Pilsner Urquell recipe

[Rhodesy]

Does anyone have a tried and tested AG Pilsner Urquell recipe to share? It would be a single infusion (with or without mashout depending on when my RIMS is in place fully) as opposed to decoction which I know is then not strictly a clone however I just dont see me doing one of those at this stage in my journey. I have seen some Bohemian recipes and the likes but was looking to lean on some experience & knowledge (as always) on here. Would be using WY2001 to ferment it out with.

[Aleman]

100% Bohemian Pilsner Malt to 1.048

Saaz Hops to 40IBU

Job Done

This is what I tend to use

4.6Kg Bohemian Floor Malted pilsner malt

50g Czech Saaz - First Wort Hops
38g Czech Saaz - 75 Minutes
13g Czech Saaz - 15 minutes
13g Czech Saaz - Switch Off / 80ºC Steep

This thread explains a lot about it though

Edit: it also covers some alternative recipes and ideas to 'avoid' decoction/step mashing

[Rhodesy]

Thanks Aleman! Some reading for me at lunch methinks!! On the recipe above, how many litres are you getting in the boiler?

Edit - Shouldnt be so lazy as see it on the link you posted!

[Rhodesy]

Thats a great thread you posted, I will wait for my RIMS to be fully up and running and try this out. Thanks again

[Barley Water]

The recipe for a good pils is never the issue, it all comes down to technique 'cause if you screw up you will taste it. Over the years I have made almost every mistake a brewer can make so I speak from experience. Supper important, soft water, big yeast pitch and really good temperature control. I'll be thinking of you this weekend as I'm doing a German pils. Step mash, single decoction at mash out and I'm gonna run the hot wort through my Hop Rocket loaded with an ounce of leaf Saaz. I am currently working to build up a really big starter right now because I want maximum attenutation.

[Aleman]

The recipe for a good pils is never the issue, it all comes down to technique 'cause if you screw up you will taste it. Over the years I have made almost every mistake a brewer can make so I speak from experience. Super important, soft water, big yeast pitch and really good temperature control.

Yeah me too!

About the only thing I'd disagree with is the requirement of soft water, with around 17mg/l of calcium , (and only 33mg/l Alkalinity) my water is incredibly soft, and yet when I brew using untreated water the resultant beer is muted. Same recipe, same technique and adding 80mg/l calcium (as chloride), and the beer sings . . . It was a trick I learned when doing a tour of the Czech republic some years ago, and found that the brewers were adding calcium chloride. One thing I'm thinking of given my 3:1 sulphate to chloride ratio is changing the additions so that I use gypsum as well and bring the ratio closer to 1:1 in my brew brew liquor, and just see what that tweak will do.

[Barley Water]

Humm....I was always under the impression that you wanted to use soft water specifically to keep the hopping from getting "harsh" if that makes any sense. Since I have moderately hard water here in the great state of Texas, I am generally trying to go in the opposite direction when making beers like this. Also, without screwing around I'll tend to get higher pH in the mash than I want so I always use that 5.2 buffer stuff. This weekend's brew is going to be 1/2 municipal water and 1/2 distilled. You actually want a bit of "pop" in a German pils so I figure it should work out ok. Generally after doing a recipe a couple of times I'll just adjust the hopping to correct any problems in that area as I'm lazy and want to keep things as simple as possible (although I've been known to try some pretty crazy stuff).

[Rhodesy]

The recipe for a good pils is never the issue, it all comes down to technique 'cause if you screw up you will taste it. Over the years I have made almost every mistake a brewer can make so I speak from experience. Supper important, soft water, big yeast pitch and really good temperature control. I'll be thinking of you this weekend as I'm doing a German pils. Step mash, single decoction at mash out and I'm gonna run the hot wort through my Hop Rocket loaded with an ounce of leaf Saaz. I am currently working to build up a really big starter right now because I want maximum attenutation.

I have nice soft water so that's a start! WIll likely call on more advice when it comes to brew though as just getting my head around the actual treatment etc having just had my sample back from Wallybrew. I have 2 fermentation fridges/chest freezer with temp control so all good though and also a hop rocket . I plan to do this once my RIMS is in place so hopefully once I get it tuned up in the next couple of weeks.

[Barley Water]

Well it sounds like you are well set up so you should be able to make some really good beers. I get a little lazy when it comes to water chemistry; my approach is to just give it a try using what I have and start modifying things if the results don't work out the way I want. Since my water is a bit hard my current strategy is to cut it with distilled stuff hoping to hit the sweet spot.

[Aleman]

Humm....I was always under the impression that you wanted to use soft water specifically to keep the hopping from getting "harsh" if that makes any sense.

Perfect sense, although technically it's not the calcium that makes the hopping harsh, but the sulphate associated with it as gypsum is typically used to increase calcium. If you increase the calcium levels using calcium chloride, you increase the mouth feel and maltiness of the beer, and can still use the high hopping levels found in Czech pilsners . . . With a German Pils, especially the North German Pilsners, you drop the hopping rate, as you use a sulphate rich liquor, and that would be exceptionally harsh (Go on, Ask me how I know?? ). Even the Bavarian Pilseners have higher levels of sulphate so again the hopping rate is dropped, but that sulphate does make the hops 'pop' just a bit, hence the reason for me trying a small sulphate addition in my next Czech Pilsner.

I've done quite a bit of work with my water, various mineral profiles and grist make ups ( I sometimes get bored on a Sunday afternoon ), and one thing I found was that adding calcium to my low mineral content water for a pils grist got the mash pH where I wanted it. I now aim for a calcium level of 75-100mg/l for my pils grists (from 17-35mg/l) using calcium chloride, and it makes the beer sing. Before with no adjustment, I had poor conversion, high mash pH, sluggish fermentations, low attenuation, poor clarity and flocculation. I know that Martin says that lager yeasts in particular don't like high levels of calcium, but with the yeasts I use (W34/70 and Weihenstephan liquid yeast) I have found the opposite.

[simple one]

Very interesting Aleman. Do you use the same approach for the slightly darker lagers too? (ocktoberfest, marzen type)

[Rhodesy]

Aleman - Based on the below profile is their anything in your opinion I should be doing for this style? Still getting my head around the daunting task of water profiles. Also will using half a campden negate any additions you make?

Sodium as Na, mg/L 4.1
Potassium as K, mg/L 0.5
Magnesium as Mg, mg/L 0.9
Calcium as Ca, mg/L 8.9
Chloride as Cl, mg/L 6.5
Nitrate as NO3, mg/L 0.6
Phosphate as PO4, mg/L 2.3
Sulphate as SO4, mg/L 11.6
Total alkalinity as CaCO3, mg/L 16
pH 5.45
Conductivity, uScm-1 at 20C 70.6
Total residual chlorine as Cl2, mg/L 0.07

[AnthonyUK]

Kai Troester (BrauKaiser) has a good article and videos on decoction mashing* if you want to be really authentic

*This isn't really necessary if you use modern malts

[Rhodesy]

I dont think I am ready for the stress of that yet

[Jocky]

In terms of a 'big yeast pitch', how big are we talking here?

And when you go 'big':

What are you making your starter with (DME or wort)?
Are you pitching the full volume of the starter, or are you letting it flocculate out and just pitching the slurry?