Mash & Lauter

1. Heat strike water

Heat 16 L of brewing water to approximately 74°C to achieve a mash-in temperature around 66°C when grain is added (accounting for grain temperature). If you use a different water-to-grain ratio, adjust strike temperature accordingly.

2. Mash-in

Add the milled Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, Carapils, and flaked maize to the mash tun and pour the strike water in. Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls and ensure even hydration. Target mash temperature: 65.5–66.5°C. Mash thickness: about 2.5–3.0 L/kg (roughly 3.2 L/kg here).

3. Mash rest

Hold mash at 65.5–66.5°C for 60 minutes to achieve good conversion and a moderately fermentable wort suitable for a crisp pils finish. Optionally perform a 10 minute mashout at 75–76°C to aid lautering.

4. Mash out (optional)

If performing mashout, raise to 75°C for 10 minutes by adding hot water or direct heat, stir gently, then prepare to lautering.

5. Sparge & collect wort

Recirculate the first runnings until clear, then lauter and sparge with about 9 L of water at 75°C (or until you reach pre-boil volume ~23 L). Collect enough wort to end the boil with ~20 L of wort (accounting for evaporation). Aim for pre-boil gravity of ~1.046–1.050 (for ~4.8–5.5% ABV).

Boil & Hops

6. Bring wort to a boil

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous rolling boil. Watch for boilovers early in the boil.

7. 60-minute hop addition

With 60 minutes remaining in the boil, add 25 g of Saaz hops (bittering portion of the 35 g). This provides a clean, moderate bitterness typical of an Italian-style pils.

8. Irish moss

With 15 minutes left in the boil, add the Irish moss or Whirlfloc (5 g) to aid protein coagulation and improve clarity.

9. Late hop additions

With 10 minutes remaining add 10 g Saaz (or Hallertau). With 5 minutes remaining add 15 g Perle (or Styrian Golding) for delicate floral spice. These late additions contribute to aroma without harsh bitterness.

10. Whirlpool/finish hop addition

After flameout, cool the wort briefly to ~80°C and add the 10 g Italian hop choice (e.g., Sorachi Ace or Tettnang). Whirlpool for 15–20 minutes to extract delicate aromatics, then chill rapidly.

Cooling, Fermentation & Conditioning

11. Chill wort

Cool the wort as quickly as possible to yeast-pitching temperature (lager yeast: 10–12°C) using an immersion chiller, counterflow chiller, or plate chiller. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter.

12. Oxygenate

Aerate or oxygenate the wort thoroughly to support healthy lager yeast: either vigorous shaking, splashing, or pure oxygen to achieve ~8–10 ppm dissolved oxygen.

13. Pitch yeast

Pitch the prepared lager yeast (make a healthy starter if using a single pack) at 10–12°C. Seal fermenter and attach airlock.

14. Primary fermentation

Allow fermentation to proceed at 10–12°C until vigorous activity has subsided (typically 7–12 days). Monitor gravity; ferment to target final gravity around 1.010–1.012 depending on attenuation.

15. Diacetyl rest

Once gravity is near final (usually after primary), raise temperature to 15–16°C for 48 hours to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

16. Lagering (cold conditioning)

After diacetyl rest, chill the beer gradually down to 0–2°C and lager for 4–6 weeks (longer if desired) to develop a crisp, clean profile and bright clarity. Optionally add gelatin or other finings before cold crash to help clarify.

Packaging & Carbonation

17. Prepare priming sugar

If bottling, dissolve 130 g of corn sugar in about 250 ml of boiling water, cool to room temperature and add to a sanitized bottling bucket.

18. Transfer and mix

Transfer the lager gently to the bottling bucket on top of the priming solution to avoid oxygen pickup, then gently mix by siphoning a few times to evenly distribute the priming sugar.

19. Bottle or keg

Fill and cap sanitized bottles or carbonate in a keg to about 2.6–3.0 volumes CO2 (typical for pils). If kegging, force carbonate to target volumes.

20. Condition

If bottle conditioned, allow bottles to carbonate at room temperature for 10–14 days, then cold condition for an additional 1–2 weeks at refrigeration temperatures for best clarity and flavor integration.

Italian Style Pils Recipe

Recipe information

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Malt & Adjuncts

Hops & Additions

Yeast & Water

Priming & Finishing