Bitty Pils - German Pilsner Homebrew Recipe

German Pilsener

This lager is similar to Bitburger Pilsner. Bitburger was created in the town of Bitburg in 1883.

It is an advanced homebrew recipe, not so much because the techniques are that hard, but because you need to have a way to regulate your fermentation temperature. Lagers are temperamental beers and you need a constant cold temperature, just like the caves they were originally fermented in.

German pilsner, which emerged in the 1840’s, is differentiated from its Czech pilsner counterpart, and forerunner, in a couple of ways.

First, German pilsner, like most lagers has a diacetyl rest. This prevents the buttery and butterscotch character that is common in the original pilsner, the Czech pilsner.

Second, the hops that are used are German noble hops that lend a floral note to the beer as opposed to the spicy notes in the Czech version which uses Saaz hops.

It is also interesting to note that some beer experts divide the German pilsner style into two categories, northern and southern. The northern versions use northern German noble hops and have less hop aroma with more hop bitterness. The southern versions use the more known southern German hops, mainly Tettnanger, and emphasize more of the floral aroma.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 34.0 IBUs 3.4 SRM 1.047 SG 1.014 SG 4.3 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
German Pilsner (Pils) 2 A 1.044 - 1.05 1.008 - 1.013 25 - 45 2 - 5 2.4 - 2.8 4.4 - 5.2 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Weyermanns Pilsner 8.8 lbs 100

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Pearle 1.5 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 5.5
Pearle 1 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 5.5
Hallertauer 1 oz 0 min Aroma Pellet 4.8

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Servomyces 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Other
Irish Moss 0.50 tsp 10 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 1.20 tsp 3 days Primary Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Copenhagen Lager White Labs 70% 45°F - 55°F
German Lager (WLP830) White Labs 77% 50°F - 55°F
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