Hickory Ridge Pilsner II

I'm far behind on reviewing this beer. Brewed last year on Christmas Eve, this is my second attempt at a Bohemian style Pilsner and was the impetus for my first decoction. Although the beer didn't turn out all that well, its better than my first attempt and is drinkable. I feel like I learned a few things in the process that will help in future attempts at this style as well as with lagers in general.

One thing I can say as a result of having brewed this beer is that all the decocting in the world won't fix a poor fermentation. As I rebrew this recipe in the future, I'm going to focus on producing a great beer from a single infusion mash and an optimal fermentation. Once I have those things nailed down, I'll add decoction to the recipe.

Most of the problems with this beer stem from a poor fermentation. There was a 48 hour lag time after pitching followed by a very sluggish fermentation. It all started when a well planned gargantuan yeast starter got a little too gargantuan. After I decanted it and built it up with fresh wort, it went crazy and krausen massively overflowed the flask, bellowing out several times. A lot of thick yeast slurry was lost during these overflows which ultimately cost me a lot of yeast.

I believe the decoction increased my efficiency beyond what I expected. I usually expect 72%-74% mash efficiency. I was expecting an OG of 1.053 but ended up with an OG of 1.057, indicating an efficiency of 77%. Aside from raising the gravity past the upper end of what is appropriate for the type of beer I was trying to brew, this also put an increasingly hard work load on my less than appropriately sized yeast starter. In hindsight I should have diluted the wort down in the kettle to adjust the gravity.

Despite all of that, and even though the brewing of the beer took me over 7 hours instead of 5 to 6 I did have a good time. Unable to contain my joy while performing the decoction, I shot this short video to share with you all ...

I highly recommend reading the Decoction Mashing page on Braukaiser.com as well as watching the videos included at the bottom of it. It contains a lot of scientific as well as practical information about decoction. The videos help to get a good idea of what the whole process looks like. The site in general is an excellent resource for brewing information.

Tasting

Aroma:

light malt with strong grassy notes. Maybe a little of lemon-like fruitiness. Some plastic and phenolic aroma.

Appearance:

Light Straw color with a seriously thick and creamy white head. Could be the all the hop matter that went into the kettle or the decoction, but this beer has the most retentive head of any beer I can remember brewing.

Flavor:

subtle malt character with notes of grain and honey.Super spicy hop flavor and bitterness dominate the flavor and linger to the finish. Some mild astringency.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied.

Recipe: Hickory Ridge Pilsner II

Recipe Specifications

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Batch Size: 10.00 gal

Boil Size: 13.19 gal

OG: 1.057 SG

FG: 1.011

Estimated Color: 3.9 SRM

Estimated IBU: 39.1 IBU

Brewhouse Efficiency: 77.00 %

Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Malt

19.00 lb Weyerman Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 95.00 %

1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %

Hops

2.75 oz Saaz [3.90 %] (60 min) Hops 19.6 IBU

2.50 oz Saaz [3.90 %] (30 min) Hops 13.7 IBU

2.25 oz Saaz [3.90 %] (10 min) Hops 5.8 IBU

2.50 oz Saaz [3.90 %] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -

Mash

Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single

Total Grain Weight: 20.00 lb

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Step Time Name Description Step Temp

35 min Protein Rest Add 40.00 qt of water at 133.0 F 128.0 F

60 min Saccharification Decoct 15.23 qt of mash and boil it 155.0 F

10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min 168.0 F

Other

1 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc

Yeast

2 Pkgs White Labs WLP800 Pilsner Lager

Stirplate starter built up once 2L => 3.5L

Fermentation

Pitched at 46°F. Allowed to rise and held steady at 52°F for ten days. At this point gravity was at 1.030 and droppping less than 1 point per day. So I brought the fermenter inside at 70°F for diacetyl rest and to finish up he last couple points for another week.

Racked to corney keg and lagered uncarbonated at 36°F for three weeks. Then hooked to C02 and waited another 10 days to carbonate.