Bryan Brews A Pilsner
I know a lot of what I blog about is weird/experimental beers, often brewed with weird organisms. But once in a while I do brew something normal. Like this German-style Pilsner that I am currently enjoying. Dry, crisp and refreshing, but with a little more in the “undercarriage” than you’d get with a light American lager. Also a dead-simple beer to brew, and utterly enjoyable in the heat of early summer. I’ve named this recipe after my favorite episode of the X-Files – Season 2, Episode 14 Die Hand Die Verletzt. Classic X-files “monster of the week” format, before they went all weird. As to why I named this beer after this episode…I was watching it while I created the recipe.
Recipe – Die Hand Die Verletzt Pilsner
Yep, this Pilsner is a SMaSH (single-malt and single-hop) beer, making it dead-easy to brew.
Stats:
- Volume: 20 L
- IBU: 30
- SRM: 3
- OG: 1.049
- FG: 1.010
- ABV: 4.7%
Ingredients:
| Amount | Ingredient | %/IBU |
|---|---|---|
| 4.75 kg | Pilsner Malt | 100% |
| 55 g | Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, 4.40%, 60 min | 27.2 IBU |
| 15 g | Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, 4.40%, 10 min | 2.4 IBU |
| 15 g | Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, 4.40%, 0 min | 0 IBU |
| 1 packet | W-34/70 Saflager yeast |
Brewing:
- Water was adjusted to 60 PPM Calcium, 100 PPM Sulfate, 45 PPM Chloride.
- Beer was mashed for 75 min at 65.0 C, and sparged to collect 32.5 L of pre-boil wort.
- Wort was boiled for 60 min, with Hallertauer Mittelfrueh added at 60 min, 15 min, and at flame-out. Whirflock was added alongside the 15 min hop addition.
- After the boil the wort was chilled to cellar temperature (~15 C) and the yeast pitched.
- The beer was fermented for 5 weeks at cellar temperature (15 C), swapping the blow-off tube for an airlock after ~1 week of fermentation.
- The beer was kegged and carbonated at 30 PSI for 24 hours, for ~2.4 volumes of CO2.
Tasting Notes – Die Hand Die Verletzt Pilsner
Appearance: This beer pours pale straw in colour, effervescent, and with a creamy white head.
Aroma: Smells like beer – barley and traditional Germanic hops.
Flavour: Simple, crisp and clean. The main feature is a simple but full white-bread like malt note. The hop bitterness is present, but not as prominent as I would have preferred. The hop character is likewise present, but also subdued – earthy, herbal, and with a finish bordering on floral. The aftertaste is a bit of malt sweetness with hints of hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Dry, crisp and easily drinkable.
Overall: I will admit that while the malt-note is on-point, the hop character is not as strong as I had hoped for. This is closer to a helles, or even a light American lager (sans adjuncts) than a Bitburger or Lowenbrau. I would rebrew this recipe, but instead of doing SMaSH, I’d bitter with Warrior to 35-40 IBU, and increase the flavour and aroma hop additions by 5 to 10 g. That said, a major goal with this beer was to have a lower-ABV, easily drinkable beer for the early hot days of summer, and this beer fits that goal quite nicely.
