Classic Bohemian Pilsner - Wyeast 2007 - Pilsen Lager™

 My LHBS didn't have my first choice of yeast in stock so at the last minute I had to switch from using Wyeast 2124 to using Wyeast 2007 lager yeast.  The liquid yeast package was rated at 5 gallons so according to the OG of this recipe I knew it would be sufficient for my 2.13 gallon batch. I was using my new fermentation chamber for the very first time so I didn't know what to expect. The other 3 fermenters in the chamber had already shown some visible krausen after only 3-5 days but they were all using different lager yeasts types.

 Day 8: No Visible Krausen Floating On Top

  The two fermenters located in the lower half of the fermentation chamber had developed their krausen the fastest so after only 3-4 days I could see it already forming on the tops of both fermenters. I wasn't sure if it had something to do with the fact that they were further away from the 'frozen water bottle rack' and didn't have the really ice cold air falling directly on them.

 Day 9: Some Visible Krausen Floating On Top

  The two fermenters located at the top of the fermentation chamber were the closest to the frozen water bottles and they had the ice cold air falling directly down on them. This may have possibly explained why they took a few days longer to show any krausen on top of the beer.

Day 10: Even More Visible Krausen Floating On Top

By day 10 the two fermenters located on the top half were actively showing krausen while the two fermenters on the bottom now seemed to have slowed down on the levels of krausen. I guess if my plan was to prove whether or not the locations of the fermenters inside the chamber made a difference in the visible display of krausen during fermentation I should have used the same yeast type.

 Day 11: Still More Visible Krausen Floating On Top

 By now the 3 other yeasts have really slowed up on the amount of visible krausen that can be seen on the top of their fermentors.

After 28 days of fermentation at 50F I bottled all 4 batches and used my Bottle Priming Calculator to figure out how much priming sugar to use for each style.

Lager Styles And Fermentation Notes

Recipe #40 - Classic American Pilsner

 The recipe I'm about to describe is a Classic American Pilsner extract recipe that uses an Extra Light DME and some Crystal 10L steeping grains. This style of beer had it's origins in Prohibition Era America brewed by immigrant German brewers when they settled in America. In keeping with the original style I have selected native American Cluster hops for bitterness, flavor and aroma.

I used qBrew's default 'Classic American Pilsner' style guidelines to crunch the recipe's numbers. You can download the October 2010 qBrew database below and use it to upgrade your current ingredient database. This latest ingredient database includes more yeast, fruits, extracts and other helpful entries then ever before.

 Click to download Screwy's latest qBrew database   

Recipe:
Click to download this recipe file for qBrew 

Recipe: Size 2.13 gallons: Estimated IBU=39, SRU=5, OG=1.046, FG=1.012, ABV=4.5%

1/2 Crystal 10L

2 pounds Muntons DME - Extra Light

1/2 ounce Cluster pellet hops boiled for 40 minutes

1/4 ounce Cluster pellet hops boiled for 15 minutes

1/4 ounce Cluster pellet hops boiled for 5 minutes

11.5 grams Saflager S-23 Dry Lager Yeast

Pitched at 65F and fermented at 50F

Directions:
Steep grains at 150-170F for 30 minutes in 3.5 quarts filtered water

Boil 3.5 quarts of filtered water

Add and boil 1/2 oz. hops for 40 minutes

Add and boil 1/4 oz. hops for 15 minutes
Stir in 2 lbs. DME and boil for 10 minutes

Add and boil 1/4 oz. hops for 5 minutes

Place in ice bath until wort temperature cools to 65F

Add 4 quarts cold filtered water to Mr. Beer fermenter

Pour cooled wort into fermenter keg aerate and pitch yeast

Ferment at constant 50F temperature for 21 days

Steep The Grains For 30 Minutes At 150F