Name: The Porter Beer Bars Italian Pilsner Recipe
Cook time: 72 h
Total time: 72 h
Yield: 23 servings
Ingredients: 6 kg Pilsner (Pils) malt; 0.5 kg German Vienna malt; 0.25 kg CaraMunich (light) or Munich light; 0.25 kg Flaked maize (optional, for extra dryness); 20 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh (bittering); 30 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh (flavor); 30 g Strata (aroma/late addition); 20 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh (dry hop); 20 g Strata (dry hop); 11.5 g Dry lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124/White Labs WLP830 equivalent or a clean Pilsner strain); 25 l Water (treated to low mineral, soft/neutral profile; adjust to 10 ppm chloride / 35 ppm sulfate); 15 l Food-grade water for sparge; 5 g Water salts (optional: gypsum, calcium chloride) to adjust profile; 1 tsp Whirlfloc tablet or Irish moss (clarifier); 140 g Priming sugar (dextrose) for bottling

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

Italian-Style Pilsner: Hallertau, Mittelfruh & Strata hops produce a floral aroma & crisp bitter finish

Heat 18 liters of strike water to 72°C to achieve a target mash temperature of 64°C. Mash in the crushed Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, CaraMunich, and flaked maize, stirring thoroughly to avoid dough balls.

Heat and Dough-in

Hold the mash at 64°C for 60 minutes for a clean, fermentable wort profile typical of pilsner. Optionally step mash: raise to 72°C for 10 minutes for a slightly fuller body, then vorlauf until clear.

Mash Rest

Raise the mash to 76°C for 10 minutes to stop enzyme activity and improve wort flow.

Mash Out

Sparge with 15 liters of 75°C water until you collect approximately 27–28 liters of pre-boil wort in the kettle.

Sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous boil and start timing a 60-minute boil once boiling begins.

Bring to a Rolling Boil

Add 20 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh at 60 minutes (bittering). At 15 minutes left, add 30 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh and the clarifier (Whirlfloc/Irish moss). At 5 minutes left, add 30 g Strata for late aroma and flair. If you prefer, split the Strata into a 5-minute and flameout addition (e.g., 15 g at 5 minutes, 15 g at flameout).

Hop Additions

At flameout (end of boil) chill the wort rapidly to about 10–12°C for lager fermentation. If using a lower ale fermentation temp or a hybrid lager yeast, cool accordingly (10–14°C). Aim to minimize time above 80°C during cooldown to reduce DMS formation.

Cool Wort

Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, top up with water if needed to reach 23 liters total, and oxygenate/aerate to about 8–10 ppm dissolved oxygen (shake, splash, or pure O2) before pitching yeast.

Transfer and Aerate

Pitch the 11.5 g of dry lager yeast (rehydrated per manufacturer instructions if desired) at about 10–12°C.

Pitch Yeast

Allow fermentation at 10–12°C until most activity subsides (about 7–10 days). Gravity should drop quickly as lager yeasts ferment cleanly.

Primary Fermentation

Once main fermentation is nearly complete (final few gravity points), raise temperature to 16–18°C for 48–72 hours to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

Diacetyl Rest

After diacetyl rest, lower temperature gradually (over 2–3 days) to 0–4°C and lager (cold condition) for 3–6 weeks. This step clarifies the beer and smooths hop and malt flavors.

Lagering

After primary fermentation is complete and either during diacetyl rest or early in lagering (at ~10–12°C), add 20 g Hallertau Mittelfrüh and 20 g Strata into the fermenter (in a sanitized hop bag or directly). Leave on for 3–5 days for aroma extraction, then cold-crash to help drop hop solids.

Dry Hop

Cold crash to near 0–4°C for 48–72 hours to clarify. Rack or siphon to a secondary vessel or proceed to bottling/kegging while avoiding trub and hop debris.

Cold Crash and Clarify

If bottling, dissolve 140 g priming sugar in 250 ml boiling water, cool, and gently mix into the bottling bucket with the beer. Bottle and cap. Condition at 18–20°C for 10–14 days for carbonation, then cold condition at 4°C for another week to settle. Final carbonation target: ~2.3–2.6 volumes CO2.

Bottling

If kegging, carbonate to 2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 via forced CO2 (set psi/temperature accordingly) or natural keg conditioning. Chill and serve at 4°C in a pilsner glass for best presentation.

Kegging

Pilsner (Pils) malt

German Vienna malt

CaraMunich (light) or Munich light

Flaked maize (optional, for extra dryness)

Hallertau Mittelfrüh (bittering)

Hallertau Mittelfrüh (flavor)

Strata (aroma/late addition)

Hallertau Mittelfrüh (dry hop)

Strata (dry hop)

Dry lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124/White Labs WLP830 equivalent or a clean Pilsner strain)

Water (treated to low mineral, soft/neutral profile; adjust to 10 ppm chloride / 35 ppm sulfate)

Food-grade water for sparge

Water salts (optional: gypsum, calcium chloride) to adjust profile

Whirlfloc tablet or Irish moss (clarifier)

Priming sugar (dextrose) for bottling

Italian Pilsner

Make Italian Pilsner Recipe in just 72h . Italian-Style Pilsner: Hallertau, Mittelfruh & Strata hops produce a floral aroma & crisp bitter finish

Italian Pilsner

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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