Mini-Mash Pilsner Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 x 1.5 kg Morgans Extra-Pale Liquid Malt Extract
• 1.5kg German Pilsner Malt grain
• 0.5kg Light Munich Malt grain
• 0.2kg Carapils Malt grain
• 12g Northern Brewer Hops Pellets (9.3%AA)
• 30g Saaz Hops Pellets
• 1 x Whirlfloc Tablet
• 1 x Safale US56 Yeast
• 5-10 litres of refrigerated water

Equipment:

• Mash Tun, at least 10 litres capacity
• Brew Kettle, at least 15 litres capacity

Directions:

1. Preheat the Mash Tun with 5 litres of hot water for 5 minutes
2. Place the grain in the Tun and add 6 litres of strike water to achieve a mash temperature of 66 degrees
3. Mash for 60 minutes
4. Add 2.2lites of near boiling water to the mash tun for mash out , mix well and leave for 10 minutes.
5. Drain 2 litres of sweet wort from the tun and recirculate
6. Drain the contents of the mash tun into the brew kettle.
7. Add 6 litres of sparge water at 75-80 degrees to the mash tun and mix well.
8. Drain 2 litres of sweet wort from the tun and recirculate.
9. Drain the contents of the mash tun into the brew kettle.
10. Bring the wort in the brew kettle to boil and boil for 10 minutes before adding hops.
11. Add 12g of Northern Brewer for 60 minute boil
12. After 45 minutes of boiling add the Whirlfloc tablet and 20g of Saaz hops
13. After 59 minutes add the remaining 10g of Saaz hops for a 1 minute boil.
14. Remove the heat from the brew kettle, add the Liquid Malt Extract and mix it in well.
15. Chill the wort and add it to the fermentor and top up to 22litres and mix it very well to enure it is well aerated.
16. Pitch the yeast and ferment cool (16-17 degrees)

Notes:

Typically a Pilsner is fermented with a lager yeast. In this instance a very neutral ale yeast has been used. This has a couple of advantages; you can use a slightly higher fermentation temperature and consequently a shorter fermentation time. Also, using this yeast will not require long periods of lagering to achieve an optimal flavour. See the story on Making Lager Style Beers Faster.

To chill the wort prior to pitching the yeast, you can use a wort chiller or you can add a quantity of clean drinking quality ice, or you can simply wait for the wort to cool sufficiently. Waiting for the wort to cool can lead to the risk of unwanted bacterial or yeast infection. You need to be sure your fermentor and all brewing equipment is completely sterile.