Lager at Ale Temps: German Pilsner Brew day STEP MASH... back in the counterbrew kitchen... by myself

Saturday Brew day in the counterbrew kitchen.  All by myself. The other members of the brew crew all had other plans.  MA is on a "beercation" in Denver.  Jake and John have valentines plans with their lovely wives.  So it was up to the old man to carry the torch.  To keep the momentum going.  So I spent Saturday doing general home brew stuff and brewing a 2.5 gallon German lager the easy way, kind of...

What is the easy way?  Is there a magic way to make a lager at home?  Is there a way to ensure that a lager comes out crisp and clean, with out all the extra fussing with pre chillers,  fermentation chambers, and months of lagering?   Well simply put, yes there is, and it is all about yeast selection.

There are a handful of lager yeasts that work just fine at ale temperatures.  Particular strains that just don't happen to throw off many off flavors even at higher temperatures.   Just last week over at Brulosophy, Marshal displayed that you can use Fermentis 34/70 at 70 F and produce a clean crisp lager.  Now this is not true of all lager yeasts.  But some of them will work just fine.  So which one?  What yeast can you turn to for reliable lagers at ale temperatures?  Note, this doesn't mean un controlled fermentation.  You need to keep these around 62 F - 65 F.

• Fermentis 34/70 - I've used it for years at 62 with absolutely no problems.
• Fermentis K-97 - technically a Kolsch yeast, but you'd never know it.
• Wyeast 2112  California Lager - Used it for years for my Champagne Lager
• Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager
• White Labs 810 San Francisco Lager -  Used it on Saturday! Doing great Sunday Morning.  This is a very malt forward style of yeast.
• White Labs 862 Cry Havoc
• White Labs 080 Cream Ale Blend

Began my brew day by racking a strawberry wine, and by checking on the gravity of a Belgian Strong Dark Fruit Beer... What?  you never posted about that!  Well no, no I didn't.  We do make some more advanced beers, and sours that I don't post about on this blog.    I also re dosed a Bret IPA we are working on, as of this morning there is a beautiful pellicle on the beer.  

Ground the grains fine.  I always try to mill my grains on brew day.  I don't know the science for sure, but I feel like the closer to brewing, the better.

step 1:  132 F

Today was a step mash brew day.  I was using the amazing Weyermann Barke Pilsner (TM) malt.  This is my third time using it, and now I am feeling a little possessive of it.  Planning what future brews I am willing to use it for and what I am not.  Definitely going into my upcoming Bierre D' Mars, Saison, Bierre d' Garde, and another lager.  But it's not going into the California Common, or any of the upcoming IPAs, etc.  It is just too special for that.  Too valuable. Too Yummy!

Today was all about the step mash.

The recipe for the "Die Achtung" Pilsner

2.5 gallons

1.048 OG

1.012 FG

33 IBUs

3.3lbs of Weyermann Barke Pilsner

.3 lbs of Cara/Crystal 40 Lovibond

.3 lbs of Corn Sugar Added in 1 quart of water as High Krausen is stable (improves attenuation)

1 ounce of Hallertauer  (4.5 AAU)   at 60 /70  4.5 Alpha Acid

Iris Moss

Yeast Nutrient

Gelatin Fining

Step 2:  146 F for 40 Minutes

Step Mashing is not hard, it is also not strictly necessary on many beers.  But I find it improves extraction, and flavor.  And flavor is what it is all about for me.    So I often step mash.  I brew loads of Belgian beers, and when you are brewing a Belgian, and you want lots of phenolic flavors, you have to step mash.  (More on that in another post).   The first rest was at 132-135 F.  I can get there with the 141 F water that comes out of my tap.  And that is nice.

Step 3: 152 for 15m

After 15 minutes I rose to 146 F  where I rested for 40 Minutes.   Then up to 152-154 F,  Then Mash out at 170 ish.   My efforts produced a delicious wort that clocked in at 1.039 OG.  That is 86.28% sports fans.  So you tell me if it was worth it.  There is a faster way to do a step mash too.  You can use boiling water to more quickly change the temperature of your wort.  But that wasn't an option for me on this brew day.  My other 5 gallon kettle has delicious Chili in it.   Truth told I don't mind it taking a little longer.  It makes for a leisurely calm brew day.  It also involves me more in the process.   

Nailed it.  

The boil was uneventful.  The wort was foamy so there was a lot of foop.  I always scoop the foop.  I have no need for those proteins in my beer.   Single Hop addition.  1 ounce of Hallertauer at 60 minutes.  Irish Moss and yeast nutrient at 15 minutes.   

Chilling the batch,
love the color

Chilling the batch was frustrating as always.  20 minutes is too long.  The ground water seemed to be at around 60.   But with a single coil in a sink full of ice water it still took 20 minutes. Chilling drives me crazy.  Eventually, I'll break down and buy a Jaded chiller.  But for now, I really prefer using 2 chillers at one time.   

I aerated the batch with my aquarium pump and pitched the pack of WLP 810.   Some people say 810 is too malt forward, and I am using Weyermann Barke Pilsner (TM).  So this beer could be a malt bomb. (fine by me, not what was intended but still yummy!)  Only time will tell.  But if it isn't super crisp, I'm sure I'll still love it.  I love malty beers.  As of this morning it has built a beautiful Krausen and millions of tiny bubbles are rising to the surface.   Should be another delicious German Pilsner.    As you can see, I have a fondness for crisp lagers.

Pilsner Ale... With Fermentis K-97 and Weyermann Barke Pilsner (TM)

Saturday Mark Anthony and I brewed a Pilsner.  A crisp refreshing American Pilsner.  The penultimate easy drinking beer.   We used 7# (3.17 kg) of Weyermann Barke Pilsner (TM), and .5# (.22 kg)of Flaked corn.  The batch was hopped with 2 charges of Hallertauer at 60 and 15.   We were shooting for 25 IBUs and a gravity of 1.044.   A little hoppier than most American Pilsners, but that is what we wanted.  Crisp and reminiscent of a German pilsner.  There was only one weird thing going on, as far as we knew,  we were using an ale yeast by Fermentis called K-97.  More on that amazing yeast later.

What we got was a 21 IBU,  1.050 batch.  That is ridiculous extraction from the grains.   That is 88.64% Mash efficiency.   Brew house efficiency of around 86 to 87%.   Now, I generally get in the 80%.  I set my recipe calculator for 82.5%, which is my normal efficiency ever since I switched to BIAB.  But... 88%  Something was different.   

We crushed fine like we always do, I set the mill to a little more than the thickness of a credit card.   We doughed in low.  Having never used the malt before we wanted to give ourselves the best possible chance at success.   We step mashed beginning with a protein rest at 135 F (57C) for 20 minutes, then a slow step up to saccrification at 149 F (65 C) for 40 minutes, then a slow rise to mash out at 168 F (75.5 C) for 10 minutes.   The mash took a while, 95 minutes.  But we sampled beers, and discussed our travels, and plans.   We are about to brew some beer for an upcoming ethnic festival and there was considerable planning to do. There has been a lot of emphasis on speed in brewing recently.   My question for you is why?   Yes, excellence can take a long time.  Yes,  your brew day may last for 5 or 6 hours.  But many of you dream of "going pro" someday, so you can be assured if you ever do, you'll remember fondly the old 6 hour brew days.  

We tasted the mash at the beginning of the saccrification rest.  We didn't use iodine today,  because I need to get more.   I have said before, your mash takes what ever time it takes.  I stand by that.  Most mashes are done long before 60 minutes.  So we taste at 15, 30, and 45.   In this case at 40 minutes.   The mash tasted amazing.  I'll trust MA to make a comment to back me up on this.  Probably the best mash I have ever tasted.  

That is when things got weird.  Our gravity sample was 1.039.   What the What?     We had overshot.  And I never miss my gravity.  Gravity samples are boring for me.   Listen, I'm not saying I'm the best brewer in the world.  I'm not a multiple NHC winner or even a state champion, I'm just a really experienced home brewer.  I hit my damn numbers.   So what changed.   The malt.   You see, for everyday pilsners, I am a fan of Cargil IdeaPils.  Good malt for single step saccrification. I Still use it, used it Sunday as a matter of fact.   But this, Weyermann was amazing stuff.   This is clearly a German Government Secret Malt.  This is nuclear powered pilsner malt, there can be no other explanation.   I just don't overshoot by that much,  even with a long careful step mash.     If you have access to Barke Pilsner (TM) by Weyermann I suggest you go get it.   Get all you can.   Mortgage your dog, make your wife give plasma... just get some.  The extraction and flavor are excellent. 

But this day was really about a yeast experiment.   If you've read my previous post, you know I am a lover of clean crisp refreshing beer.  Not BMC conglomerate beer (although I respect them) something a little more flavorful.   But still very drinkable.   You also know that I have been searching for years for an easier method for making "lager like" beers.   Now, having said that I have the ability to lager.   I have a mini fridge, and a rudimentary temperature controller.   Soon, Ill have a chest freezer and 2 inkbird controllers.  So Ill have an ale chamber and a lager chamber.  But I still search for that perfect yeast that can make a lager like beer.   Today, we were trying Fermentis K-97.   K-97 has only recently become available to home brewers.   It has been used for years in commercial breweries. Safale K97 is an ale strain that when used correctly and at consistent correct temperatures will attenuate at or above 80%, and will produce very little ester, only about 23 ppm in a 1.074 wort at 68 F (20 C)  That is amazing.

To give ourselves the very best chance at a clean fermentation we made a starter, kind of... you see for years Fermentis recommended making a starter.  They said you could make it with sterile water or with a very low gravity wort.   The idea was to get the cell walls of the yeast pliable again prior to pitch.   But then the boys in the lab said,  "rehydration is not necessary with most beers" and confusion was instantly created.   I have a series coming up with Kevin Lane of Fermentis where this will be covered in detail.   At the beginning of brew day, we pitched the dry yeast onto a 1.035 starter at around 85F.   We let it sit as we made the beer.  

By the time we were ready to pitch we had a fantastic yeast starter.   Easy,  if you can make beer, you can follow this method.   I'm pleased to tell you the beer took off and was forming a krausen with in 6 hours.   That is very similar to the performance I observe when I make a starter with liquid yeast.    Here is an easy way to make a starter.   4.25 Cups of water, 1 cup of DME.   Bring to a boil.  Chill to around 85F.   Pitch the yeast.  Do this at the beginning of brew day.

Bet you blizzard boys
wish you had an
electric turkey fryer
this week?

Back to the brew.   We made 1 ounce hop additions at 60, and 15 minutes.  The wort was amazingly clear by the end of the brew day.   We boiled in my electric turkey fryer with the lid on but ajar by about 2".   And again the obligatory, "no I'm not concerned about DMS, I have covered that adnausem on this blog... well modified malts, very little risk... blah blah blah...."  We made our hop additions and our other additions.  At the end of our brew day we chilled the batch, aerated,  and pitched the starter.   I for one cant wait to try this beer.  it is fermenting in a 62 to 64F (16 - 17 C) environment right now. 

 

That's all for now sports fans.

Prost.

Easy links

Weyermann Barke Pilsner Malt  accept no substitutes, Weyermann is the only provider of Barke Pilsner Malt (TM). 

http://www.fermentis.com/brewing/industrial-brewing/product-range/ yes I know it says industrial product range, but trust me, they have it for home brewers now too. 

 

 

Make a starter with no stir plate, Make a lager with no fermentation chamber... What?

This easy to brew beer actually won an NHC
Award in the light American Lager, and
Without a lagering fridge.

Easy Lager with No Fermentation Chamber

Here is a recipe for you all.   A simple down to earth lager recipe for those of you who think you can't make a lager because you don't have a lager fridge.  This is a simple recipe, it is nearly impossible to screw up.   The recipe features California Lager Yeast,  this yeast has been hybridized over a hundred years to perfom just fine at low ale temperatures.  You'll need to use liquid yeast for this, there is no dry equivalent, Wyeast 2112 or WLP 810, both work fine.  You will need multiple packs, or you will need a starter.  My calculator on brewtoad says you'll need 285 to 290 billion cells to ferment this cleanly, and maximize attenuation.  No worries.  Just make a starter...

You can make a starter if you have a 1 gallon fermenter.   You do not have to have a stir plate or an Erlenmeyer Flask.   All you need is a pot, some DME, your yeast, a 1 gallon jug, and an air lock... So how do you do this?   It's easy... and it happens to be step one of making this beer.

A 1 Gallon fermenter is all you need to make big, baddahz
Yeast Starters.  You don't even need a stir plate.

You should make your starter 72-96 hours before brewday.   So Tuesday night, if you're brewing on Saturday.  Wednesday morning at the latest.  Hours before you will begin your starter you need to smack your pack, and remove it from the fridge. If you are using WLP810 just remove it from the fridge.  Put 3 liters of water into a pot and bring it to a boil with 1.5 cups of DME and 1/8th of a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Let it chill down to room temperature.  Then chill it to about 60-62 F.   Yes these yeasts do fine at low ale temps, but not high ale temps, not 68 -72 F, so try to get them both under 65... While the yeast is chilling, sanitize your 1 gallon jug and your air lock.  You could get by with out an air lock... but why? Chances are if you have a one gallon jug,  you have an air lock for that jug.   Now that the yeast and the DME solution are both at temperature, pitch the yeast into the DME (wort).  Next, take a piece of sterile saran wrap or aluminum foil and cover the opening.... now shake the bejezus out of it.   Get all that good oxygen down into solution.   Now here is the hard part... every time you walk by your starter, give it a good mix.  Just pick it up and give it a shake, or a good swirl.  You want that oxygen down into the starter.   That's it. Just shake it up when you walk by.  Call your wife when you're at work and have her do it a couple of times too... or train your dog to do it. Stop shaking it the day before brew day,  The night before brewday cold crash your starter.   On brew day you can decant off the"beer" And just save the creamy wonderful yeast that is on the bottom.   I like brewuniteds yeast calculator.... for our batch we may actually build up extra to harvest for future batches.  I'll definitely be saving the yeast when this batch is done.  All of the yeast.  I covered this earlier, but if you didn't see it, woodland brewing research has shown that

This is an all grain recipe.  If you want a partial mash version of it... I'll happily post a link.  If you want an extract version... well... It doesn't work so well. Pilsen liquid extract is kinda dark.  It just doesn't look right when you brew it extract. Pilsner DME might work, but I haven't tried it...

Counterbrew Champagne Lager  
OG  1.040
FG  1.013 (with care early in fermentation you can get this down to 1.008, and that is low enough)
BJCP Category:  1a
IBUs   12 - 15
SRM  1 - 2
ABV 3.77% to 4.3% depending upon how low you can push the FG.

Grain Bill

6.5 # of pilsner malt
.5 #  of carapils
.5 # of corn sugar (dextrose) late boil

Mash at 148-150 for 60 minutes.  I use 3.5-4  gallons of strike water, and then I rinse to volume.  
I adjust the water with 5.2 stabilizer.  Sometimes acid mix, often gypsum.

Hop Bill
.6 ounces of hallertauer at 60 mnutes
.4 ounces of hallertauer at 15 minutes.
.5 ounces of hallertauer dry hop 4 days.

Yeast
Wyeast 2112 California lager - make a starter as described above or 3 smack packs

Extras
1 tsp of Irish Moss Late in the boil
1 tsp of Yeast Nutrient Late in the boil
1 tsp of Fermaid K yeast Nutrient, when High Krausen is subsiding.
Maybe 1 tsp of amylase enzyme if the fermaid K doesn't drop the lager to under 1.010.

Fermentation Schedul
You have to aerate a lager.  I use an aquarium pump.   I will aerate this for 25 to 30 minutes.
Ferment in the low 60s Fahrenheit, (Ill make 3-4 batches in the winter and ferment in my basement). When the Krausen starts to fall, I will add the Fermaid K and give the fermenter a swirl, with out aerating.
After another week Ill check the gravity, if it hasn't fallen enough, I'll add amylase enzyme.


This beer will be brewed soon.  We will follow the beer through the process with reports and photos of the process and the progress.   We will show you that by being aware of your environment and by using time tested common sense approaches and techniques... you too can brew a great light american lager.