Name: Alibi Rooms Chuckanut Pilsner Recipe
Cook time: 72 h
Total time: 72 h
Yield: 20 servings
Ingredients: 20 liters Brew water (adjusted to soft-moderate sulfate); 3 g Gypsum (calcium sulfate); 1.5 g Calcium chloride; 1 ml Food-grade lactic acid (for pH adjustments); 4.25 kg Pilsner malt (base); 250 g Light Munich malt (for subtle malt backbone); 150 g Vienna malt (optional, adds complexity); 100 g Carapils/Dextrine (for body & head retention); 18 g Saaz hops (4.0% alpha acid) - First wort/boil; 12 g Saaz hops (aroma); 10 g Saaz hops (late aroma/whirlpool); 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc tablet (clarity); 1 package Wyeast 2001 (Bohemian Lager) or White Labs WLP800 (if available) or Saflager W-34/70; 1 tsp Yeast nutrient (optional); 110 g Priming sugar (corn sugar/dextrose) for bottling; 1 each Campden tablet (optional, for chloramine removal); 500 ml Brewing sanitizer (e.g., Star San)

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Pilsner, the world’s most popular style of beer, was invented in Czech Bohemia, perfected in Germany, and turned into flavorless mass-market fizz in America. Chuckanut’s Genuine Bohemian Style Pilsner is a thing of beauty; it is delicate, sharp, flavorful, aromatic, and appetizing. (ABV: 5%)

Start with 20 L of low-mineral water (RO or soft municipal). If using chlorinated or chloraminated water, treat with a crushed Campden tablet. Add gypsum (3 g) and calcium chloride (1.5 g) to achieve a soft-moderate sulfate/chloride balance that accentuates hop bite yet keeps malt roundness. Heat water to strike temperature of 56-58°C.

Prepare water

Stir crushed grains (Pilsner malt 4.25 kg, Munich 250 g, Vienna 150 g, Carapils 100 g) into strike water to reach a mash temperature of 62°C. Hold for 60 minutes. Maintain a gentle, even mash temperature; adjust with small additions of hot or cold water as needed. Stir gently every 10–15 minutes to keep even enzymatic activity.

Mash-in

After 60 minutes, perform an iodine test to ensure starch conversion. If conversion is incomplete, hold another 10–15 minutes. Optionally raise mash to 72°C for a 10-minute mashout to increase body slightly, but for a clean, dry Pilsner keep mashout lower (68–70°C) or skip to protect crispness.

Mash rest and saccharification check

Recirculate (vorlauf) until runoff is clear, then lautering/sparging with ~12–14 L of 75°C water to collect ~26 L pre-boil wort. Target pre-boil gravity that will yield OG ~1.048 after boil and losses.

Sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous rolling boil and begin a 60 minute timed boil. Add 18 g Saaz hops at kettle entry or as first-wort hops (for traditional Pilsner bitterness and smoothness). With 15 minutes remaining, add Irish moss or Whirlfloc (1 tsp) to aid clarity. With 5 minutes left, add 12 g Saaz aroma hops. Turn off heat at flameout and add 10 g Saaz hops for a 10–20 minute whirlpool/steep for aroma extraction and to preserve delicate hop character. Leave wort in whirlpool for 15–20 minutes while chilling begins.

Boil and hop additions

Chill the wort quickly to about 10–12°C using an immersion, counterflow, or plate chiller to minimize DMS and bacterial risk. Transfer chilled wort to sanitized fermenter. Aerate vigorously by shaking, splashing, or oxygenation (recommended: 8–10 ppm O2) to provide oxygen for healthy lager yeast propagation. Add yeast nutrient if using.

Chill and aerate

Pitch a healthy, adequately sized lager yeast starter or rehydrated dry yeast (one package) at 10–12°C. Seal fermenter and attach airlock.

Pitch yeast

Ferment at 10–12°C for 7–10 days. Expect vigorous fermentation in the first 48–72 hours. Monitor gravity; when active fermentation slows and gravity is near terminal (about 1.010–1.012), plan on diacetyl rest.

Primary fermentation (cold fermentation)

Raise temperature to 16–18°C for 48 hours to encourage yeast to reabsorb diacetyl and to clean up fermentation byproducts.

Diacetyl rest

After diacetyl rest, gradually lower temperature to 1–3°C over 2–3 days. Condition the beer at near-freezing temperatures for 3–6 weeks to clarify and smooth flavors. Longer lagering (6–8 weeks) yields a crisper, more refined beer.

Lagering (cold conditioning)

Sanitize bottles, caps, siphon, and bottling bucket. Dissolve 110 g priming sugar (dextrose) in 250 ml boiling water, cool to room temperature, and add to sanitized bottling bucket.

Prepare for bottling

Rack beer gently to the bottling bucket to mix with priming sugar solution, minimizing oxygen pickup. Fill bottles, leaving ~2 cm headspace, cap, and store at 18–20°C for 10–14 days to carbonate.

Bottle

After carbonation, cold crash bottles at 4°C for 24–48 hours to settle yeast. Serve chilled in a pilsner glass at 4–7°C. Expect a bright, pale straw color, delicate Saaz aroma, crisp malt backbone, and a clean finish around 5% ABV.

Cold condition & serve

Sanitize all equipment that contacts wort/beer after hot-side work. Use brewing sanitizer according to manufacturer directions. Clean kettles and fermenters promptly to prevent residue and off-flavors.

Brew water (adjusted to soft-moderate sulfate)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate)

Calcium chloride

Food-grade lactic acid (for pH adjustments)

Pilsner malt (base)

Light Munich malt (for subtle malt backbone)

Vienna malt (optional, adds complexity)

Carapils/Dextrine (for body & head retention)

Saaz hops (4.0% alpha acid) - First wort/boil

Saaz hops (aroma)

Saaz hops (late aroma/whirlpool)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc tablet (clarity)

Wyeast 2001 (Bohemian Lager) or White Labs WLP800 (if available) or Saflager W-34/70

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Priming sugar (corn sugar/dextrose) for bottling

Campden tablet (optional, for chloramine removal)

Brewing sanitizer (e.g., Star San)

Chuckanut Pilsner

Make Chuckanut Pilsner Recipe in just 72h . Pilsner, the world’s most popular style of beer, was invented in Czech Bohemia, perfected in Germany, and turned into flavorless mass-market fizz in America. Chuckanut’s Genuine Bohemian Style Pilsner is a thing of beauty; it is delicate, sharp, flavorful, aromatic, and appetizing. (ABV: 5%)

Chuckanut Pilsner

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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