them. Are you shooting for a German Pils, Czech Pils, etc? Typically one would use Noble hops (Hallertau, Hersbrucker, Tettanger, Saaz, Spalt, etc.) for a Pils but at this point you could assume that you’re a homebrewer and have no guidelines to confine you. A pale beer with 2-row, Carapils, Cascade hops and Augustiner yeast would probably be delicious. The hops might be considered unusual but it might still be delicious. Good luck with it and let us know how it comes out. Cheers.

5

[quote=“holaday1185”]Ken,

Thanks for the feedback. I read on weyermann’s website that their pale ale malt is suitable for lagers and pilsners, so I am going to give it a try. Might add 1/2 lb of carapils and call it a day. I’ve read somewhere (maybe here) that cascade hops have been used to bitter and flavor with. Any thoughts?[/quote]

Do you like cascades? If yes, go ahead and use them.

6

Love cascades. I ask because I’m currently out of all noble hops. I wonder how the crispness of a lager would work with something citrusy like cascade.

7

Personally, I think it sounds delicious. If you like Cascade and can envision them in a pale lager like this… GIDDY UP!

8

Why not try making a cross between an IPA and a pils? You could jack up the gravity to about 1.060 then use a low cohumolone hop to bitter and late and dry hop with the Cascade hops. I suspect that our buddies on the west coast have already gone there so it won’t be completely original but it could be an interesting beer. If you use reasonably soft water and make sure to get good attenuation it will be crisp as all get-out. Whatever nuance you loose by using American malt will be completely covered up by all the hops. :shock:

9

What other hops do you have on hand?

10

Magnum
Super galena
Calypso
Chinook
Cascade
Pacific Jade
Belma
Nugget
Columbus
EKG
Summit
maybe a half ounce of German tradition

As you can see, I have a lot of high alpha bittering hops.

11

[quote=“holaday1185”]Magnum
Super galena
Calypso
Chinook
Cascade
Pacific Jade
Belma
Nugget
Columbus
EKG
Summit
maybe a half ounce of German tradition

As you can see, I have a lot of high alpha bittering hops.[/quote]

If it were me I’d think about bittering with the magnum and finish using the EKG and the last of the tradition.