Name: The Vermont Pub & Brewerys Czech Your Pils Recipe
Cook time: 48 h
Total time: 48 h
Yield: 5 servings
Ingredients: 6 lbs Pilsner malt (base); 1 lbs Flaked rice; 0.25 lbs Carapils / Dextrine malt; 0.5 lbs Light Munich malt (for subtle toasted malt); 0.5 oz Hallertau (or Tettnang) pellets, 4.5% AA; 0.5 oz Saaz pellets, 3.5% AA (aroma/finish); 1 package Liquid lager yeast (Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or White Labs WLP830); 3 oz Corn sugar (priming for bottle conditioning); 5 gal Water (brewing strike and sparge); 0.5 tsp Gypsum (calcium sulfate) — optional, for water profile; 1 tsp Irish moss or kettle fining — optional; 0.25 tsp Campden tablet (optional, for chlorine/chloramine removal); 1 to taste Star San or equivalent sanitizer

Domestic Draft

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A light and clean American style lager. Low hop bitterness and hop flavors with subtle toasted malt finish.

Heat 3.5 gallons of water to approximately 164°F (to account for grain temperature) to reach a target mash temperature of 152°F. Dough in the crushed grains (Pilsner, flaked rice, Carapils, Munich) and hold at 152°F for 60 minutes. Stir and ensure temperature stability; rest converts starches to fermentable sugars producing a light, clean body.

Heat and mash

Raise mash to 168°F for a 10 minute mash-out by adding 1 quart of 170–175°F water or applying direct heat. Vorlauf until wort runs clear, then lauter and sparge with enough 170°F water to collect about 6.5–7.0 gallons of pre-boil wort (targeting ~1.038 pre-boil gravity for a 5 gallon batch).

Mash out and sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. Add 0.5 oz Hallertau pellets at 60 minutes remaining for gentle bitterness. Optionally add Irish moss (1 tsp) with 15 minutes left for improved clarity.

60 minute boil and bittering

Add 0.5 oz Saaz pellets with 10 minutes remaining to impart subtle noble hop character without strong hop flavor. Do not add late whirlpool additions beyond 10 minutes to keep hop profile restrained.

Aroma addition

After 60-minute boil complete, chill wort quickly to about 50°F using an immersion or counterflow wort chiller. If pre-boil volume was low, top up with dechlorinated water to reach 5.0 gallons into the fermenter. Aerate vigorously (or oxygenate to ~8–10 ppm) to prepare for lager yeast.

Chill and top up

Sanitize fermenter and transfer chilled wort. Pitch one hydrated or properly prepared package of lager yeast at 48–50°F. If using liquid yeast, make a 2–3 L starter and pitch at the same temperature to ensure yeast health.

Pitch yeast

Hold fermentation at 50°F for 7–10 days until active fermentation slows and specific gravity approaches terminal. Expect a clean, slow fermentation producing a light, near-neutral flavor.

Primary fermentation

Raise temperature to 62–65°F for 48 hours to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other byproducts. Monitor gravity to ensure fermentation has finished (stable gravity over 2–3 days).

Diacetyl rest

After fermentation is complete, crash to near 35–38°F over 24–48 hours and lager (cold condition) for 3–6 weeks. This extended cold conditioning allows proteins and haze to drop out, yielding a bright, clean lager with a subtle toasted malt finish.

Cold crash and lagering

If bottling, dissolve 3 oz (by weight) corn sugar in 8–12 ounces of boiling water, cool, and mix into the bottling bucket with the finished beer. Rack beer gently to bottling bucket, fill sanitized bottles, and cap. Condition at ~65–70°F for 2 weeks, then cold condition in the fridge for another week if possible.

Bottle priming

If kegging, carbonate to 2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 (typical for American-style lagers) using CO2 tank or natural carbonation in a closed keg. Chill and serve at 36–40°F.

Kegging

Serve cold. Expect a light body, low hop bitterness, restrained noble hop aroma, and a subtle toasted malt finish. Adjust future batches by lowering crystal malts for drier finish or slightly increasing Munich for more toast if desired.

Final tasting note

If your source water contains chlorine or chloramine, treat it with 1/4 tsp Campden tablet per 5 gallons or use a carbon filter prior to brewing. Optionally add 1/2 tsp gypsum to accentuate malt dryness and subtle hop perception. Sanitize all equipment in contact with cooled wort and beer with Star San or equivalent according to manufacturer instructions.

Pilsner malt (base)

Flaked rice

Carapils / Dextrine malt

Light Munich malt (for subtle toasted malt)

Hallertau (or Tettnang) pellets, 4.5% AA

Saaz pellets, 3.5% AA (aroma/finish)

Liquid lager yeast (Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or White Labs WLP830)

Corn sugar (priming for bottle conditioning)

Water (brewing strike and sparge)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) — optional, for water profile

Irish moss or kettle fining — optional

Campden tablet (optional, for chlorine/chloramine removal)

Star San or equivalent sanitizer

Czech Your Pils

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Make Czech Your Pils Recipe in just 48h . A light and clean American style lager. Low hop bitterness and hop flavors with subtle toasted malt finish.

Czech Your Pils Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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