Thought it would be a good idea to brew a lager on the new conical setup before starting my NHC 2019 run of beers to make sure my process is solid. My favorite lager style is German Pilsner (ie bitburger and jever) so why not brew one up. I decided to use the most recent NHC winning recipe since it looked good.
Recipe Info
Recipe: german pilsner 3v conical 1
Style: German Pils 5D BJCP 2015
Date: 10-29-2018
| Recipe | Guideline Min | Guideline Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OG | 1.048 | 1.044 | 1.050 |
| FG | 1.010 | 1.008 | 1.013 |
| Color | 3.4 | 2.0 | 5.0 |
| ABV | 4.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 |
| IBU | 42.0 | 22.0 | 40.0 |
Brewery Info
Efficiency: 72 %
Attenuation: 78 %
Mash Info
Weight: 18.0 Lbs
Thickness: 1.25 Qt per Lb
Deadspace: 2.0 G
Strikewater: 7.63 G
Volume: 9.07 G
Temp: 149.0 F
Boil Info
Kettle Gravity: 1.041
Predicted Mash Run-off: 6.01 G
Target Starting Boil Volume: 11.5 G
Boil Duration: 60 min
Evaporation Rate: 1.5 G per Hour
Final Boil Volume: 10.0 G
Fermentables
| Weight | % by Weight | Name | Yield | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.000 Lb | 89.0 % | Pilsner (Weyermann) | 80.0 | 1.8 |
| 1.000 Lb | 6.0 % | Vienna Malt (Weyermann) | 79.0 | 3.4 |
| 1.000 Lb | 6.0 % | Carapils (Briess) | 74.0 | 1.3 |
Hops
| Weight | Name | AAU | Time | Use | IBUs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 Oz | Magnum | 12.0 | 60 mins | Boil | 25.0 |
| 1.5 Oz | Hallertau | 4.5 | 30 mins | Boil | 11.0 |
| 1.5 Oz | Hallertau | 4.5 | 15 mins | Boil | 7.0 |
Yeast
| Amount | Name |
|---|---|
| 2.000 units | German Lager White Labs WLP830 |
Misc
| Amount | Name | Time | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.000 tablet | Whirlfloc Tablet | 15 mins | Boil |
| 0.500 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Wyeast) | 10 mins | Boil |
Water
Predicted Mash Ph: 5.44
| Ca | Mg | Na | Cl | So | Bicarbonate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 7 | 3 | 21 | 30 | 24 | 30 |
| Mash | 68 | 3 | 21 | 30 | 171 | 30 |
| Sparge | 64 | 3 | 21 | 30 | 160 | 30 |
| Final | 96 | 4 | 30 | 44 | 241 | 44 |
| Target | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 0 |
Target Profile Name: hoppy
Mash Water
Total Water Treated: 30.284 G
Percent RO / Distlled: 0 %
Water Used: 8.000 G
Mash Water Adjustments
Gypsum: 8.0 g
Lactic Acid: 6.0 ml @ 88.000 %
Sparge Water
Leftover Mash Water Used: Yes
Total Water Treated: 6.500 G
Percent RO / Distlled: 0 %
Water Used: 6.500 G
Sparge Water Adjustments
Gypsum: 6.0 g
Notes
Mash 148f 90 mins
169f 10 mins
Pitch at 48f
48 hrs to 50f
Hold to 2 weeks
Raise over 48hrs to 60
Hold through 3 weeks
Lager for 2 weeks
Carb to 2.5 vols
I ended up using 11.1 lbs of Cargill 2 row since that was what I had left in my 50 lb sack and 4.9 lb of best malz pilsner since thats what my LHBS carries.
11/5/18 made a 1.7L starter 170g DME w/ 2 packages of WLP830 German Lager that were both pretty old. fingers crossed.
11/7/18 pitched @ 1pm at 48F. moved up to 49F before bed
11/8/18 @6am no bubbling. moved up to 50F
@8pm bubbling every 30 sec
11/9-12/18 slow steady bubbling
11/14/18 still slow steady but slowed a bit
11/16/18 ~6sec
11/17/18 ~10 sec
11/18/18 ~13 sec
11/19/18 no bubbling
11/20/18 ~20 sec appears to just be heat expansion
11/21/18 moved up to 60F
11/28/18 force diacetyl test and sample before cold crash
FG 1.010
clean. solid bitterness. nice hop flavor. young and hazy. not getting any off flavors
forced diacetyl test was double negative
12/5/18 cold crashed for a week. dropped cone. only got 500mL and only 250mL of that was yeast. WTF! not sure why i’m collecting so little yeast.
12/6/18 racked to keg. had almost 2 gallons extra. yow! put in keezer @ 38F
12/12/18 added gelatin
12/22/18 finally dropped super clear
comparison to warsteiner german pils
appearance: warsteiner is clearer (crystal clear) and just a hair more golden. head and carb are similar
aroma. mine is slightly sweeter smelling and just a little more herbal. warstiener has more bready notes and a bit of sulfur
flavor: mine is slightly more bitter. but close. hop flavor is similar. a bit of sulfur in warsteiner which is nice actually. a bit more malt flavor in warsteiner. comes across as bready. low but there
mouthfeel: similar carb. similar finish
pretty close. maybe a bit of munich malt to get color and bready notes. hops seem right.