Wednesday saw a much beloved day off, so it was decreed that it would be a brew day. A double brew day. Knock out two batches. On the schedule? My first stab at a pilsner, a clone of my adored Czech beer Pilsner Urquell ("Pilsner Urquell" = "original pilsner"), and an easy-drinking low alcohol English Dark Mild Ale. Milds are so difficult to find around here, and bottled varieties seem to suffer on the trip across the pond, so the only alternative is to brew your own.
The green hat? One of my September 2008 German souvenirs. A green felt hat made in Germany, with the requisite feather in it. Granted the pilsner I'm brewing is based on a Czech recipe, but the German vibe can only help when brewing a lager. Always going for good brewing karma.I received inspiration for tackling a lager through my cold-conditioning of my Duvel clone, which saw the carboy keep at a steady 42 degrees in the garage fridge; plus from a blog I follow, Homebrew and Chemistry and his inaugural foray into lager brewing. Figured, what the hell, give it a try. Can't know how it will turn out until I try.
The pilsner recipe (the lightest [in color] beer I've ever brewed):
2 oz Vienna Malt
2 oz Carapils Malt8 oz Crystal Malt 10L6 lbs Pilsner Dry Malt Extract (DME)2 oz Czech Saaz hops 2.5% alpha acid @ 60 minutes1 oz Czech Saaz hops 2.5% AA @ 15 minutes1 oz Czech Saaz hops 2.5% AA @ 5 minutesWLP800 Pilsner Lager yeast
Notice the absence of my usual Whirlfloc tablet to clarify. At 15 minutes I throw one in to help clear the beer. And of course, in the lightest colored beer I've ever brewed where a bright clear yellow finished hue is desired, I forget to throw one in. Dammit.
Lager temperatures and fermentation times are much different from ales. MUCH different. For the usual ale, it's one week in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, then bottle. The cold-water bath in the sink that I've been doing lately keeps it within the ideal 68-72 degrees. Before I just left it alone in the ambient temperature of the house and it would be 76-78 degrees. Lagers, such as this pilsner, require much colder temps for the lager yeast to thrive. Here's my planned fermentation schedule for the pilsner:
One day in the sink's cold-water bath.Move the primary for 2 weeks into the garage fridge.
Remove for two days to allow the temp to rise in a "diacetyl rest".
Transfer to secondary and move back to the garage fridge for 2 months.
Diacetyl is a buttery off-flavor. Some styles yearn for a butterscotch flair. In a crisp and bright golden yellow pilsner, absolutely ZERO diacetyl is desired. The 2-day rise in temp is supposed to burn off the diacetyl and have the yeast "clean up" the beer for a short time before it's back to the cold.
Lager yeasts ferment at colder temps (obviously from the planned schedule) and for longer periods of time. So no mere 3 weeks before bottling like the ales.
So after the pilsner, it was a darker brew: a mild. Milds are low alcohol, sessionable beers that can be consumed in mass quantities with no noticeable drunken stupor resulting. Going down to the English pub for a pint o' mild. So challenging to find a good mild on the shelves, so I did what any good homebrewer who wanted a particular style of beer but couldn't find it would do: brew my own.
The recipe:
5 oz Crystal Malt 60L
5 oz Crystal Malt 120L4 oz Black Patent Malt4 oz Chocolate Malt4 lbs Extra Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)1 oz East Kent Goldings Hops 5.4% alpha acid @ 60 minutes1 Whirlfloc tablet @ 15 minutes to clarifyWLP002 English Ale yeast
This one will stay in primary for one week, then with no real need to clear up in secondary, will go directly into the bottle and be ready to drink a mere month after brewing. Nice and easy. Plenty of flavor in a low alcohol brew. Roasty and tasty with minimal bells and whistles. I enjoy a good mild.
So Wednesday was an enjoyable day in the garage with pleasant temperatures in the low 70's, almost the high 60's. Comfortable. And, for brewday entertainment, I watched and made sure no one fell off the water tower on the corner as they repainted it:
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