If you want to brew a German pilsner, here is my recipe for this beer style. After brewing a Bohemian pilsner last year, it’s time to brew another pilsner for summer and try to improve on my process.

The improvements I am looking to accomplish with this beer are getting better clarity in the finished beer and getting a more pronounced noble hop aroma. I think with the water chemistry information we will have with our water (our tap water is really soft), I can dial in the sulfate additions to get my water profile to better match the water used in the style.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

10.5 lbs Pilsner Malt
0.5 oz Magnum Pellets at 14.5 %AA boiled 60 mins.
0.5 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrüher Pellets, 4.5 %AA boiled 15 min.
0.5 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrüher Pellets, 4.5 %AA boiled 1 min.
Yeast: White Labs WLP800 Pilsner Lager

Predictions

Original Gravity: 1.047
Terminal Gravity: 1.010
Color: 3.91 °SRM
Bitterness: 37.4 IBUs
Alcohol (%volume): 4.8%

Instructions

I want to get this beer to be as dry as I can get it. The final or terminal gravity is a soft goal. If I can get it a few points under 1.010, I will be happy. To do that, I am going to mash the grain at 147° F (64° C) to get as fermentable a wort as possible. Because of the low temp, I will mash for 90 minutes to ensure a full conversion. Then, I’ll sparge until I get 7 gallons of wort for a 90 minute boil to get 5.5 gallons into the fermentor.

After fermenting at 50° F (10° C) for two weeks, rack into a secondary carboy and lager for a month or so at near freezing temperatures. Bottle or keg as usual.

The end goal should be a light colored but nicely hopped beer with some distinct floral aroma coming from the Hallertau pellets. With the late hop additions and the water treatment, it should work out well.