Time for another batch…this time, a retool of my German pils. Compared to the last round, I have changed just about everything, although the overall base malt is basically the same. To speed my brew day along, I’m not doing a decoction. Instead, I’m rounding out the malt bill with a little bit of melanoidin malt.

Palaeotis Pils

• 8.5 lbs. floor-malted Bohemian pilsner malt (Weyermann)
• 5 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
• 3 oz. acidulated malt (BestMalz)
• 0.3 oz. Warrior hop pellets (15.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Liberty hop pellets (4.9% alpha), 30 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Tettnang hop pellets (3.5% alpha), 30 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Liberty hop pellets (4.9% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 0.5 oz. Tettnang hop pellets (3.5% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 1 tsp. Fermax yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
• 2 packages lager yeast (Fermentis W34/70)

Target Parameters

• Infusion mash to hit target of 150°. Batch sparge.
• Water built from R.O., to hit 59.1 ppm Ca, 8.2 ppm Mg, 89 ppm SO4, and 62.9 ppm Cl.
• 1.048 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 4.9% abv, 34 IBU, 4 SRM, 5 gallons into fermenter

Procedure

• For this recipe, I built my water to match the “Pilsner Water” profile on Braukaiser. For the 3.1 gallons of mash water, I added 1.2 g of gypsum, 1.2 g of epsom salt, and 1.5 g of calcium chloride. For the 5.5 gallons of sparge water, I added 2.1 g of gypsum, 1.7 g of epsom salt, and 2.7 g of calcium chloride.
• I mashed in with 3.1 gallons of water at 160° to hit 150°, and let it rest for 60 minutes. After 35 minutes, the mash temperature had fallen to 148°.
• After a 60 minute mash, I added 1.75 gallons of water at 200° to raise the mash temperature to to 160°. I let it sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the first runnings.
• Next, I added 3.75 gallons of water at 185°, let sit for 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the remainder of the runnings.
• In total, I had 7.1 gallons of mash runnings at a gravity of 1.039, for 82% efficiency.
• I brought the kettle to a boil, and added the hops and other ingredients per the schedule.
• After 90 minutes, I chilled the wort down to 75°, transferred the wort while aerating, put the fermenter into the fermentation chamber, and let it cool down to 50° before pitching the yeast.
• Starting gravity was 1.048, nearly precisely on target. I started fermentation at 50°, and raised it to 54° after four days. I brewed the beer on 20 May 2017.