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

Clean, classic Bohemian style Pilsener made with Saaz hops.

Heat approximately 5.5 gallons of brewing water to 162°F (72°C) to achieve a mash temperature target of 150°F (66°C) when grains are added. Include mash salts (gypsum and calcium chloride) dissolved in strike water.

Heat Strike Water

Add milled Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, rice syrup solids (or flaked rice), and Carapils to the mash tun. Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls and stabilize at 150°F (66°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes to achieve a clean, well-converted mash with moderate fermentability and a light body.

Mash In

Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes (mash out) to improve run-off viscosity and enzyme denaturation.

Mash Out

Recirculate wort until clear, then sparge with enough 168°F (76°C) water to collect approximately 6.5–7 gallons of pre-boil wort (accounting for boil-off and trub loss).

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Start a 90-minute boil (classic Bohemian Pils often uses a longer boil to promote clarity and Maillard reactions for a subtle biscuit background).

Bring to a Rolling Boil

At 90 minutes remaining (start of boil) add 0.75 oz Saaz hops. Maintain a strong, steady boil for the entire 90 minutes.

Bittering Hop Addition

At 15 minutes remaining in the boil (i.e., with 15 minutes left of the 90-minute boil) add 1.5 oz Saaz hops. Also add yeast nutrient at this time if using.

Flavor Hop Addition

After flameout, cool the wort to about 180°F (82°C) and perform a 10–15 minute whirlpool to allow hop material to settle. Optionally add hop stand Saaz (part of the late aroma addition) during whirlpool for extra delicate noble hop character.

Whirlpool / Late Aroma

Chill the wort rapidly to 50°F (10°C) using an immersion or plate chiller. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter while minimizing oxygen pickup (a closed transfer if possible).

Chill Wort

Oxygenate the chilled wort to about 8–10 ppm dissolved oxygen (or aerate vigorously for 60–90 seconds with an aquarium stone). Rehydrate dry yeast according to package directions or prepare a starter for liquid yeast. Pitch yeast into the wort at 48–52°F (9–11°C).

Pitching

Hold fermentation at 50–54°F (10–12°C) for about 7–10 days or until primary activity slows and gravity is near final gravity. Expect a clean lager profile with Saaz character developing during fermentation.

Primary Fermentation

Raise temperature to 62–65°F (17–18°C) for 48–72 hours to allow yeast to clean up any diacetyl. Check for cleanness of flavor before beginning lagering.

Diacetyl Rest

Gradually crash temperature down to 34–36°F (1–2°C) over 24–48 hours. Lager at 34–36°F (1–2°C) for 4–8 weeks for improved clarity, smoothness, and rounded malt/hop integration.

Lagering (Cold Conditioning)

If additional noble aroma is desired, add 1 oz Saaz hops into the fermenter after primary fermentation has completed and yeast has been warmed for diacetyl rest. Leave for 3–5 days at lagering temperature before cold conditioning. Note: many traditional Bohemian pilsners avoid heavy dry hopping — keep additions light.

Late Dry Hop (Optional)

Boil 1 cup water and dissolve 4.5 oz (approx. 128 g) corn sugar (dextrose). Cool the solution, then sanitize the bottling bucket or keg and add the priming solution to it.

Prepare Priming Solution

Rack cold-conditioned beer into the bottling bucket on top of the priming solution to mix gently. Fill and cap bottles or carbonate in keg to approx. 2.3–2.6 volumes CO2 (typical for Pilsner).

Bottle or Keg

Allow bottles to carbonate at room temperature for 1–2 weeks, then cold condition in refrigerator for another 1–2 weeks for best clarity and flavor. If kegging, carbonate to target volumes and cold-condition for 1–2 weeks before serving.

Conditioning

Pilsner (Pils) malt

Vienna malt

Rice syrup solids (or flaked rice) - optional for light body and clarity

Carapils (dextrine) - optional for head retention

Brewing water (adjusted to soft, chloride:sulfate ratio favoring sulfate for crispness)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate)

Calcium chloride

Saaz whole leaf hops (bittering)

Saaz whole leaf hops (flavor/aroma)

Saaz whole leaf hops (dry hop/late aroma)

Dry lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or Saflager W-34/70 rehydrated equivalent)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Corn sugar (dextrose) for bottling

Water for dissolving priming sugar

LI PILSNER

Make LI PILSNER Recipe in just 168h . Clean, classic Bohemian style Pilsener made with Saaz hops.

LI PILSNER

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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