[GLLUG] Czech Pilsner brewing

[Clay Dowling]

Nobody was able to make it yesterday to brew the pilsner, so after I 
fixed myself a fantastic lunch I started, about two hours later than I 
had planned.

I had some new equipment in this brew that I hadn't used before, and 
that made for some learning.  It was the first all-grain batch that I 
had brewed on the propane burner, and I ran out of fuel just as I had 
the water hot enough to start the mash.  So I had to make a run to buy 
more propane.  For future reference, it takes about 2/3 of a tank of 
propane.

I had also forgotten that there is a major hops shortage right now, so 
at the home brew stores it's catch as catch can for hops.  There was no 
Saaz or Perle hops to be had.  I had stocks of these that were vacuum 
sealed and in the freezer for the last year, but I would have felt 
better about things if I had been able to brew with fresh stock.  In the 
end though the beer smelled right, with that characteristic sharp flavor 
of pilsner that comes from saaz hops.

The beer is currently merrily bubbling away in the primary fermentation 
in my basement.  Normally a lager should start fermentation under 
refrigeration, but the only yeast readily available to me (i.e. without 
driving an hour and a half in each direction to get it) was a generic 
dry lager yeast, and these strains want to do their primary fermentation 
at 60 degrees to build up the colony.  My basement is perfect for that.

Next saturday I'll transfer the beer to secondary fermentation in my 
beer fridge, where it will work at the proper temperatures for lagering.

Clay

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