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Ingredients
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Mash
Boil
Fermentation & Lagering
Packaging
Method
Mash
- 1
Heat mash water
Heat 4 gallons of mash water to 165°F (74°C) to achieve a stable mash temperature.
- 2
Mash in
Add crushed pilsner malt, Munich malt, and rice hulls to the mash tun. Stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets and stabilize at 150°F (66°C).
- 3
Saccharification rest
Hold the mash at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes to allow enzymes to convert starches into fermentable sugars.
- 4
Mash out and lauter
Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes, then vorlauf until clear and lauter into the boil kettle.
Boil
- 5
Bring to boil
Add additional water as needed to reach approximately 6.5 gallons of wort. Bring to a vigorous rolling boil.
- 6
Hop additions
At 60 minutes remaining, add 1 oz Saaz hops. With 15 minutes left, add 0.5 oz Saaz hops, yeast nutrient, and Whirlfloc tablet. Add final 0.5 oz Saaz hops with 5 minutes remaining.
- 7
Boil completion
Complete a total 60-minute boil, then turn off heat and prepare for rapid cooling.
Fermentation & Lagering
- 8
Chill and transfer
Chill wort rapidly to 50°F (10°C), then transfer to a sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind.
- 9
Aerate and pitch yeast
Oxygenate wort for approximately 60 seconds, then pitch 2 packets of German lager yeast.
- 10
Primary fermentation
Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 10–14 days until final gravity is reached.
- 11
Diacetyl rest
Raise temperature to 60°F (16°C) for 2–3 days to allow yeast to clean up diacetyl.
- 12
Lagering
Gradually reduce temperature to 34°F (1°C) and lager for 4–6 weeks to achieve a clean, crisp pilsner profile.
Packaging
- 13
Prepare for packaging
Once lagering is complete, transfer beer carefully to a bottling bucket or keg, minimizing oxygen exposure.
- 14
Bottle or keg
For bottling, dissolve 4.5 oz corn sugar in boiling water, cool, and gently mix with beer before bottling. For kegging, force carbonate to 2.5 volumes of CO₂.
- 15
Condition and serve
Allow bottles to carbonate at room temperature for 2 weeks, or condition keg cold for several days. Serve cold at 38–40°F (3–4°C).
