http://www.hoptomology.com/2012/07/25/the-pilsner-urquell-showdown-decoction-vs-single-infusion-was-it-worth-it/
http://www.morebeer.com/products/bohemian-pilsner-grain-beer-kit-advanced.html
http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue5.3/urquell.html
http://www.hoptomology.com/2012/01/25/pilsner-urquell-decoction-mash-or-single-infusion/
http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/
https://byo.com/mead/item/1497-the-science-of-step-mashing
9.5lb Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner
Pre-boil SG = 1.039, SG = 1.049
Assumed this water profile:
Columbus Water (Hap Cremean Water Plant 2014)
Ca+2 Mg+2 SO4-2 Na+ Cl- Alkalinity pH
28 8 59 13 25 45 (HCO3) 7.8
Which means I'll have to dilute with 50% distilled water to approximate
Pilsen water.
Modified triple decoction (According to an article, the water/grain ratio is
0.9qt/lb, which seems too low. I'll start there then infuse to get to ~ 2qt/lb):
100F acid rest (and beta glucan activation): 9qt @ 107F, 60 min
127F protein rest: infuse 9qt @ 160F, 10 min
143F Saccharification: 20 min
(Decoct 5qt, 143F for 20 min, 163F for 15 min, boil for 10 min, return)
163F mashout: 15 min
(Decoct 7qt, 163F for 15 min, boil for 10 min, return)
Batch sparge: 2.5 gal 180F water, followed by 1 gal 180F water.
1.25oz Saaz (First Wort, 2.8% alpha)
1.25oz Saaz (85 min)
1.5oz Saaz (25min)
WLP800 yeast, MFG 11/22/15, Lot 1021551
2/13/2016 6:30pm Made yeast starting wort with 4C water, 1/2C pilsen DME and 1/4t
Wyeast beer yeast starter.
7:45pm Pitched WLP800 yeast in starter, put starter in cool part of basement
where temp is about 62F.
2/14/2016 7:18am Some activity in airlock
7:12pm Made a much larger, higher gravity starter wort. Used 2L water
and 200g Pilsen DME (and a pinch of yeast nutrient.) Shook until
the foam filled the fermenter, poured the entire previous starter
into the fermenter. Should have waited for the foam to settle,
some of it came out of the top. Unfortunately I didn't chill
the new wort enough, so the final temp was about 80F. Put
it in the fermentation fridge to bring the temp down to 70F.
11:40pm Temp down to 66F, no noticible fermentation activity, but
but there is a nice layer of bright white yeast on the bottom.
2/15/2016 10:15am Began heating water, used 3gal distilled and 3gal double filtered.
10:34am Began acid rest. Stirred in 9 qt 107F water, overshot the
temp a little so I added an additional 1qt 70F water. Starting
temp was 103F.
10:51am Krausen is forming in yeast starter, but there is no airlock
activity. There are billowy drifts of new white yeast on
the bottom of fermenter.
11:39am Finished infusing 9qt of 160F water, temp of mash tun was
128F. Added a little direct heat to get to 131F.
11:53am began pulling first decoction, 5qt of thick mash
12:00pm Decoction up to 143F, rest for 20 min.
12:21pm Heated decoction up to 163F for second rest
12:35pm Began heating decoction to boiling.
12:46pm began 10 minute boil
12:56pm Finished first decoction, added to main mash. Main mash
temp went all the way up to 148F. I'll keep the top off
and let it cool a little. I heated the main mash up to
132F, and I shouldn't have done that. I should have left
it alone and let the decoctions do their things.
1:05pm Temp down to 146F.
1:19pm Temp down to 144F, pulled second decoction, about 7qt.
1:24pm Decoction rest at 163F.
1:34pm Started bringing decoction to a boil
1:49pm Decoction boil begins.
2:00pm Finished second decoction, added to main mash. Temp
at 162F
2:21pm Finished clearing wort, began sparge. Added 6qt 175F
water on top of grain bed.
2:39PM "Paused" sparge to add another 2.5 gal 190F water.
Brought mash temp up to 169F.
2:53pm Resumed sparge.
3:30pm Had other sparge complications; stopped sparge and stirred
a second time. Finished sparge, got about 7.25 gal
wort. Started propane burner.
3:34pm Added 1.25 oz Saaz, the first wort hops.
3:44pm Measured pre-boil OG = 1.039, spot on. Wort tastes
nice but is kind of indistinct. Not nearly as "green"
as the grains taste, but not as vibrant as a
British malt like maris otter. Good, not great.
3:48pm Boil begins.
4:24pm Added 1.25oz Saaz.
5:24pm Added 1.5oz Saaz.
5:31pm Put chiller in wort, added whirlfloc and
1/2t wyeast beer yeast nutrient.
5:46pm Finished boil
5:57pm Temp down to 100F, added ice to pre chiller.
6:10pm Temp down to 63F, turned off chiller. I'll let the
kettle rest for a bit in hopes that the cold break
settles down to the bottom. Yeast starter is
fermenting fairly vigorously (a lot of billowy
krausen) but not much airlock activity.
6:38pm Put starter in fridge to get yeast to settle
so I can decant before pitching. Began aerating wort.
7:15pm Finished aerating wort, filled most of the head space
with foam. Put fermenter in the fridge to chill.
2/16/2016 1:29am Decanted about half of the starter fluid, pitched
yeast. Fermenter was at 50F, will hold at 53F.
Starter fluid was so amazing. It had a huge grainy
flavor, slightly spritzy, big and round. It was
very very different from the WLP022, and I might
have liked it better (though it was in a higher
gravity starter, so maybe it was just higher in
alcohol. There were no off flavors that I noticed,
I bet it would ferment nicely at 60F. The beer came out
with SG=1.055 (at 50F, so subtract a point or two.)
There was just under 5 gal collected, so I could have
easily added a little more water.
It is a very clear bright gold, very pretty. It tastes
a little too bitter, hopefully that will mellow a bit.
It has a nice round grainy flavor that is different
from the usual british malt grainy flavor I'm used
to. I am really excited about it. I will ferment
at 53F, right in the middle of the White Labs
recommended range but a little higher than Pilsner
Urquell.
7:01am No noticible activity.
9:42pm Fermentation is very active now, lots of thick white
billowy krausen on top. Airlock activity is quite
irregular. There is 1s between bubbles sometimes,
there is a series of 4-6 bubbles followed by a longer
pause. Lots of motion up and down the fermenter. There
is a very thick layer of cold break/hop detritus in the
bottom of the fermenter. I made a mistake by transferring
it. Hopefully it will compact down a little but it
is about 2" thick right now.
2/17/2016 7:03am Temp 53F, fermentation still very active, some darker
brown specks seem to have been "sprinkled" on top of the
thick bright white billowy krausen.
6:52pm A lot more of the dark brown speckles are on top of the
krausen. The yeast are even more active than yesterday, they
are carrying bits of hop detritus up with them.
2/18/2016 7:09pm Fermentation is even more vigorous than before, 2s between
bubbles.
2/19/2016 10:55pm Fermentation is very vigorous
2/20/2016 7:19am Began temperature ramp up. Temp is 53F, ramp to 58F first.
4s between bubbles.
8:29pm Temp is only 56F, ramped thermostat up another 5F to 63F.
Ambient temp in the fermentation chamber area is only 62F,
so I will either turn on the warmer or move the fermenter
to a warmer place in the basement to hit the next temp.
Airlock activity has increased to 2s between bubbles, but
yeast don't seem to be moving as vigorously.
2/21/2016 1:03pm Temp of fermenter up to 60F, turned heating pad on to
increase the temp a little more rapidly. Airlock is
bubbling very vigorously, 2s between bubbles. Fermentation
is still very active.
11:16pm Temp up to 62F, moved fermenter to an area of the basement
where the temp is about 65F. Krausen looks even thicker
than before, much darker in color if not taller.
2/22/2016 7:09am Temp up to 64F, 2s between bubbles. Fermentation is
still tremendously active.
2/24/2016 7:10am Temp still 64F, 3s between bubbles, fermentation seems
to have slowed a little, krausen has started to fall a little,
yeast aren't moving quite as fast as before.
11:01pm 4s between bubbles, temp up to 65F
2/25/2016 7:07pm Still 4s between bubbles. Detritus at bottom of fermenter
has compacted a little.
2/27/2016 7:12pm Fermentation has slowed considerably; 23s between bubbles.
2/28/2016 11:31pm Still some krausen, but 43s between bubbles. If the
lagering fridge were available, I'd start lagering now.
2/29/2016 11:52pm 48s between bubbles, still a thin layer of very
sticky looking krausen on top.
3/1/2016 8:09pm Krausen is basically gone.
3/2/2016 7:12am Moved fermenter to lagering chamber, did not transfer
to secondary yet. Temp is 65F.
7:28pm temp down to 38F.
3/3/2016 1:25am Temp down to 31F.
3/8/2016 7:15pm Racked beer off of trub and other detritus. Got 4.75 gallons
in secondary fermenter.
3/22/2016 9:27pm Bottled today. Used 2.5oz corn sugar for priming,
boiled with 16oz water for 15 min. Got 4.5 gallons
of beer in bottling bucket, which gave 51 12oz bottles.
I didn't let the beer warm before bottling, so it was
about 46F at bottling.
FG = 1.012 (at probably 50F, so it could actually be lower.)
Beer is a bright gold, about the same color as the Altmodisch.
It is definitely the brightest beer I've made (but, of
course, it is the first lager i've made.)
Put beer in warm room with heater at 75F.
It is tremendously malty with a hint of hop edge (possibly
too much hop bitterness.) It will be very good.
3/25/2016 10:00am Turned heater off; I suspect that the warm temps are
to blame for my overcarbonation issues.
4/5/2016 7:45pm Put test bottle in the fridge
4/6/2016 8:40pm Opened the bottle, it had a very loud "pfft" and I expected
overcarbonation. In reality, it had plenty of carbonation
but not (yet) too much. Beer poured a deep gold with
a bright white head. Beer is much less bright than I
had hoped, it looks more kolsch than pilsener. The
nose is softly fruity, again like a kolsch. The
soft fruitiness is up front, followed by a nice
round grainy maltiness and finishing with a perfect
peach pit bitterness. It is an excellent, rich,
round, balanced beer. I love it. It is more like
a kolsch than pilsener, however, which is a bit
disappointing. I should have fermented at cooler
temps at first, for longer, and lagered longer.
The head lasts too long and the beer will probably
be overcarbonated. Despite these problems, the
beer finishes quite dry and is very good.
4/28/2016 8:46pm The fruitiness has faded a little and now there
is a touch of sweetness. Had a chance to have
the real thing today (on tap, no less, at BJ's
brewhouse.) It was very, very good. I seem to recall
having it in a bottle once and not thinking much
of it, but I really liked it today. Compared to
mine, it was a little darker, a little more bitter
a little less carbonated (almost no head retention,
while my head lasts forever) and quite a bit cleaner
(no surprise.) What was surprising was that it
seemed to have a touch of fruit, just like mine.
It was on the border of fruit/flower, so this
might just be the effect of the tremendous amount
of hops, but it definitely was not as clean
as I expected. Also, I think mine is a little
bit more "grainy". In the final analysis, mine
has a lot more in common with the original
than I dared to hope.
surprising
http://www.morebeer.com/products/bohemian-pilsner-grain-beer-kit-advanced.html
http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue5.3/urquell.html
http://www.hoptomology.com/2012/01/25/pilsner-urquell-decoction-mash-or-single-infusion/
http://brulosophy.com/methods/lager-method/
https://byo.com/mead/item/1497-the-science-of-step-mashing
9.5lb Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner
Pre-boil SG = 1.039, SG = 1.049
Assumed this water profile:
Columbus Water (Hap Cremean Water Plant 2014)
Ca+2 Mg+2 SO4-2 Na+ Cl- Alkalinity pH
28 8 59 13 25 45 (HCO3) 7.8
Which means I'll have to dilute with 50% distilled water to approximate
Pilsen water.
Modified triple decoction (According to an article, the water/grain ratio is
0.9qt/lb, which seems too low. I'll start there then infuse to get to ~ 2qt/lb):
100F acid rest (and beta glucan activation): 9qt @ 107F, 60 min
127F protein rest: infuse 9qt @ 160F, 10 min
143F Saccharification: 20 min
(Decoct 5qt, 143F for 20 min, 163F for 15 min, boil for 10 min, return)
163F mashout: 15 min
(Decoct 7qt, 163F for 15 min, boil for 10 min, return)
Batch sparge: 2.5 gal 180F water, followed by 1 gal 180F water.
1.25oz Saaz (First Wort, 2.8% alpha)
1.25oz Saaz (85 min)
1.5oz Saaz (25min)
WLP800 yeast, MFG 11/22/15, Lot 1021551
2/13/2016 6:30pm Made yeast starting wort with 4C water, 1/2C pilsen DME and 1/4t
Wyeast beer yeast starter.
7:45pm Pitched WLP800 yeast in starter, put starter in cool part of basement
where temp is about 62F.
2/14/2016 7:18am Some activity in airlock
7:12pm Made a much larger, higher gravity starter wort. Used 2L water
and 200g Pilsen DME (and a pinch of yeast nutrient.) Shook until
the foam filled the fermenter, poured the entire previous starter
into the fermenter. Should have waited for the foam to settle,
some of it came out of the top. Unfortunately I didn't chill
the new wort enough, so the final temp was about 80F. Put
it in the fermentation fridge to bring the temp down to 70F.
11:40pm Temp down to 66F, no noticible fermentation activity, but
but there is a nice layer of bright white yeast on the bottom.
2/15/2016 10:15am Began heating water, used 3gal distilled and 3gal double filtered.
10:34am Began acid rest. Stirred in 9 qt 107F water, overshot the
temp a little so I added an additional 1qt 70F water. Starting
temp was 103F.
10:51am Krausen is forming in yeast starter, but there is no airlock
activity. There are billowy drifts of new white yeast on
the bottom of fermenter.
11:39am Finished infusing 9qt of 160F water, temp of mash tun was
128F. Added a little direct heat to get to 131F.
11:53am began pulling first decoction, 5qt of thick mash
12:00pm Decoction up to 143F, rest for 20 min.
12:21pm Heated decoction up to 163F for second rest
12:35pm Began heating decoction to boiling.
12:46pm began 10 minute boil
12:56pm Finished first decoction, added to main mash. Main mash
temp went all the way up to 148F. I'll keep the top off
and let it cool a little. I heated the main mash up to
132F, and I shouldn't have done that. I should have left
it alone and let the decoctions do their things.
1:05pm Temp down to 146F.
1:19pm Temp down to 144F, pulled second decoction, about 7qt.
1:24pm Decoction rest at 163F.
1:34pm Started bringing decoction to a boil
1:49pm Decoction boil begins.
2:00pm Finished second decoction, added to main mash. Temp
at 162F
2:21pm Finished clearing wort, began sparge. Added 6qt 175F
water on top of grain bed.
2:39PM "Paused" sparge to add another 2.5 gal 190F water.
Brought mash temp up to 169F.
2:53pm Resumed sparge.
3:30pm Had other sparge complications; stopped sparge and stirred
a second time. Finished sparge, got about 7.25 gal
wort. Started propane burner.
3:34pm Added 1.25 oz Saaz, the first wort hops.
3:44pm Measured pre-boil OG = 1.039, spot on. Wort tastes
nice but is kind of indistinct. Not nearly as "green"
as the grains taste, but not as vibrant as a
British malt like maris otter. Good, not great.
3:48pm Boil begins.
4:24pm Added 1.25oz Saaz.
5:24pm Added 1.5oz Saaz.
5:31pm Put chiller in wort, added whirlfloc and
1/2t wyeast beer yeast nutrient.
5:46pm Finished boil
5:57pm Temp down to 100F, added ice to pre chiller.
6:10pm Temp down to 63F, turned off chiller. I'll let the
kettle rest for a bit in hopes that the cold break
settles down to the bottom. Yeast starter is
fermenting fairly vigorously (a lot of billowy
krausen) but not much airlock activity.
6:38pm Put starter in fridge to get yeast to settle
so I can decant before pitching. Began aerating wort.
7:15pm Finished aerating wort, filled most of the head space
with foam. Put fermenter in the fridge to chill.
2/16/2016 1:29am Decanted about half of the starter fluid, pitched
yeast. Fermenter was at 50F, will hold at 53F.
Starter fluid was so amazing. It had a huge grainy
flavor, slightly spritzy, big and round. It was
very very different from the WLP022, and I might
have liked it better (though it was in a higher
gravity starter, so maybe it was just higher in
alcohol. There were no off flavors that I noticed,
I bet it would ferment nicely at 60F. The beer came out
with SG=1.055 (at 50F, so subtract a point or two.)
There was just under 5 gal collected, so I could have
easily added a little more water.
It is a very clear bright gold, very pretty. It tastes
a little too bitter, hopefully that will mellow a bit.
It has a nice round grainy flavor that is different
from the usual british malt grainy flavor I'm used
to. I am really excited about it. I will ferment
at 53F, right in the middle of the White Labs
recommended range but a little higher than Pilsner
Urquell.
7:01am No noticible activity.
9:42pm Fermentation is very active now, lots of thick white
billowy krausen on top. Airlock activity is quite
irregular. There is 1s between bubbles sometimes,
there is a series of 4-6 bubbles followed by a longer
pause. Lots of motion up and down the fermenter. There
is a very thick layer of cold break/hop detritus in the
bottom of the fermenter. I made a mistake by transferring
it. Hopefully it will compact down a little but it
is about 2" thick right now.
2/17/2016 7:03am Temp 53F, fermentation still very active, some darker
brown specks seem to have been "sprinkled" on top of the
thick bright white billowy krausen.
6:52pm A lot more of the dark brown speckles are on top of the
krausen. The yeast are even more active than yesterday, they
are carrying bits of hop detritus up with them.
2/18/2016 7:09pm Fermentation is even more vigorous than before, 2s between
bubbles.
2/19/2016 10:55pm Fermentation is very vigorous
2/20/2016 7:19am Began temperature ramp up. Temp is 53F, ramp to 58F first.
4s between bubbles.
8:29pm Temp is only 56F, ramped thermostat up another 5F to 63F.
Ambient temp in the fermentation chamber area is only 62F,
so I will either turn on the warmer or move the fermenter
to a warmer place in the basement to hit the next temp.
Airlock activity has increased to 2s between bubbles, but
yeast don't seem to be moving as vigorously.
2/21/2016 1:03pm Temp of fermenter up to 60F, turned heating pad on to
increase the temp a little more rapidly. Airlock is
bubbling very vigorously, 2s between bubbles. Fermentation
is still very active.
11:16pm Temp up to 62F, moved fermenter to an area of the basement
where the temp is about 65F. Krausen looks even thicker
than before, much darker in color if not taller.
2/22/2016 7:09am Temp up to 64F, 2s between bubbles. Fermentation is
still tremendously active.
2/24/2016 7:10am Temp still 64F, 3s between bubbles, fermentation seems
to have slowed a little, krausen has started to fall a little,
yeast aren't moving quite as fast as before.
11:01pm 4s between bubbles, temp up to 65F
2/25/2016 7:07pm Still 4s between bubbles. Detritus at bottom of fermenter
has compacted a little.
2/27/2016 7:12pm Fermentation has slowed considerably; 23s between bubbles.
2/28/2016 11:31pm Still some krausen, but 43s between bubbles. If the
lagering fridge were available, I'd start lagering now.
2/29/2016 11:52pm 48s between bubbles, still a thin layer of very
sticky looking krausen on top.
3/1/2016 8:09pm Krausen is basically gone.
3/2/2016 7:12am Moved fermenter to lagering chamber, did not transfer
to secondary yet. Temp is 65F.
7:28pm temp down to 38F.
3/3/2016 1:25am Temp down to 31F.
3/8/2016 7:15pm Racked beer off of trub and other detritus. Got 4.75 gallons
in secondary fermenter.
3/22/2016 9:27pm Bottled today. Used 2.5oz corn sugar for priming,
boiled with 16oz water for 15 min. Got 4.5 gallons
of beer in bottling bucket, which gave 51 12oz bottles.
I didn't let the beer warm before bottling, so it was
about 46F at bottling.
FG = 1.012 (at probably 50F, so it could actually be lower.)
Beer is a bright gold, about the same color as the Altmodisch.
It is definitely the brightest beer I've made (but, of
course, it is the first lager i've made.)
Put beer in warm room with heater at 75F.
It is tremendously malty with a hint of hop edge (possibly
too much hop bitterness.) It will be very good.
3/25/2016 10:00am Turned heater off; I suspect that the warm temps are
to blame for my overcarbonation issues.
4/5/2016 7:45pm Put test bottle in the fridge
4/6/2016 8:40pm Opened the bottle, it had a very loud "pfft" and I expected
overcarbonation. In reality, it had plenty of carbonation
but not (yet) too much. Beer poured a deep gold with
a bright white head. Beer is much less bright than I
had hoped, it looks more kolsch than pilsener. The
nose is softly fruity, again like a kolsch. The
soft fruitiness is up front, followed by a nice
round grainy maltiness and finishing with a perfect
peach pit bitterness. It is an excellent, rich,
round, balanced beer. I love it. It is more like
a kolsch than pilsener, however, which is a bit
disappointing. I should have fermented at cooler
temps at first, for longer, and lagered longer.
The head lasts too long and the beer will probably
be overcarbonated. Despite these problems, the
beer finishes quite dry and is very good.
4/28/2016 8:46pm The fruitiness has faded a little and now there
is a touch of sweetness. Had a chance to have
the real thing today (on tap, no less, at BJ's
brewhouse.) It was very, very good. I seem to recall
having it in a bottle once and not thinking much
of it, but I really liked it today. Compared to
mine, it was a little darker, a little more bitter
a little less carbonated (almost no head retention,
while my head lasts forever) and quite a bit cleaner
(no surprise.) What was surprising was that it
seemed to have a touch of fruit, just like mine.
It was on the border of fruit/flower, so this
might just be the effect of the tremendous amount
of hops, but it definitely was not as clean
as I expected. Also, I think mine is a little
bit more "grainy". In the final analysis, mine
has a lot more in common with the original
than I dared to hope.
surprising
