Festival New Zealand pilsner.

[unforgiven]

ive done this kit a few times never had a problem with the hop bag i put it on the end that syphons into the bottling bucket the bag fills up but its fine

 

[MagnusTS]

Thanks Unforgiven,
I might try putting the hop bag on the bottling bucket end (outflow?) of the syphon rather than the FV end.
I guess this would also work if you were using a tap rather than syphon to transfer from FV to bottling bucket?

 

[unforgiven]

yep should be fine

 

[unforgiven]

i should add that i do use the wider tube think its 16mm

 

[Poochops]

Bottled this this evening after 3 days cold crash at 3 degrees, it was in the bottling bucket so I primed the bottles instead of bulk priming so as not to disturb the new layer of sediment. I'm quite pleased with how the cold crash settled out another layer of trub but it was still quite cloudy and I expect more sediment in the bottles than with any other brew I've done but I think I've minimised it as best I could. Actually managed 39 500 ml bottles so I lost less than i first thought. As for flavour, quite light and delicately hoppy in the trial tube, not like lager as I'd describe it and it will be interesting to see how it conditions out. Very pleasant though at this early stage. OG 1054 fg 1012 so abv approx 5.5% which is bang on how we like lager in this house :smile: used saflager w34-70 brewed at 12 degrees. No off tastes even at this stage. So far so good!

 

[MagnusTS]

Just got a couple of these out of the garage to have a little sample after 1 week conditioning. But they are still very cloudy with the biggest amount of sediment I have seen in any brew. Hope this is just dirty beer as a result of my bad syphoning. I'll leave them another week to see if it settles out. But could it be bacterial? How would I know if I've contaminated the whole batch? Is it obvious smell and taste when this happens?

 

[Poochops]

I'd Leave it for a good three to four weeks to let the sediment pack down if i was you, you probably picked up a lot of hop debris from the pellet addition, mine was like pea soup before the cold crash and it was still very cloudy afterward too! Give it time and it'll clear and compact but you might just have to be extra careful pouring with so much sediment.

 

[Jakeyboi]

I have this kit ready to do, what's the consensus on the yeast? The packet says California lager? I've learnt not to trust kit instructions. I think I will use a muslin bag with the hops. Looking forward to this kit!

 

[Poochops]

Definitely bag the hops imo, I've got a Cwtch on at the moment and I'm bloody kicking myself for making the same mistake twice! I'm going to fine this one when it's finished because I really don't appreciate any sediment more than the absolute minimum, doesn't bother some people but it makes my teeth itch :lol: I swapped the yeast because I wanted to brew it cold and I didn't know if the supplied yeast would work but there's certainly no complaints that I've seen anywhere about the kit yeast

 

[SeagullRich]

So about to start my 3rd brew and this is it. I was planning on doing it tonight but a bit concerned that the temp may go too low, don't think we have the heating on overnight & as yet i have no brewbelt or suchlike. Based in the UK, is homebrew more something that people tend to do in Spring/Autumn a little more (or buy the temp control gear) During the day it will probably be warm enough, but is it likely to ruin/stop it or rather just mean longer in the FV? I am sure I read that say a Pilsner ferments at a lower temp than most things hence why I chose it?

Thanks as ever for any replies

 

[MagnusTS]

Hi SeagullRich,
I think the yeast in the NZ Pilsner kit is an ale yeast, and ferments at the usual ale temp of about 18-22C. Some people swap out the kit yeast for a lager yeast; that might do the trick, I'm not an expert though, others will be able to advise you on that.
I brew right through the winter without temperature control. I found that using a cupboard at the very centre of the house has the most stable temperature. I got one of those really cheap digital high-low thermometers from Amazon to check the temperature range. If the temperature drops much below 18C at night you risk the fermentation stalling. I have the opposite problem in winter; the central heating can push the day-time temperature above 24C and create headache inducing by-products.

 

[SeagullRich]

Brilliant, thanks Magnus - I did it and as you say, tried to locate in centre of house - temp anout 18 degrees at the mo, so should kick off soon. Accurate thermometer sounds a good idea. just got the strip at the moment that came with the kit. We shall see

 

[Jakeyboi]

I've had this in the fv 11 days at 18C. S.G is 1014 I think it has a touch further to go. I'm about to dry hop this with the hops provided, I plan to leave it for 4/5 days then bottle. There is still this Krausen, never had one like this before not sure what to do with it? Will it sink? Anyway I'm going to drop the muslin bag with hops through it now. Tastes pretty good considering it's still fermenting.

 

[Jakeyboi]

3 weeks in the fv this finished up at 1010. I dry hopped it with the hops provided for 5 days. Cold crashed it at 1.5C for 3 days and today I put it a corny keg! My first brew in the keg. I will let it mature and carb until Xmas then this is going to get hammered. It tastes fantastic! It's still fairly cloudy considering I used a hop bag and cold crashed. Doesn't bother me tho and should clear with time.

 

[Sozzled]

Well, I've had this done and dusted for about a month now. And it is very nice.

The first couple of bottles I had gave a really bitter initial taste but the aftertaste was very nice and hoppy. The bitterness has now faded and this is a very nice pint.

I managed to drop the whole tray of these as I was moving them out of the shed, lucky for me none of the bottles broke! However I think I've displaced a lot of the CO2 as there isn't much of a head to speak of anymore and there was before my accident!

Either way it's a really nice beer and I'd definitely do it again!

 

[Tanzanite]

i love east kent goldings maybe try them

Drinking a wherry this minute , dry hopped for the 2 week secondary with 30g east kent goldings hops, for me this is the perfect amount

 

[SeagullRich]

Have to say, 4 weeks in now since I bottled this and it is fantastic. Of the three kits I have done the Woodforde's Wherry was OK but the Youngs IPA and especially this NZ Pilsner have been fantastic. Started off a Festival Summer Ale last night - expecting good things!! I will definitely do this NZ Pilsner again, bottles are disappearing too fast & with the missus out and Brighton on the TV tomorrow night, there will be a few more gone by Saturday!

 

[MagnusTS]

Started off a Festival Summer Ale last night - expecting good things!!

The Summer Ale is another of my favourite kits. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Poochops]

10-11 weeks in the bottle now and I had one earlier with my lasagne, lovely lovely brew! The major hop load has mellowed out lovely, it's crystal clear, crisp and refreshing, just a hint of maltiness and bags of flavour. I don't drink much lager these days but the missus and the kids will have one now and again so it gets brownie points to be able to oblige them, I'll be doing this again when it starts to run low.

 

[JohnRB]

Just getting back to brewing I thought I'd try a well recommennded kit - Ritchies Festival New Zealand Pilsner.

All looks fine but the fermentation pattern is not what I'd expected. Luckily, I can keep temperatures fairly constant. In this case it was 21DegC which was well within the recommended 20-25.

I've had vigorous fermentation for 9 days including 7 when the krausen overcame the airlock. With reasonable sanitation this shouldn't be a big problem but thought others might be interested.

Still bubbling once a minute I've pitched in the hops without bothering to bag them. Ritchies suggest dry hopping after 5 days which really doesn't seem a good idea.

After dry hopping the brew smells great so it's fingers crossed for the next stage which should be racking and cold storage 5 days from now before kegging.