Pilsner partial extract

[mook1979]

Hi,

I have brewed 4 x 45 pint extract batches with a Coopers starter kit. While two batches are drinkable, I have not really enjoyed any of them. I have experimented with hop additions and dry hopping as well. Maybe I have just been unlucky with the kits I purchased. I am doing a fair amount of cider and mead experiments on the side in two 1 gallon demi johns, so I am comfortable with the procedure and spend a lot of effort on sanitising with Starsan.

There are four of us living in a two bedroom house, so I do not have time or space to start all grain brewing with extra equipment yet. I am looking at something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5K2RxhKuzQ as it looks like the best way to improve the quality of a kit beer a bit. The style of beer I enjoy most is Czech Pilsner. I built a temperature controlled fermentation box in my shed which seems to work out well, so it is down to the ingredients I am able to use given the restrictions where I live.

Does anybody know where I can get a good recipe for a Czech Pilsner (or anything in that syle of beer) which will involve something like http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/ ... 1-7kg.html with some extra fresh grains and hops that I can prepare on the stove? I would prefer the partial-extract or mini-mash method before moving on to anything where I will need extra equipment. I have researched the topic to death, but cannot find a recipe with proper instructions that I can easily find the ingredients on a UK website. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pittsy]

Hi , for 23 liter brew try 300g of carahell with 65g of dark crystal (malt miller link above) steep in water for 30 mins at 66c , then add 3kg of light dried malt extract . use 80g of saaz hops for 60 min boil adding 25g of saaz (based on 3%aa) with 15 mins left .

 

[Half Full]

You dont mention what yeast you have used with your brews so far. Temperature control is certainly one factor in a successful brew, but kit yeasts can be a bit of a letdown. Probably want a yeast fitting the style of beer you are making to get the result you are hoping for.

 

[mook1979]

I used a Muntons Premium yeast on the first batch. My research from early on pointed out that yeast that comes with a kit are normally not great. I brewed that at an ale temperature, so got an average tasting ale. I decided the try the kit yeast for the second batch so I could tell what that would add to (or take away from) the beer. It was not great. I then built the temp control box and used a Saflager S-23 yeast and fermented it between 12 - 14 C. That was a lesser known kit and I suspect I suspect the malt extract was not the best quality. Someone recommended I give Coopers another try and have a Canadian Blonde with S-23 fermenting in my fermentation box. I took a sample last night and it is like beer flavoured water. It has It's only 4 days into the brew, so I will check again next week. I also tried to activate the yeast with the last batch before pitching. Maybe I need to used two packs in stead of just one.

Sanitising is not any issue. The temperature in my fermentation box slowly fluctuates by about 2C in a 24 hour period, but I suspect that is not a critical issue. I don't think there was an issue with the quality of the yeast I used for the last two batches. Could it be that I need to pitch more yeast and wait longer before lowering the temperature to the 12 - 15C range specified on the yeast packet. I slowly started lowering the temp within an hour after pitching.

Unless I made a really obvious mistake, I think I need to try a partial mash to get a bit more flavour. Another thing that I came across as well is using a Coopers kit with a Coopers Liquid Malt Extract can. Maybe it is worth trying that before trying the "boil in a bag" method. Maybe my expectations are simply too high when it comes to extract brewing.