Czech Premium Pale Lager?

AGbrewer

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I normally do roof scraping ABV RIS Barrel Aged crazy stuff. However, I'm thinking that a Summer Pilsner would be perfect for the Texas heat. I have Pilsner, Munich, Victory, Vienna, Aromatic, and Rolled Oats for the malts. Hops I have Nugget. Yeast I have Wyeast Czech lager yeast (did a 3 liter starter tonight in anticipation).

Think that this may very well be my first Pilsner brew ever! Did a Kolsch once before, but that doesn't really count for a Pilsner now does it?

Not really sure that Czech Premium Pale Lager is the correct category, so if you think a different one suits it, by all means let me know.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1135741/pilsner-001
 
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I normally do roof scraping ABV RIS Barrel Aged crazy stuff. However, I'm thinking that a Summer Pilsner would be perfect for the Texas heat. I have Pilsner, Munich, Victory, Vienna, Aromatic, and Rolled Oats for the malts. Hops I have Nugget. Yeast I have Wyeast Czech lager yeast (did a 3 liter starter tonight in anticipation).

Think that this may very well be my first Pilsner brew ever! Did a Kolsch once before, but that doesn't really count for a Pilsner now does it?

Not really sure that Czech Premium Pale Lager is the correct category, so if you think a different one suits it, by all means let me know.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1135741/pilsner-001
Saaz is kind of the hallmark ingredient for that category. Do you only have Nugget hops? If you want a more traditional grain bill, I would go almost entirely with pilsner and maybe add a small amount of munich and tad of aromatic to get a richer malt character when compared to a german pils.

Or you could just brew it and call it a summer lager...

Here's the last batch I brewed which just happens to be a Czech Pils. The jury is still out.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/746909/bo-knows-pilsner
 
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I like the idea of aromatic malt. I used it in a Dunkel and I liked it better than melanoidin malt. I would also suggest a very simple grain bill. 97% pils and 3% aromatic. The nugget hop is fine since it's boiled 60 minutes, but if you want a little aroma then I agree that saaz is better with a late addition, like at flame out.

I brew a lot of German Pils and I add hops to the whirlpool, which works out really well. But with a Czech you normally would focus on the malt more so than any hop character. A small late charge of saaz might be nice.
 
Don't use Nugget hops! You'll end up with a piney, slightly harsh, thin Blond Ale rather than a smoothe, spicy, slightly skunky Pilsner. Just hold off brewing until you can get some Saaz. You'll be glad you did.! :)
 
Don't use Nugget hops! You'll end up with a piney, slightly harsh, thin Blond Ale rather than a smoothe, spicy, slightly skunky Pilsner. Just hold off brewing until you can get some Saaz. You'll be glad you did.! :)

Too late...just got done brewing this one about 1 hour ago. Wasn't paying attention and missed your comment yesterday and tody.

I'm sure that it will still be a decent beer. Iteration #002 will certainly have Saaz.
 
Too late...just got done brewing this one about 1 hour ago. Wasn't paying attention and missed your comment yesterday and tody.

I'm sure that it will still be a decent beer. Iteration #002 will certainly have Saaz.
Nugget in particular is a hop with a strident flavor and presence, IMO. For more neutral American hops, I like to use Willamette (floral, earthy spicy), Crystal (floral, earthy, mild) or Sterling (mild spice, floral, fruity).
I've had Pilsners and Helles style beers that use American hops and they can be quite good but they're unmistakably American and not European. :)
 
Nugget in particular is a hop with a strident flavor and presence, IMO. For more neutral American hops, I like to use Willamette (floral, earthy spicy), Crystal (floral, earthy, mild) or Sterling (mild spice, floral, fruity).
I've had Pilsners and Helles style beers that use American hops and they can be quite good but they're unmistakably American and not European. :)

Man...I just bought a pound of it for my main bittering hop. I sure hope I don't end up regretting it.

Previously, I used Magnum and had no issues with it.
 
Man...I just bought a pound of it for my main bittering hop. I sure hope I don't end up regretting it.

Previously, I used Magnum and had no issues with it.
I’ve never had any issues with Nugget as a bittering hops. I mostly use Nugget, Bravo, Magnum...for bittering and honestly couldn’t tell the difference. Granted, I don’t brew Czech Lagers, so there’s that.
 
I normally do roof scraping ABV RIS Barrel Aged crazy stuff. However, I'm thinking that a Summer Pilsner would be perfect for the Texas heat. I have Pilsner, Munich, Victory, Vienna, Aromatic, and Rolled Oats for the malts. Hops I have Nugget. Yeast I have Wyeast Czech lager yeast (did a 3 liter starter tonight in anticipation).

Think that this may very well be my first Pilsner brew ever! Did a Kolsch once before, but that doesn't really count for a Pilsner now does it?

Not really sure that Czech Premium Pale Lager is the correct category, so if you think a different one suits it, by all means let me know.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1135741/pilsner-001
I'd let it lager in the primary opposed to racking to secondary and lagering then transferring to bottles less o2 ingress you want this pilsner fresh as possible as in less fecking transferring where possible.

Or why not bottle carb for two weeks then lager (store cold) the bottles for a month you'll probably end up with brite beer this way.

Also some kettle finnings will help.
I'd go a step mash starting low end of sac rest and stepping to high end.

Also SMB might be your friend at bottling to help with O2 ingress but I'm not sure if this will affect secondary bottle fermentation.

If we're me I'd ferment until stable gravity reached - cold crash once cool add geletin crash for a week - Bottle off primary - carbonate room temp 18c+ two weeks - transfer to beer fridge to lager and drink.
 
Man...I just bought a pound of it for my main bittering hop. I sure hope I don't end up regretting it.

Previously, I used Magnum and had no issues with it.
I use Magnum for bittering in almost all beers I brew, though I prefer Warrior in IPAs and some Pale Ales. To me the difference in Nugget and Magnum is pretty huge. The Magnum is much more neutral in the mix, giving a very "smooth" bitterness and noble flavor and aroma that stays out of the way. Nugget will definitely have more "bite" to the bitterness may have a lingering hint pine in the flavor. It won't be bad at all for a lager, it just won't be Czech in any way. :)
 
I'd let it lager in the primary opposed to racking to secondary and lagering then transferring to bottles less o2 ingress you want this pilsner fresh as possible as in less fecking transferring where possible.

Or why not bottle carb for two weeks then lager (store cold) the bottles for a month you'll probably end up with brite beer this way.

Also some kettle finnings will help.
I'd go a step mash starting low end of sac rest and stepping to high end.

Also SMB might be your friend at bottling to help with O2 ingress but I'm not sure if this will affect secondary bottle fermentation.

If we're me I'd ferment until stable gravity reached - cold crash once cool add geletin crash for a week - Bottle off primary - carbonate room temp 18c+ two weeks - transfer to beer fridge to lager and drink.

The last time I made a beer like this, I let it sit in primary for 1 month and then racked it over to a keg to lager for 1-2 month at around 36 degrees F before serving from the keg.

I'd like to use your suggestion, but don't think that leaving the beer on the original yeast cake for 2 or 3 months is a good idea. Thoughts?

Right now, I'm leaning toward doing something similar to my last brew mentioned above, but instead of serving out of the keg, I'll bottle once the lager period is done since I don't keg beer anymore. Just use the kegs as primary/secondary fermenters.
 
The last time I made a beer like this, I let it sit in primary for 1 month and then racked it over to a keg to lager for 1-2 month at around 36 degrees F before serving from the keg.

I'd like to use your suggestion, but don't think that leaving the beer on the original yeast cake for 2 or 3 months is a good idea. Thoughts?

Right now, I'm leaning toward doing something similar to my last brew mentioned above, but instead of serving out of the keg, I'll bottle once the lager period is done since I don't keg beer anymore. Just use the kegs as primary/secondary fermenters.
Yeah i wouldnt id ferment - bottle - carb then lager.

You either lager before or after bottling it's up to you i lager all my beer in its packaged form;).
How long depends on how tasty it is:rolleyes:.
 
So the yeast i pitched on Thursday was DOA. Did a starter on Monday and after I pitched it on Thursday evening, I checked the hydrometer. Same SG as when i pitched it into the starter on Monday.

Went to the homebrew store yesterday and picked up 2 packs of WL Mexican Lager and pitched them in as soon as I got home. However, the SG had dropped from 1.054 to 1.053. Not sure if the original yeast finally started working or if I have a wild yeast going to work in there.
No idea what's going to come of this beer now, just hope it's not a sour.
 
So I bottled last week and it tasted pretty good going into the bottles, so I don't think any wild stuff got into the brew like I originally thought.

1.054 OG and 1.010 FG which comes out to 81% attenuation and a 5.78 abv. That was a bit higher attenuation than I expected, but I've noticed that when I brew with less than 14 lbs of grain on the CHS system, I seem to get better efficiency in the extraction and attenuation department. I use a pump for the entire mash and typically do a 90-120 minute mash on all my beers. That is mostly due to other things happening while I'm brewing (e.g. kids, yardwork, WFH, laundry, etc.).

I'll report back in about a month on whether the carbonated beer it tasty.
 
Too little too late, but I agree on the saaz. Gives the characteristic bite that is Czech pilsner
 
Man...I just bought a pound of it for my main bittering hop. I sure hope I don't end up regretting it.

Previously, I used Magnum and had no issues with it.


Don't worry about it. So much of the flavor is boiled off, you can use any hop for bittering really. Categorizing them as Bitter or Aroma is more of a suggestion. A 10% AA hop (like nugget) will get you more bittering power than a 3.0% Saaz is all really.


But to parrot everyone else. Saaz are the hallmark of the Czech Pils, but there are plenty of commercial examples that stray from them. I'd say it is way more important to have a soft rounded finish to the beer. Remember, Czech = Soft Finish German = Crisp.
 
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