First all grain (Its a SMaSH)

Smash café

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So, moving to all grain. I have taken advise from this forum and decided to brew a SMaSH pilsner to learn the flavour of one grain and one hop rather than making an over complicated recipie where I won't understand where the flavours have come from.
My name on this forum has nothing to do with SMaSH brewing as I have only discoveredd this prinsiple this week, but is the name myself and friends gave to my living room homebrew drinking sessions (more getting smashed than SMaSH). I see it as a happy coinsidence and would like to brew a cafe smash SMaSH pilsner.
Only german grains available from my LHBS and I want to support him whenever possible. I selected saaz hops as it is what is used in Pilsner Urquell which is one of my favorite lagers.

What do you all think? would you tweek anything yourselves, while still keeping it as a SMaSH?
 
I'd do some late additions of Saaz, maybe a half ounce to an ounce at about 10 minutes and at flameout if you want a more "Czech" pils flavor. A warning: Pilsner is very, very difficult to brew! You just about have to do everything perfectly to pull it off. Pay particular attention to your water, you want it as soft as possible. And control the fermentation temperature religiously.
 
I would definitely listen to Noseybear here, if I were you!
I haven't touched pils (yet) but even my experience with ales has shown me that temp control is crucial, and if that is the case with an ale, then it is 100x the case with pils.
Late addition is imo good too. @60, you could *almost* get away with any ol' hop (as many of the big breweries do). The late additions "make the beer" ;-)
 
Thanks for the tips. I will adjust the hop schedual.
I live in Dublin with hard water that I guess is what makes Guinness so good. So I'm finnaly going to read up on water profiles and adjustments which I have been intending to read up on for a while. So a new challenge! Once I get my head around water stuff I'll drop back in here and ask advise again to make sure I am on the right track.
 
I made a luscious Czech style Pilsner this winter (with Saaz) but I followed a lager fermentation protocol. The one caution I can give is about that water of yours. The very things about it that make it work for stout are what make it unsuitable for pale beers. That's why stout was invented in the UK, not Pilsen, and vice versa!

I would brew with bottled spring water if you can. It has a soft mineral profile that's more in line with what's needed for a Pilsner. And it lacks the residual alkalinity that is one of the problems with the prototypical Dublin water when it comes to pale beers.
 
So you think I will be ok with bottled spring water? Is all bottled spring water soft? should I contact the company to ask for a water profile of their product and adjust as required?
I guess SMaSH stouts are out of the question.
Any ideas of a SMaSH beer style I could make with hard Dublin water?
Thanks again for the feedback. It has me thinking and learning.
 
Bottled distilled water is the softest you can get, then just add a little salt as desired.
 
So correct me if I'm wrong, but distilled water is pure H2o therefore has none of the ion levels of any element and therefore has a score of 0 in each box on line 4 of the water chemistry calculator? if this is so and I am aiming for 28.5 of water for a Pilsen light lager an adition of 2.2g (1/2 teaspoon) of baking soda (NaHCO3) to distilled water brings all levels to desirable levels.
Ca -7, Mg-3, SO-5, Na+20 Cl-5 HCO -19
Target alkalinity= 61 alkalinity= 46
Alkalinity difference= -16

I see that the Na and HCO levels are at the very edge of acceptability, would this be an issue?
Would anyone adjust it in another way?
Am I not getting this?
 
Smash café said:
So correct me if I'm wrong, but distilled water is pure H2o therefore has none of the ion levels of any element and therefore has a score of 0 in each box on line 1 of the water chemistry calculator? if this is so and I am aiming for Pilsen light lager an adition of 0.55g of baking soda (NaHCO3) to distilled water brings all levels to desirable levels.
Ca -7, Mg-3, SO-5, Na+20 Cl-5 HCO -18
Target alkalinity= 61 alkalinity= 47
Alkalinity difference= -15

I see that the Na level is at the very edge of acceptability, would this be an issue?
Would anyone adjust it in another way?
Am I not getting this?

You have way too little calcium - you need 40+ ppm for good fermentation and clarity. The alkalinity isn't what you're looking for, but residual alkalinity to bring the pH of your mash down into the 5.2-5.6 range. I would not under any circumstances recommend a pilsner for a first all-grain recipe, do something like a pale ale instead, it's much more forgiving. You're now concerned with water chemistry and you haven't even completed a mash? Not the way to go in my opinion. Pick something easier to start.
 
Thanks Nosybear.
I'll take that on board and plan something different and simplier.
I have however really enjoyed the last 2 days of reading up on water chemistry and beer styles around the world being related to their water source. So I won't scrap this one, but get back to it after a couple of brews.
What I still don't understand is that the calculator says a Pilsen should have Ca 7ppm and your sugestion that I need 40.
I will take your advise onboard and plan a SMaSH more suitable to my water profile, but would appriciate (no pun intended) clarity on your 40 ppm Ca as opposed to the 7 sugested by the calculator.
 
I'm citing other sources with the 40 ppm figure - generally needed for clarity of the final product. I do know the water in Plzen is very soft and low in minerals, what I don't know is how they account for the yeast's nutritional needs. When I do a Pilsner, I modify my water by cutting it in half with distilled water (no ions, halving the original set of minerals, bringing my amount of calcium down to about 19 ppm). I add four ounces of acidulated malt to the mix to further reduce the pH in my mash. Then I add back enough calcium to get the pH down into the "good" range, providing enough for the yeast to perform well in fermentation. I use both the water calculator provided on this site and the Excel spreadsheet John Palmer offers to compare - the spreadsheet gets me the residual alkalinity I need and a general idea how to get there, the calculator takes the grist into account.
 
Cheers Noseybear!

I will return to this one in a few months after I get a few all grain brews under my belt. I'm looking into English brown ale and IPA styles at the momnet to do some SMaSH brewing / learning.

Thanks for all the feedback and putting me on the right track.
 
I'd avoid IPAs, too, as a starter. The hops can mask a number of flaws. Stick with the Brown.
 

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