Spring Pilsner

[simple one]

Nope, never done the recipe before. But based around Bosiums Pilsners Threads. Never used Mittlefru either, this is only my second lager.

I used Hallertauer Hersbrucker in the first.... It was very hoppy, but it wasn't a taste I liked. So stuck to Saaz as a safe option.

That wlp800 seems a really good yeast. It forms a thick fluffy head which can be top cropped.

[leedsbrew]

I never liked Mittlefru, but quite like Herts! Tettnang and saaz are my favourite lager hops!

[john_drummer]

I'm not a lager drinker but mrs_d is; up until now I've been doing the Coopers European Lager for her & it turns out pretty good every time.
This sunday I did a BIAB pilsner batch as per Bribie's recipe on the BIAB thread...

I'll let you know how I get on but the mash/boil was pretty painless. Not sure about the lager yeast I added first thing this morning but I have another sachet if this doesn't kick off by tomorrow morning

[greenxpaddy]

This is now down to 1.028 so will probably do a diacetyl rest in 48 hours time. Looks like it's dropping an average of 5 points a day. Although I would say it's faster than that at the moment due to the activity.

Lifted the lid of to take a sample, the yeast has gone mental. A good two inches of yeasty foam, and that's down at 11/12C. The yeasty sample tastes nice though, although the saaz aroma is still subtle.

that was pretty quick, so how long from pitching til you did your DR?

[simple one]

About 6 days. It was a big pitch.

[bosium]

Any updates on this? My German Pils is finally pretty much crystal, and tasting pretty good

[simple one]

Bottled one, and temptation got the better of me. Could taste a sweetish finish which I wasn't happy with. But on further investigation the corny lacks this, although it's still there. Very Pilsner Urquell. Which is what I was aiming for, but now I think I would have liked a sharper yeast. The corny is currently lagering at 0C. I think I'll wait a couple of months prior to bottling, when I will reseed with Nottingham and half a teaspoon of sugar per 500ml.

Can't seem to get a corny to pour like a pub lager? Any pointers?

[sllimeel]

Looking like a nice recipe that mate. I haven't made a lager before and have both of those 'M' malts, maybe that will be the next brew. Will you bring any of these down?

[simple one]

Yeah sure I'll bring a few bottles down. I'm wanting to get another brew in as we discussed, but I'm not sure work is going to allow it.

[sllimeel]

Same here. I was going to brew something this weekend but the yeast i had in the fridge for a while does not seem to want to start so will knock that idea on the head. Still will have enough in stock for us!

[simple one]

I notice you might do a lager next. I have a large slug of WLP800 in a bottle if you want it?

[bosium]

Hmm, well my experience of brewing lager anyway is that they take some serious time to taste right. The higher the gravity and the hoppier the lager, the longer they take to come into balance. I find, *generally*, that it takes at east eight weeks of lagering before a lager starts to taste good, often more. As a general rule of thumb for a 5%ish lager, I find that once it pours crystal clear straight from the lagering vessel without the need for finings, it's about ready, and that usually takes approximately..... 8 weeks!

Yes, it'll be drinkable much earlier than that, it should taste good straight from the fermenter, but it won't taste like a proper lager. When young, a pilsner tastes to me a bit like a pale ale. With time, the raw hop flavour goes away and the beer starts to taste, well, polished. Lager-ey. You get the clean, pure flavour of the malt shining through with a soft and smooth bitterness and flavour from the hops. It simply can't be rushed - one day it'll just taste right.

What exactly do you mean about a pub lager? Not sure if this is teaching to suck eggs as it were, but what works for me is I set my gas to between 2 and 2.5 volumes of CO2, no more. If you make it super fizzy, it emphasises the dryness and bitterness of the beer and masks some of the malty sweetness, but maybe that's what you're going for? Then, make sure you have a long enough length of hose (har har) between the keg and the tap so you drop almost all of the pressure in the keg over the length of hose. I use 3/16" pipe so I don't need as long a pipe, you'll need much longer if you'll using 3/8".

[sllimeel]

I notice you might do a lager next. I have a large slug of WLP800 in a bottle if you want it?

Yes mate, i'll have that. Thanks

[simple one]

No probs. It'll probably need using soon though, as it'll be a month or two old.... although it is top cropped, and looks really healthy.

[simple one]

Now then. Drinking this now.

I will admit that initially this beer suffered badly from diacetyl. I crossed my fingers and bottled with nottingham from a slurry of an other brew. I popped one about a month ago and it was still there. I was contempalting it going in the bin. So much work and so little reward.

Now it has faded, it tastes good. It could do with losing a little more background diacetyl. But next time IF I did another lager, I would pick a yeast that would produce a sharper and drier beer.