Illustrated Beer Brewing Primer

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Illustrated Brewing Primer
Simple All Grain Brewing
German Pilsner Ingredients
Equipment List
Partial Mash Brewing Procedure
Fermenting
Corny Keg Rebuild
Racking
Reusing Yeast
Transferring Beer
Carbonation
All Grain Decoction
El Cheapo Mash Tun
Favorite Websites

German Pilsner Partial Mash - Ingredients

This is a pilsner style beer made with a German Alt yeast. It is not a true lager, but is an ale with many of the characteristics of pilsner.

6lbs Light or Pale Liquid Malt Extract Syrup


Malt extract sold in the plastic quart milk jugs is the easiest to work with. The plastic jugs are better than the cans, because the cans usually come in 4lb sizes, which is not enough for a 5 gallon batch, but two cans are too much for a 5 gallon batch. 6lbs of liquid malt is just right for a 5 gallon batch. I have had good luck with Alexander's Pale Malt. Click on the picture above for a link to a good supplier. I recommend Northern Brewer because they have treated me right as a customer.

1lb Briess Carapils Grain, crushed/milled

Steeping grain in the brew adds a lot of character to the beer. It will improve the head foam, and will give a smoother consistency to the beer. Steeping grain is very easy to do, if you can make tea, you can steep grain. Make sure that you order crushed grain; if it is not crushed, don't try to use it, just get crushed grain.

2 oz Hallertauer Pellet Hops, 1/2 oz Saaz Pellet Hops

  • 1 oz Hallertauer pellet hops - bittering hops, 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz Hallertauer pellet hops - flavor hops, 10 minute boil
  • 1/2 oz Saaz pellet hops - aroma hops, throw in just before flame out

I recommend pellet hops because they do not clog the blow off tube. Store hops in the freezer to keep their flavor from deteriorating.

1 packet Wyeast 1007 German Alt Yeast

A German pilsner is usually a lager beer. But lager beers require refrigeration to brew, their optimum temperatures are in the 50's. German Alt is an ale that brews well from 60F to 70F, which makes it suitable for brewing without refrigeration. Even more important is that the flavor characteristics of German Altbier are very close to the pilsner lager yeast. Take a look at the bottom right of this chart: what is the closest yeast type to pilsener yeast?


From "How to Brew", by John Palmer, an excellent brewing resource available online.

Yeast must be refrigerated until the day of use. Do not freeze yeast.

Sanitizing powder

While not part of the recipe, you will also need a few tablespoons of One-Step Sanitizer Powder, or similar "no-rinse" sanitizer.

Water

I use tap water that comes from a municipal water system. It has chlorine in it, but I have never tasted the chlorine after brewing. Unless you have serious problems with your water so that you don't like to drink it, I would try to brew with your tap water. If you have a serious iron or mineral taste in the water, it might be better to buy 6 gallons of bottled water and use that.

My source of water, Lake Michigan:

Dry Yeast

You also need to buy some insurance. Liquid yeasts almost always come through, but you should keep a packet of dry yeast in the fridge as insurance. I recommend Nottinghams Dry Yeast.

Here is your order list:

OK, let's make sure you have the right equipment.

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Illustrated Beer Brewing Primer

Ingredients :: Equipment :: Preparation :: Steeping :: Sanitation :: Mash Out :: Add Extract :: Boil :: Bittering Hops :: Wort Chiller :: Flavor Hops :: Aroma Hops :: Chill Wort :: Remove Chiller :: Aerate :: Carboy :: Pitch Yeast :: Cap :: Cool the Carboy :: Fermenting :: Corny Keg Rebuild :: Racking :: Reusing Yeast :: Transferring Beer :: Carbonation :: Prost!