Imperial German Lager

I'm planning on doing an Imperial Pilsner soon. I'd love to put it into some competitions but I'm not sure what category to put it in.
Commercial breweries have certainly produced this style but I don't see the homebrew community making many pilsners let along imperial pilsners.
I'm still working on the recipe- especially the hop schedule. Feel free to give me suggestions!
5.5 gallons. 7.7% abv. 60ish IBU. 9 SRM
72% Pilsner
23% German Munich
5% Acidulated Malt
1lb Corn Sugar
Wyeast 2007
1oz Undecided hop at 60 min
2oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker at 30min
2oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker at 20min
2oz Select Spalt at 10min
2oz Select Spalt dry hop

 

I think 5 % acidulated malt is a bit high, assuming you are going to use a soft water for a pilsen beer, with low alkalinity, using that much acid is going to bring your mash Ph too low.

 

My PH doesn't go too low. My well water has a high PH, so I need 5% acid malt when I brew light beers.
It's not recommended to use more than 5% in a recipe, so I definitely see where you're coming from, but from my experience with my water source, it's needed.
I've also tasted Acidulated Malt at my LHBS and I didn't notice anything "acidic" about it. I'm not sure what flavor to expect if I were to brew with more than 5% acid malt.

 

If your well water ph is high then its alkalinity is high either, so it is not a suitable water por pilsen beers , IMHO. Would you consider diluting it with RO water or distilled water and use less acidulated malt?

 

If the acid malt you are buying doesn't have a nice lactic-acid tang, then its not acid malt. The tang should be very noticeable. The whole point of acid malt is to be a carrier of lactic acid.

 

Maybe I'll have to taste it again, but I didn't notice anything from the very small amount I chewed on. I'll make a meal out of it next time. haha.

I admit that I don't have a full handle on my water chemistry, but I like they way my pilsners have improved by adding acid malt. It's suitable enough for me.

 

Constructive.
I said "feel free to give me suggestions". I suppose you think I have too much in the 30-20min additions. Any suggestions for improvement?

 

Look at the Blonde Doppelbock recipe in Strong's new book for inpsiration. I would use the lightest Pils malt, along the lines of Best Heidelburg malt at 100%. For hops use German Magnum for bittering to cut down on the vegetal stuff. Then HM or Spalt or Tett for aroma at 10 minutes. Target about 28-30 IBU total, unless you want to Americanise it. Today is the 500th anneverasay of the RHG, so I say no sugar. Use a high attenuating German Lager yeast, WLP-830 would be my choice. I think you know the rest.

 

Why the hell do we have to call it a blonde doppelbock? Last I checked maibock / hellesbock is still a style. A delicious and under represented style....

 

The blond Doppelbock I mentioned was a template to get started, it has a fair amount of Munich and something else IIRC, so not what the OP wants. The hopping would be similar. Blonde Doppelbocks are bigger Maibocks, just as Traditional Doppelbocks are bigger Bocks. Gravity must be >18 Plato. Plank Heller Doppelbock is a commercial example.

 

I buy imperial Pilsners from a Polish market by my house. Karpachi Strong and a few others. I buy 20 oz bottles for $3.00. Never concidered to brew one though. Good luck!

 

Looking at bjcp I see what you are saying. I was under the impression maibock could be in doppelbock territory.
And as for imperial pilsner, I want to do one as well, and plan on looking at BU:GU ratios more than anything. Water should be the same, and pilsner is the base malt. Probably do halertauer for my hops.

 

When I was drink a Homebrewed Pils last night, yeah, for a 9% beer lager to be Pils like, you want to crank up the IBUs to 70-80, do a step mash with a long Beta rest at 145F or less for an hour or more, rest an hour at 158F, get 80-90 ppm So4 to make it crisp and dry, get a big health pitch of 830 and give it a bunch of O2 before you pitch.

Good luck @inchrisin

 

I do not dislike anything about them. I have had them from 9% to 12%. I think the twelve percent one was called Before and after. It has a picture on the front that looks like an old hag then when you finish the bottle and tip the bottle upside down the girl is pretty. I usually have a couple of these around to share with friends for something different. The reason I do not consider brewing them is I only have so many brew days in the year and I brew some big beers that I like to keep in rotation. Take care.

 

I've made a couple, I was modeling them after Uinita's Tilted Smile and O'dell's Double Pils (try them if they still make them). It was pretty much what you said, 100% pils, and Tett, Hall and Saaz, one came in around 11.7% (OG 1.110) and another at 9% (OG 1.090), I used octoberfest lager yeast for both since that was the cake I had. They were good, took a long time to lager. I think the only change I would make if I gave it another chance would be to maybe use a different yeast and maybe add sugar to dry it up a bit. I remember the body being a bit too full.

 

I've been working on my Imperial Pilsner recipe. I bought the ingredients today, so I had to substitute some of the hops, but I think it should turn out pretty good.
5.25 gallon batch
15.2 # German Pilsner
0.5 # German Munich I
0.5 # Acidulated Malt (don't use it if you don't need it)
1 # Sugar
Wyeast Bavarian Lager
72 IBU
2oz Magnum @ 90min
1oz Ahtanum @ 30min
1oz Hersbrucker @ 10min
3oz Hersbruker Dry Hop
1oz Ahtanum Dry Hop
8.1% ABV without the sugar. 9% ABV with the sugar