Czech Pilsner

[MackemBrew]

Have been asked to make a brew for my best friends wedding in June so starting to think I really should get this going ASAP!

He's a big fan of Staropramen and has asked for something similar. I rarely make pilsner, helles etc the last one I made was nice and simple, just pilsner malt and mandarina bavaria hops with Saflager w34/70 which I was fairly happy with.

What's your go to Czech pilsner recipes and what yeasts are you using?

 

[Ghillie]

100% pilsner malt
Saaz hops (60min and 30 min additions) - quantity depending on boil length and desired IBUs.
Wyeast 2007

Lactic acid for mash pH adjustment, aiming for 5.25.

4 weeks at 10C, 4 days at 20C, a week at -1C and then keg and lager for as long as humanly possible. The latter step is the hardest.

 

[fury_tea]

You could start with something like this:
https://byo.com/recipe/pilsner-urquell-clone/

I've never brewed it myself but it's on my to-brew list.

 

[MackemBrew]

You could start with something like this:
https://byo.com/recipe/pilsner-urquell-clone/

I've never brewed it myself but it's on my to-brew list.

That looks interesting.
The last pilsner I made was just pilsner malt and it was probably a little to pale for what I was looking for.

@Ghillie how do you find the clarity with the 2007? Mine has been in the keg for about 6 weeks now, still young I know but even with irish moss and finings this hasnt cleared as well as I would have hoped. I'm not or really too fussed as it's just me drinking it but with this for a being for a wedding I'd like to make it as clear as possible! Ha!

 

[Ghillie]

@Ghillie how do you find the clarity with the 2007? Mine has been in the keg for about 6 weeks now, still young I know but even with irish moss and finings this hasnt cleared as well as I would have hoped. I'm not or really too fussed as it's just me drinking it but with this for a being for a wedding I'd like to make it as clear as possible! Ha!

Clarity is pretty good. It's not crystal, but I reckon left undisturbed for 10-12 weeks it would be. When I say crystal I mean crystal clear like, I'm fussy with clarity.

Always found lagers take the longest to clear, but then I think that's down to the bottom fermenting yeast more than anything else. I reckon another 6 weeks and you'll be able to see your finger prints on the other-side of the glass bud!

 

[MackemBrew]

Clarity is pretty good. It's not crystal, but I reckon left undisturbed for 10-12 weeks it would be. When I say crystal I mean crystal clear like, I'm fussy with clarity.

Always found lagers take the longest to clear, but then I think that's down to the bottom fermenting yeast more than anything else. I reckon another 6 weeks and you'll be able to see your finger prints on the other-side of the glass bud!

oooo this could be pretty tight then, i've got 13 weeks to get this brewed, fermented and cleared!!

 

[Ghillie]

oooo this could be pretty tight then, i've got 13 weeks to get this brewed, fermented and cleared!!

Plenty time to turn round an ace beer.

 

[Ghillie]

oooo this could be pretty tight then, i've got 13 weeks to get this brewed, fermented and cleared!!

Plenty time to turn round an ace beer.

 

[matt76]

Soft water (e.g Tesco Ashbeck), 100% Pilsner malt and a metric motherload of Saaz hops. Wyeast 2278 has always worked well for me.

Watch the fermentation temperature - low and slow is the way to go, maybe raising the temperature at the end for a diacetyl rest before cold crashing and then packaging.

I'm sure the BYO article is very good, also you could do a lot worse than this one:
https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-bohemian-pilsner/

Keep your ambitions in Czech (see what I did there! ). The real stuff is brewed with a decoction mash so you're never gonna replicate the real thing without an awful lot of work (I note that the BYO article cheats a bit in this regard). Nevertheless, you can still make a very good pilsner.

Take a look at @foxbat 's brew day thread - I've done a couple of Czech Pils myself (must recent effort here) but I'm plagued by chill haze, I cheat a bit with the grist and just use my local very hard tap water.

Young foxbat on the other hand does things rather more by the book and always has crystal clear beer (the jammy wotsit!)

 

[Argentum]

Per genetic testing done by Surgork, Fermentis S-23 and Wyeast 2001 Pilsner Urquell are nearly twins. On a broad scale of genetic diversity and branching among brewing yeasts, these two sit tightly side by side, stemming off of the same genetic branch.

 

[Brewed_Force]

I've just made a fake lager using:
64% Maris Otter
31% Vienna
7% Caramalt
15 IBU Magnum
3.4 IBU Hallertau
1.9 IBU Saaz plus 10g more Saaz at 90C
yeast is CML California Common
Ready to drink in 3 weeks, tastes superb now, and will get better when stored in the shed for a month.

 

[HarryFlatters]

The real stuff is brewed with a decoction mash

I've read that if you add a small proportion of melanoidin malt to your grist it can 'cheat' the right components into your wort without the hassle of a decoction mash. I've added a couple of percent of melanoidin to the Helles I've got cold crashing in the fridge at the moment, so hopefully it's not messed things up.

 

[Argentum]

I've read that if you add a small proportion of melanoidin malt to your grist it can 'cheat' the right components into your wort without the hassle of a decoction mash. I've added a couple of percent of melanoidin to the Helles I've got cold crashing in the fridge at the moment, so hopefully it's not messed things up.

Melanoidin won't mess things up, and it generally gets the color right, but it is debatable as to whether it duplicates the flavor characteristics of decoction. I do think adding it in moderation yields an improvement though.

 

[Zephyr259]

A decoction cheat I've used for my bocks is to boil down 3L of first runnings to a syrup then add that back in before the end of the boil. Probably gets down to about 500 ml but I know it's done when it starts to froth up even on the lowest heat. Never done a decoction but I did a split batch last year where half got this syrup addition and the other didnt, but then the other half got a bunch of sugar and feremented with a saison yeast vs the "decocted" batch which was a weizenbock, so they're pretty different anyway.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Per genetic testing done by Surgork, Fermentis S-23 and Wyeast 2001 Pilsner Urquell are nearly twins. On a broad scale of genetic diversity and branching among brewing yeasts, these two sit tightly side by side, stemming off of the same genetic branch.

I'm sure if suregork was here he would be the first to acknowledge that he did none of the wet work for the genomic analysis you're talking about, which was done by Quinn Langdon and others in the Hittinger lab - suregork independently put the sequences through his computer.

Thing about lager yeast is that they all ultimately come from either Carlsberg or Heineken, who sold yeast by the tonne to breweries in Germany and elsewhere before WWI. All the homebrew strains appear to be Frohberg strains from Heineken, so they're all pretty closely related.

If you're looking for flocculation then the Californian strains like 810 and 2112 are probably your best bet. WLP800 Pilsner is also pretty good (although is actually a kolschy ale yeast).

 

[MackemBrew]

Hey guys, some great articles and tips, thanks very much.

Back home next week so will be getting this together and brewed next weekend. That will just leave me with getting my best man's speech sorted for the wedding

 

[Argentum]

Don't shy away from using roughly 5% to 7.5% light caramel or crystal (ballpark 10L, 25 EBC) for your Czech Pilsner. It isn't taboo for at least some of their breweries. They are loath to admit it though.

 

[prog99]

If anyone has access to the old uk home brewing mailing list archives(I think I recognise at least one poster) then there was a very good Pilsner Urquell clone posted. I made it and it came out great fooling a number of folk.
Alas thats in my old email archives I cant find anymore and I cant find any online archives. I do remember it want 100% pilsner malt though and there was a speciality malt in there.

 

[An Ankoù]

100% pilsner malt
Saaz hops (60min and 30 min additions) - quantity depending on boil length and desired IBUs.
Wyeast 2007

Lactic acid for mash pH adjustment, aiming for 5.25.

4 weeks at 10C, 4 days at 20C, a week at -1C and then keg and lager for as long as humanly possible. The latter step is the hardest.

I'd go with the above with 10% vienna malt and MJ M84 yeast. Acid malt for pH adjustment (which just puts lactic acid into the mix anyway) as I haven't got round to diluting my bottle of 75% phosphoric acid yet.

 

[Pete7811]

Hi Mackembrew, how did this one go? About to make my own so interested