Hey guys,
So a discussion on another thread got me thinking. What's your favourite style and recipe of homebrew? The one you always have on hand? Doesn't have to be your favourite all-time beer, but your "old faithful", the one you grab from the fridge or pour from your kegerator when you're just feeling like a beer?
I'll go first. I'm a big fan of Irish Reds, as you know, but they're not my go-to. That honour will have to go to a Pilsner, specifically Eastern European styled Pilsners and if I had to choose a BJCP style guide, it'll probably fit into the 2015 3A style - Czech Pale Lager. I enjoy making them on the high end of ABV and on the low end of IBU, specifically aiming for a 4.5% ABV beer in the ~21 IBU range, with a late hop addition to provide hop flavour and aroma of herb, spice and slightly earthy.
My favourite recipe is very simple, into a 45l batch:
7kg Pils Malt
200g Caramunich I or similar style malt
250g Dextrin Malt
Mash at 65°C for an hour.
Bring to the boil, and add bittering hops to 21 IBUs. I prefer using Magnum these days, and doing a 30 minute boil helps preserve some malt flavour in the final product. At flameout, I'll add a generous amount of Saaz or sometimes Tettnang or Mittelfrueh. Other hops change the flavour and might even push it out of the strict style guide - but who cares, right?
I typically aim for a 1.044 OG and a 1.008 FG, but sometimes my OG comes in a point or two lower (which is fine). I like to ferment it with a clean yeast, specially with true lager strains and then keep it lagering for at least 6 weeks before kegging. It results in a very refreshing beer that's got a slight hint of malt, with that specific hop flavour and aroma that just shines. It's a slightly more rich beer than your traditional German Pilsners which I can sometimes find even slightly harsh on the tongue, which is why I prefer the Czech variety.
So, what's yours?
So a discussion on another thread got me thinking. What's your favourite style and recipe of homebrew? The one you always have on hand? Doesn't have to be your favourite all-time beer, but your "old faithful", the one you grab from the fridge or pour from your kegerator when you're just feeling like a beer?
I'll go first. I'm a big fan of Irish Reds, as you know, but they're not my go-to. That honour will have to go to a Pilsner, specifically Eastern European styled Pilsners and if I had to choose a BJCP style guide, it'll probably fit into the 2015 3A style - Czech Pale Lager. I enjoy making them on the high end of ABV and on the low end of IBU, specifically aiming for a 4.5% ABV beer in the ~21 IBU range, with a late hop addition to provide hop flavour and aroma of herb, spice and slightly earthy.
My favourite recipe is very simple, into a 45l batch:
7kg Pils Malt
200g Caramunich I or similar style malt
250g Dextrin Malt
Mash at 65°C for an hour.
Bring to the boil, and add bittering hops to 21 IBUs. I prefer using Magnum these days, and doing a 30 minute boil helps preserve some malt flavour in the final product. At flameout, I'll add a generous amount of Saaz or sometimes Tettnang or Mittelfrueh. Other hops change the flavour and might even push it out of the strict style guide - but who cares, right?
I typically aim for a 1.044 OG and a 1.008 FG, but sometimes my OG comes in a point or two lower (which is fine). I like to ferment it with a clean yeast, specially with true lager strains and then keep it lagering for at least 6 weeks before kegging. It results in a very refreshing beer that's got a slight hint of malt, with that specific hop flavour and aroma that just shines. It's a slightly more rich beer than your traditional German Pilsners which I can sometimes find even slightly harsh on the tongue, which is why I prefer the Czech variety.
So, what's yours?
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