Sapphire Pilsner

[Kealia]

Nice clarity. Just like a duck's....umm..........

[BlackDuck]

Lookin Good. Was this the batch you were going to check ph, mash finer, and bump up your strike water ratio to try and help your efficiency?

No. That batch was the Four Point Pale Ale....that thread is in Advanced Recipes. And I also commented on the original thread in Advanced Techniques.

[BlackDuck]

Bottled this up today. Got 52 bottles out of her, plus a few ounces of a taster. Compared to the last Pilsner I did, I think I'm going to like this one better. It seemed a little more mild and smoother than the other one. I'm going to let this sit at room temp for 3 weeks to fully carb up before they into the fridge for long term lagering and drinking. If this ends up as good as it is now at bottling, this will be house Pilsner. At this time, I don't think I chagne this recipe at all.

[Beer-lord]

Well, that certainly sounds like an endorsement. Good on ya!
Pilsner's are something I just can't do in my area due to heat and the lack of a fermentation cooler but with the fall and winter nearing, I wonder if I can make something happen.

[FedoraDave]

Paul, you might be able to do a small batch using the "cooler-and-ice-bottles" method. That's how I did my first Pilsner, and while the climate here in New York is vastly different from Louisiana, I could see it working for you. If you still have an LBK, you could give it a test run.

BlackDuck, sounds like a successful effort! Congratulations! I hope I have similar good news to report on my Pils. It's looking good so far.

[Beer-lord]

I actually have done 3 Pilsners....2 in LBK's in my 'dorm fridge' and one in a 5 gallon batch but I did not use true lager yeast. This was a collaboration brew that came out very well and tasted exactly like a Pislner. I was able to keep the temps at 58 so I think in the winter, I could possibly do a larger batch with lots of ice bottles.

[BlackDuck]

All right...here we go. Here is the first pour of my Sapphire Pilsner. It was bottled on 9/22. It spent 3 weeks at basement temps to carbonate, then into the fridge. That makes it 2.5 weeks in the cold box. Mmmmm....this is better than the first German Pilsner I did. The first one was a little too spicy for me. This is very smooth and mild, it's exactly what I was looking for. I thought this had the potential to be my house Pils, and it is. I won't change a thing on this one. And the clarity is quite nice too, if you look closely, you can see the American Flag from the Oakland Hills 1996 US Open logo through the beer.

image.jpg (240.39 KiB) Viewed 1752 times

[philm00x]

That's one fantastic lookin lager!

[BlackDuck]

Wow, that's a big picture. Sorry about that. I'll have to figure out how to make it a little smaller. I took it with an iPhone, then resized it to 50%.

[Inkleg]

A big tasty beer deserves a big photo. VERY NICE looking beer Chris.

[Kealia]

Nice Chris. Glad you're happy with the outcome.

[FedoraDave]

Very nice.

I'm still waiting a little longer to test my Pearly Pils. I want to give it enough time to really mellow out.

[ssorck]

Clear beer! Looks good and refreshing!

I'm guessing all you folks doing lagers and pilsner a have some sort of a fridge for temp control...

[philm00x]

Yeah, definitely gotta have one for a lager unless you have an underground cave or cellar that stays cold year-round.

[BlackDuck]

I'm guessing all you folks doing lagers and pilsner a have some sort of a fridge for temp control...

Yup. I use an old apartment fridge. It's the kind with one door, when you open it the freezer compartment is on the top. I have a Johnson digital temp controller plugged into it to keep it at 50 F. Works like a charm.