Classic American Pilsner
Classic American Pilsner is a much bigger beer, in terms of flavor and aroma, than today’s mainstream American Pilsners. Like your grandpappy’s Pilsner, this is a rich malty and hoppy beer. I am not a fan of the current BJCP Style Guideline description for this beer style. It is certainly correct in the right context, but it can be very misleading. For example, it says that classic American Pilsner has a “rich, creamy mouthfeel” but it is critical to realize that the description is in the context of other Pilsner beers. Yes, compared to American light lager, classic American Pilsner is a rich, creamy beer. But compared to a bock, it is not nearly as rich. The same goes for things like hop character and bitterness. Is the hop character high compared to other Pilsners? Sure, but it is pretty pedestrian compared to most IPAs.
Even though classic American Pilsner is a rich, creamy Pilsner, it should always finish crisp and refreshing. This is a moderate alcohol beer (4.5 to 6% ABV) with a medium body and medium to high carbonation. Appearance ranges from yellow to deep gold with brilliant clarity. Good examples will exhibit both grainy malt and hop character.
Common wisdom says to use six-row malt to allow for higher adjunct levels and perhaps historic accuracy. I would not bother with six-row. I use domestic two-row malt labeled either pale malt or Pilsner. Continental Pilsner malt is a good choice too and a blend of domestic and continental Pilsner is an easy trick to get a little more grainy sweetness without going too far. About 20 to 30% of the fermentable sugars in this style are from non-malt sources, such as corn or rice. Corn is the best choice, giving the beer a subtle sweet corn character, which judges seem to look for in this style. If you use rice, you will get a cleaner, less sweet flavor. The key to brewing with corn is in obtaining the freshest ingredients you can get. Corn can very quickly take on a mealy, stale taste once processed into flakes, so taste your ingredients before committing to a brew. Grits or polenta is a little more shelf stable, but they require boiling separately first to make the starches available to the enzymes once added to the mash.
If you cannot bear having such a simple recipe, you can add head and body forming dextrin malts such as Carapils®, but it is best to keep these malts between 0 and 10% of the grist. Some brewers add small amounts of Vienna, light Munich or melanoidin malt in hopes of creating a richer malt background, but I would avoid it unless you are stuck using completely flavorless base malt. Even then, use restraint and keep the percentage to less than 5% of the grain bill. You do not want to overwhelm the grainy malt flavors of this beer.
Extract brewers will have trouble with this style. While brewer’s (high maltose) corn syrup is available, it will not provide the same corn character as using fresh corn flakes or grits. If you are an extract brewer and are serious about making a great classic American Pilsner, you will need to do a partial mash with flaked corn. For the extract portion, you should use a Pilsner-type extract that attenuates at least 75% or more. Most light colored extracts will attenuate fairly well and should be close enough.
Historically, brewers would most likely have used a decoction mash and perhaps a separate cereal mash for the corn or rice, but I like to avoid any work that I do not feel is necessary, so I prefer to use flaked corn or rice and a single infusion mash. I find that fresh, high quality ingredients and ideal fermentation conditions are the keys to award-winning beer. It is far more important to invest time and effort in fermentation, sanitation and post fermentation handling than trying to mimic historic practices. Also, malt has drastically changed during the last century and things that were once done for a certain reason are often times not totally necessary with today’s malt, unless you enjoy the extra brewing procedures. For single infusion, target a mash temperature range of 147 to 150 °F (64 to 66 °C). If you are making a lower gravity beer, use the higher end of this temperature range to leave the beer with a bit more fullness. Keep in mind that lower mash temperatures need a little longer to convert than high mash temperatures. Test your mash for conversion and extend your mash until you are confident conversion is complete.
Hop character in this style is medium to high, comprised of any classic Pilsner hops (Saaz, Hallertau, etc.) to develop a spicy-floral character. Some say that Cluster hops are the hop of choice for brewing classic American Pilsner, because Cluster made up the bulk of American hop production historically. However, I am not a big fan of Cluster, as it can come across as a bit harsh and catty. If you want a “rustic” character without the catty character, give Northern Brewer hops a try. For this style, I prefer the classic noble hops, but substitutions are fine. The trick is to select hops with a similar flowery or spicy noble hop character. You do not want to use anything fruity or citrusy. Some decent substitutions are Liberty and Mt. Hood. You can also try Crystal, Ultra and Vanguard. The important thing, when trying to make an excellent example of the style, is to balance the hop character with the malt character. You want the grainy malt and corn notes to be evident at least in the background. You want the drinker to get a hint of malt character along with the hop bittering, flavor and aroma. One to two ounces (28 to 57 g) of noble hops spread out over the last 20 minutes of the boil will provide a nice level of hop character without overwhelming the malt.
Bittering ranges from medium to high. Keep in mind that “high” in the context of Pilsners is a firm and clearly balanced bitter, but not a palate blaster like the West Coast IPAs of today. Remember, the goal for every Pilsner-type beer is to produce a highly drinkable beer. Beers that are heavy with too much bitterness and too much sweetness are less drinkable. The bitterness-to-starting gravity ratio (IBU divided by OG) ranges between 0.5 and 0.7. I like to target around 0.6 and go heavier on the hop aroma and flavor.
You can ferment classic American Pilsner with almost any lager yeast, though my favorites are White Labs WLP800 (Pilsner Lager) and Wyeast 2001 (Urquell) strains. You will find that each lager yeast strain emphasizes different aspects of the beer. Some will have more malt character and some more hop character, but all can produce an excellent classic American Pilsner.
When making lagers, I like to chill the wort down to 44 °F (7 °C), oxygenate, and then pitch my yeast. I let the beer slowly warm over the first 36 hours to 50 °F (10 °C) and then I hold this temperature for the remainder of fermentation. If fermentation seems sluggish at all after the first 24 hours, I am not afraid to raise the temperature a couple degrees more. The idea is to reduce the diacetyl precursor alpha-acetolactate, which the yeast create during the early phase of fermentation. Once the growth phase of fermentation is complete, it is important that fermentation be as vigorous as possible. It may never be as robust as fermentation at ale temperatures, but it is important to have enough activity to blow off aromatic sulfurs and other unpleasant compounds. Vigorous yeast activity at the end of fermentation also improves reduction of compounds such as diacetyl. Starting fermentation colder only works well if you are pitching enough clean, healthy yeast at the start. If not, you will need to start warmer (perhaps 55 °F/13 °C) to encourage more yeast growth. Even if you start fermentation warmer, you can still raise the temperature toward the latter part of fermentation.
Since diacetyl reduction is slower at colder temperatures, a cold fermented lager may require a diacetyl rest. To perform a diacetyl rest, simply raise the temperature into the 65 to 68 °F (18 to 20 °C) range for a two-day period near the end of the fermentation. While you can do a diacetyl rest after the fermentation reaches terminal gravity, a good time for a diacetyl rest is when fermentation is 2 to 5 specific gravity points (0.5 to 1 °P) prior to reaching terminal gravity. Brewers ask how they should know when fermentation has reached that stage. Raise the fermentation temperature for a diacetyl rest as soon as you see fermentation activity significantly slowing. It will not hurt the beer and it should help the yeast reach complete attenuation as well.
Classic American Pilsner
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.060 (14.7 °P)
FG = 1.014 (3.6 °P)
IBU = 35 SRM = 4 ABV = 6%
Ingredients
4.4 lb. (2 kg) Great Western domestic two-row malt (2 °L)
4.4 lb. (2 kg) Best Malz continental Pilsner malt (2 °L)
3.3 lb. (1.5 kg) Briess flaked corn (1 °L)
6.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1.87 oz./53 g at 3.5% alpha acids) (60 min.)
3.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1 oz./28 g of 3.5% alpha acids) (15 min.)
3.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1 oz./28 g of 3.5% alpha acids) (0 min.)
White Labs WLP800 (Pilsner Lager) or Wyeast 2001 (Urquell) yeast
Step by Step
Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 149 °F (65 °C). Hold the mash at 149 °F (65 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete. You might want to extend your mash time, due to the lower mash temperature and the need to convert the corn. Infuse the mash with near boiling water while stirring or with a recirculating mash system raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (24.4 L) and the gravity is 1.046 (11.5 °P).
The total boil time will be 90 minutes. Add the bittering hops 30 minutes after the wort starts boiling. Add Irish moss or other kettle finings and the second hop addition with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add the last hop addition just before shutting off the burner. Chill the wort rapidly to 50 °F (10 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter, pitch the yeast and aerate thoroughly.
You will need to pitch 4 packages of fresh yeast or make a large starter to have enough yeast to best ferment this beer. You might consider first brewing a small batch of lower gravity Munich helles or something similar to grow up the yeast you need. Once you have pitched enough clean, healthy yeast, ferment at 50 °F (10 °C). When fermentation is finished, carbonate the beer to approximately 2.5 volumes.
Classic American Pilsner
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.060 (14.7 °P)
FG = 1.014 (3.6 °P)
IBU = 35 SRM = 4 ABV = 6%
Ingredients
6 lb. (2.7 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract (2 °L)
2.2 lb. (1 kg) high maltose corn or rice syrup (0 °L)
6.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1.87 oz./53 g at 3.5% alpha acids) (60 min.)
3.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1 oz./28 g of 3.5% alpha acids) (15 min.)
3.5 AAU Czech Saaz hops
(1 oz./28 g of 3.5% alpha acids) (0 min.)
White Labs WLP800 (Pilsner Lager) or Wyeast 2001 (Urquell) yeast
Step by Step
I have used a number of Pilsner-type extracts, all with success. Always choose the freshest extract that fits the beer style. If you cannot get fresh liquid malt extract, use an appropriate amount of dried extract instead. Using fresh extract is very important to this style. Finding high maltose rice or corn syrups can be difficult in smaller quantities, but some homebrew shops do carry them. Alternatively, you could use dextrose in place of the syrup. Ideally, you would do a partial mash with corn or leave this style to all-grain.
Add enough water to the malt extract to make a pre-boil volume of 5.9 gallons (22.3 liters) and the gravity is 1.051 (12.6 °P). Stir the wort thoroughly to help dissolve the extract and bring to a boil.
Once the wort is boiling, add the bittering hops. The total wort boil time is 1 hour after adding the first hops. Add Irish moss or other kettle finings and the second hop addition with 15 minutes left in
the boil. Add the last hop addition just before shutting off the burner. Chill the wort rapidly to 50 °F
(10 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter, pitch the yeast and aerate thoroughly.
You will need to pitch 4 packages of fresh yeast or make a large starter to have enough yeast to best ferment this beer. You might consider first brewing a small batch of lower gravity Munich helles or something similar to grow up the yeast you need. Once you have pitched enough clean, healthy yeast, ferment at 50 °F (10 °C). When fermentation is finished, carbonate the beer to approximately 2.5 volumes.
