First Brew Day coming this Saturday, style question

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by JeanPaulValley, Apr 11, 2013.

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  1. JeanPaulValley

    JeanPaulValley Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Hey all

    I'm going to be doing my first ever homebrew session this Saturday, and I had a question about a specific style I was going for. I'm going to be brewing two 5 gallon batches, one a porter and one a pilsner. For the pilsner, I would like it to be hoppier than normal. I use Victory Prima Pils as my example (not that I think I'd be able to make a legit Prima clone on my first go round, just that that's the style of Pils I'm going for) To acheive that, would I add more bittering hops during the boil, or maybe some extra aroma hops at knockout? Any advice would be greatly appreciated so I can start out on the right foot.
     
    #1 JeanPaulValley, Apr 11, 2013
  2. sergeantstogie

    sergeantstogie Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Washington

    Post your recipes and (planned) method in as much detail as possible.
     
    #2 sergeantstogie, Apr 11, 2013
  3. JUNCK

    JUNCK Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Washington

    There is a clone of the Victory Prima Pils in an issue of Zymurgy (July/August). Can't remember what year, 2009 I think.
     
    #3 JUNCK, Apr 11, 2013
  4. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Two batches for a first brewday, especially where one of them is going to be a lager, is pretty ambitious. Good Luck!

    Regarding a Prima Pils-like beer, yes, more hops all around (compared with a more typical german pils) is a part of that. As the Sarge said, post your recipes. You'll get better advice that way.
     
    #4 VikeMan, Apr 11, 2013
    MADhombrewer and GreenKrusty101 like this.
  5. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Are you making a starter for the pilsner? What yeasts are you using? What is your fermentation temperature control plan? Do you have your procedures written out?

    What are your planned recipes?

    As a general rule, hops are good in that they cover flaws, and easy to use because there are bzillions of ways to do a hops schedule, and they all work (albeit some better than others). If you give your pils an appropriate bittering charge and ample (or generous) late hops (15 minutes or less) you'll probably be ok. The amount of hops for your recipe is important but is way, way down there on the list of what's most important for your first brew day.

    More details = better = much better feedback.
     
    #5 AlCaponeJunior, Apr 11, 2013
  6. JeanPaulValley

    JeanPaulValley Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Hey guys, I appreciate the quick responses. I'm at work right now, so I don't have my full recipes with me. I'll post them as soon as I get home later for further feedback.

    As for doing the two batches, with one being a lager, I bought enough equipment to do two at a time. I'm not going too crazy, as I'm starting out with extract for these two, and probably my next two at least, before switching to all grain when I'm more comfortable. From what I've read up on, Porter is a good thing to try for a first timer, so I figured I'd do one I have less of a chance of messing up, and one that will be more challenging.

    Cheers!
     
    #6 JeanPaulValley, Apr 11, 2013
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Do you have a place/equipment to lager your lager at ~40F or lower after it's done fermenting?

    Edit: and a way to control the lager's fermentation temp (in the neighborhood of 50F)?
     
    #7 VikeMan, Apr 11, 2013
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  8. JeanPaulValley

    JeanPaulValley Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2013 Pennsylvania

    I do. I have a mini-fridge which is larger enough to hold my fermentor, and have tested it and found that it can hold steady at 40F and 49F
     
    #8 JeanPaulValley, Apr 11, 2013
  9. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Cool. Rock on. I'll be interested to hear how your very busy first brew day goes.
     
    #9 VikeMan, Apr 11, 2013
  10. JeanPaulValley

    JeanPaulValley Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Haha I'm hoping for chaotic and satisfying, followed by smoking the Cuban cigar I've been saving for the occassion.

    Cheers!
     
    #10 JeanPaulValley, Apr 11, 2013
  11. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    You'll find that brewing is generally forgiving. No need to rush for most of it, and expect each brew to take about 4-5 hours. The big factors are knowing what you're going to do next, chilling quickly, and sanitation like crazy after that. Fermentation temps are clutch and so is oxygenating your wort at your pitch time. It sounds like you've got ferm temp controlled and you should be making some tasty beer this weekend!
     
    #11 inchrisin, Apr 12, 2013
  12. sarcastro

    sarcastro Savant (1,133) Sep 20, 2006 Michigan

    #12 sarcastro, Apr 12, 2013
  13. JeanPaulValley

    JeanPaulValley Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Hey all, sorry I didn't post my recipe last night, we had a bit of a family health scare involving my niece (all is well now). Here it is:

    *NOTE: This is largely modeled after the Crabalocker German Pils recipe in The Joy of Homebrewing, but I changed a few things. For one, the recipe in the book calls for a partial boil, but I changed that to a full wort boil, as what I've read on this and other forums seemed to indicate a full boil as being better for the beer long term. From what I read, that alone can increase bitterness from the hops, so I wasn't sure if I should up the amounts.

    Also, the recipe calls for Hersbrucker-Hallertauer hops for boiling and flavoring. My LHBS didn't have them, so after checking How To Brew's hop list, I saw that Crystal is considered a substitute, and with the recipe already calling for Crystal pellets during lagering, I figured that would be the best available sub for me.


    1 3/4 oz Crystal hops (boiling)
    1 1/2 oz Crystal hops (flavoring/aroma)
    1/2 oz Crystal hop pellets (for lagering)
    5.5 lbs Pale DME
    WLP 802 Liquid Lager Yeast

    OG 1.048-1.052
    FG 1.010-1.012

    ADD 1 3/4 Crystal hops and all DME to water to make 5 gallons of wort. Bring to rolling boil. Boil for 40 minutes, then add 1 1/2 oz Crystal. Boil for 20 minutes and take off heat. Cool and transfer to fermentation bucket. Add yeast when wort reaches 50F and let ferment at that temp until gravity holds for 3 days. Transfer to secondary fermentor and add Crystal pellets. Lager at 40F for 3-4 weeks. Bottle and let sit in bottles for 1-2 weeks.
     
    #13 JeanPaulValley, Apr 12, 2013
  14. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Sounds like it will make a tasty brew. Good luck and report back when it's done!
     
    #14 AlCaponeJunior, Apr 12, 2013
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