Batch #27 - Czech Pilsner aka "Chincy Pils"

This recipe is for my first true lager beer. Sometimes the words lager and ale are use interchangeably to describe beer, however there are some important differences between the two style. The key difference between the two styles is the type of yeast being used, as ale yeast is a top fermenting yeast with ideal fermentation temperature of 65 -75 degrees Fahrenheit. Lager yeast is a bottom fermenting yeast with ideal fermentation temperature between 45 - 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

The term lager is a German word that means "to store" and is also used in brewing to describe the cold storage aging of beer. The ales that I have previously brewed typically required only 2-3 weeks of fermentation time and an additional 2-4 weeks of aging depending on the style. Lager beers will ferment over 4+ weeks and typically need to age or lager for 1-2 months.

You can see why many homebrewers and craft brewers avoid brewing lager beers altogether. Storage becomes an issue as you need a controlled environment to reach the ideal fermentation and lagering temperature. Time also is an issue as a lager will talk at least double the time before being ready to consume that an ale will. I am interested in brewing lagers because I enjoy the challenge it presents and also gives an opportunity to try new styles that are relatively unavailable locally.

Another misnomer is that every lager is light in color, taste, and body. Bock, Baltic porter, and Schwarzbier (German for black beer) are just a few examples of lager beers that are near black in color and have a complex flavor profile.

For this lager I chose a Czech lager yeast due to it being the freshest yeast available at Midwest Supplies at the time I went to the store. I wanted to brew a very basic lager for this beer so that I could get an understanding of what flavor the yeast will give to this beer. This was also the first beer I've done in which I only used malt extract and no specialty grains.

This beer is now in the kegerator and is still lagering and carbonating. I have taken samples and it has a crisp flavor which closely resembles vanilla.

Boil Ingredients

Boil Amount Item Type

60 min 6.00 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract

60 min 1.00 oz Tettnang [3.50 %] (60 min) Hops

10 min 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

-- Cool wort to fermentation temperature

-- Add 1.75 gal water (as needed) to achieve volume of 5.00 gal

-- Siphon wort to primary fermenter and aerate wort.

-- Add Ingredients to Fermenter

Amount Item Type

1 Pkgs American Lager (White Labs #WLP840) Yeast-Lager

3/20/2010 Measure Original Gravity: 1.045 (Estimate: 1.043 SG)

3/20/2010 Measure Batch Volume: 5.0 gallons (Estimate: 5.00 gal)

14 days Ferment in primary for 14 days at 50.0 F

4/3/2010 Transfer to Secondary Fermenter

31 days Ferment in secondary for 31 days at 32.0 F

5/4/2010 Measure Final Gravity: 1.010 (Estimate: 1.009 SG)

SRM: 4

IBU: 11

ABV: 4.56%