North Coast, Scrimshaw, Pilsner, Fort Bragg, California Recipe
Recipe information
Make North Coast, Scrimshaw, Pilsner, Fort Bragg, California in just 36h . Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.
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Ingredients
Brew
Brew
1. Sanitation & water prep
Sanitize fermenter, airlock, siphon, bottles or kegging equipment with a no-rinse sanitizer. If using municipal water, dechlorinate with a Campden tablet per 5 gallons or use filtered water. Heat your total strike water (about 6 gallons) to reach a mash temperature target of 150°F (66°C) after grain addition; actual strike temp depends on grain and mash tun thermal mass.
2. Mill and mash
Crack the Pilsner, Vienna, Carapils and flaked rice (if using) through a grain mill to expose endosperm but avoid pulverizing. Add grains to mash tun. Mash with strike water to hold 148–152°F (64–67°C) for 60 minutes for a balanced, slightly dry pilsner profile; aim for 150°F (66°C) for a medium-fermentable wort. Stir, ensure good conversion, and perform iodine test at 45–60 minutes; no color change indicates complete conversion.
3. Mash out and sparge
Raise mash to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes if desired, then begin lautering. Sparge grains with ~3 gallons of water heated to 168°F (76°C) until you have roughly 6.5–7.0 gallons of wort in the kettle (target pre-boil volume to account for boil-off).
4. Boil and hop schedule
Bring wort to a rolling boil for 60 minutes. At start of boil, add 0.75 oz Saaz hops for bittering. With 15 minutes left, add 1 tsp Irish moss (or whirlfloc at 10 minutes) and optionally 0.5 tsp yeast nutrient. At 10 minutes remaining, add 0.75 oz Hallertau (or Tettnang/Mittelfrueh) for flavor. At flameout or at 0 minutes, add 0.5 oz Saaz for aroma and cover the kettle and let sit 10–15 minutes for hop steeping (hopstand).
5. Chill wort
Cool the wort quickly to 50–55°F (10–13°C) using an immersion or plate chiller to reduce DMS formation and contamination risk. Transfer chilled wort into a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind most trub. Top up with sanitized water to reach 5.0 gallons if needed. Aerate vigorously (shake, oxygenate with pure O2 or aerate by splashing) to dissolve oxygen for lager yeast.
6. Pitch yeast & primary fermentation
Rehydrate or prepare Saflager W-34/70 per manufacturer instructions or make a starter if desired. Pitch yeast at ~50–55°F (10–13°C). Ferment at 48–54°F (9–12°C) for about 7–14 days until primary fermentation subsides (specific gravity near expected final gravity). Maintain steady temperature to avoid off-flavors.
7. Diacetyl rest & lagering
Once primary fermentation is complete, raise temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 48–72 hours to allow yeast to clean up diacetyl. After the rest, crash cool to near 32–35°F (0–2°C) over 2–3 days and lager (cold condition) for 4–6 weeks (longer if desired) to develop the clean, crisp profile characteristic of Scrimshaw-style pilsners.
8. Kegging or bottling
If kegging: transfer beer to a sanitized keg, carbonate to 2.4–2.8 volumes CO2 at serving temperature. If bottling: dissolve 4 oz (113 g) priming sugar in 8 oz (240 ml) boiling water, cool, add to bottling bucket, siphon beer gently into the bucket, mix gently to distribute priming solution, bottle and cap. Condition at room temperature for 10–14 days, then cold-condition for 1–2 weeks to clarify.
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