2013 MEDIÄ

Yäktoberfest 2013 Photos

Yäktoberfest 2013 Videos

Making a Czech Pilsner

Jon making a Czech-style Pilsner at home, with his father Robert at the camera helm.  Pilsner, named after the Czech city Pilsen (Plzeň), is a pale lager with a clear color and crisp taste.  Think Pilsner Urquell or Czech Budvar. Ours is an all-grain homebrew, and since making lager is a bit more complex than making ale, there are lots of steps involved.

Czech Pilsner (All Grain)
Makes 5 1/4 gallons

Malt:

• 9 lb Bohemian Pilsner
• 4 oz Crystal 10L

Hops:

• Bittering: 1 oz Nugget (12.4 % AA)
• Flavor: None
• Aroma: 1 oz Saaz (3.0% AA)

Yeast:

• White Labs Czech Budeiovice Lager 802

In part 1, we soak our malted grain in a big tub of hot water.  We need 1.25 quarts for each pound of grain, or a bit over 11.5 quarts.  The water should be about 150 degrees.

In part 2 we take a look at sparging, or lautering.  Sparging involves sprinkling hot water over the soaked malt while slowly draining liquid that the grain has soaked in, or "wort."  Sparging requires patience and precision, which is why many homebrewers stick to using malt extracts rather than actual grains.





In part 5 of the series, we cool the brew down to 80 degrees.  The longer it takes, the better chance the beer will pick up unwanted flavors.  To cool down the wort quickly, we dunk a wort chiller it, which is a simple coil of copper tubing through which cold water passes.



Next, we aerate by using some very simple technology.  The oxygen helps the yeast do its thing.



After we've transferred our aerated wort to a carboy, we add our yeast, then wait.  When fermentation gets going in a day or two, we'll move it to a cooler environment for a week or so.  Don't move it.  Keeping the carboy still allows the solids to collect at the bottom.  After fermentation, we'll raise the temperature, siphon the beer off the solids, and transferred it to a modified refrigerator.  There it will rest at around 40 degrees for a few weeks to clear, which is what makes it a lager.