Hoppy Pils

Pilsner

literally means from the town/area of Plzeň in Bohemia
Human beings did what they do with that and now virtually every pale lager is a "Pilsner"
- Looking at you Miller Lite "Taste a True Pilsner"
- "Pils"

German word for "store"
Summer brewing produced bad beer due to microbiology (100+ years before the "cell", 200+ before Pasteur)
Bavaria banned brewing from April 23-Sept 29 for 300 years
Winter brewing favored cold fermentation yeasts
The cold storage reputedly produced cleaner, drier, "finer" beers (and selected for some unique yeasts)
Thank lager brewing for refrigeration and a/c (Spaten)

The old ways of classifying it
- raffinose
- bottom fermenting
Today, genetics are showing
- most of that earlier stuff was rubbish
- S. pastoranius is a hybrid of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus (from Tibet/China)
- Different strains demonstrate different levels of their parent characteristics.
- S carlbergensis name is deprecated (Emil Hansen)

Starts in Bavaria
- Jealously guarding their yeast strain
- Making lager version of Einbeck beers
- Beers were much like Dunkel or darker
Josef Groll - November 11, 1842
- Combined Bavarian Lager yeast and know how with English pale malting techniques to generate Pilsner
Within a few decades, Pilsner style beers are everywhere

Pilsner was unlike anything seen before on a mass scale.
- Light, golden, clear and...
The Rise of Cheap Glassware
- Who wants murky beer when you can see it?
  - hmmm....
As we'll see brewing since has been in response
Also, very importantly - the Czechs have a ton of varieties of lagers... we just obsess over Pilsner

A lager evolution on the base Blond ale
Lots of domestic pilsner malt
Other malts brought on board to "enrich"
Hops approach either:
- Noblish/Neutral
- Damn the torpedos
- West Coast "Lager", "Pils"

German Pils based, but suffused with hops
Low pH target for Mash/Sparge (sparge at 5.5)
Warm ferment
Restrained hand with dry hops, but twice dosed
- Primary (0.25 oz)
- Secondary (0.5-0.75)
Birrificio Italiano’s Tipopils / Firestone Walker Pivo

Half between a Pils and a Kolsch
Warm ferment typical
Bursting with NZ specific hops on the aroma. Bitterness is firm, but not overwhelming.
Emerson’s Pilsner (originator of the style)

Water usually oriented to "Hoppy"
Malt - simple bills - this is where you make an impact
- Pale choices
- Some folks get fancy with German malts
Hops
- Depends on the style, but lots of late additions
Yeast - 34/70 strains

So many schedules
Classic - Pitch at 50°F, run for 2 weeks, raise to 65°F for a few days (D-rest), slowly crash to 35°F and lager for 2-6 weeks
Speed - Pitch at 50°F, raise to 55°F after 2-3 days, raise to 60°F for another run and then to 65°F for 1-3 days before crashing.
- Very yeast strain dependent
Dry Hops for short times at cool temps

Batch Size: 5.5
Boil Time: 60 minutes
Original Gravity: 1.050
Est Final Gravity: 1.008
IBUs: 30
ABV: 5.5%

Malt/Grain/Sugar/Extract:

Water Profile

Bru’n Water: Dry Yellow (pH -5.3/5.4

Mashing

Main Rest – 150°F for 60 minutes

Hops:

30 IBUs worth of the desired hop for flameout (2 minutes at end of boil – whirlpool for 30 minutes)

1.5 oz of hop in the fermenter at knockout

5 oz (142 g) of your favorite hop at second dry hop for 1 week

Yeast:

Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, Fermentis SafLager W-34/70, or favored lager strain

Notes:

Pitch and add first dry hops at 50F (10-14 days)

After hitting terminal gravity, add second dry hops for 7 days at 50°F

Cool to 32°F and rest until brew hits 28 days.