Otto Von Blotto Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Am brewing my Bohemian Pilsner tonight. Just letting you know that I am going to steal your duct tape pattern for the temp controller probe ... mine is usually much more random! Steal away! I used to just use a cross pattern, but at some point I decided I wanted ALL of the foam taped down to the FV. Probably makes sweet FA difference but it gives me peace of mind anyway. This stuff is heavy duty, a bit over an inch wide and is very difficult to remove as well, so it works well for keeping the foam in place over the probe. I must go buy some more of it though as I'm nearly out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Hey' date=' the colour looks great, the flavour sounds great, but the carbonation looks [u']heavy[/u]. The picture(s) however due to the pixelation look like something taken off of an Etch-A-Sketch! Lusty. LOOKS over carbonated? Pixelated? What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Maybe confused the flyscreen behind the glass as being pixelated. I think my current batch of this is practically fermented now. 9 days after pitching the yeast. I won't take any SG samples for another 4-5 days, but I kept the sample I took a few days ago on the kitchen bench with the hydrometer in it, and it is down to about 1010 at the moment. Given the main batch is sitting about the same temperature, it should be about the same I'd guess. Will take more SG samples on Thursday and Saturday and if they are stable, I'll drop it to 0C for two weeks of CCing before bottling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Quick update on this current batch. Just took an SG sample earlier. It's sitting at 1010, which is the same SG as the sample I left on the bench with the hydrometer in got down to. I'd say it's done, but will confirm on Saturday before I start dropping it down for cold crashing. The aroma, while yeasty, is much nicer than the previous batch, and the flavour is miles better, much more like what I'd expect from a Bo Pils, so I'm expecting this will turn out more what I'm actually after. Will find out in about 4 weeks or so if it does... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headmaster Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Sounds like it's gonna be a good one Kelsey. If a lager tastes good at this stage, then you've probably nailed it. I'll be doing something similar for my next batch, using my fresh 25kg bag of weyermann bo pils grain and vial of WLP800, very similar to the yeast you used for this one I believe, may even be the same animal. Will be making a starter for the first time with this one. Interesting exbeeriment on brulosphy on starters by Ray Found (might be the old mate who slammed BIAB?) , comparing a fully fermented/grown starter (24-48hrs) to a 4 hr 'vitality' starter. There was no difference in performance. http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/29/yeast-pitch-rate-pt-2-viable-cell-count-vs-vitality-exbeeriment-results/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Yeah, this one was my preferred recipe, majority pils malt, little bit of Munich and all Saaz hopping. Can definitely taste the Saaz influence in it. And not a hint of buttery sweetness either. There is obviously some improvement that will come with being bottled, carbonated, left for a few weeks and chilled, but yeah the hydro sample is very promising. This one I actually mucked up the mash on, trying to do a step mash but it failed (urn issues there), so I improvised it into a single infusion of sorts plus mash out . Also did the water treatment on this batch for the first time. WLP800 may well be the same yeast yeah, going by the description on the WL site. 802 is the Budejovice one, which is the same as Wyeast 2000 Budvar, another strain I may try out on these recipes. I read that experiment last night actually while this site was refusing to load, it was rather interesting to say the least. I can appreciate why it would work that way though. However, in the interests of being able to harvest from my yeast starters, I will continue to make the same sizes as I've always done - which also going by that experiment there works just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headmaster Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 However' date=' in the interests of being able to harvest from my yeast starters, I will continue to make the same sizes as I've always done - which also going by that experiment there works just as well. [img']smile[/img] I will be doing the same as I plan to harvest from starter as well. Will be breaking out my breaking bad style 5000ml erlenmeyer flask for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Yep that's the one I use for my lagers too. A section of the kitchen bench does resemble a "science" lab with all the flasks and hydrometers and sample tubes sitting there. Oh, and white powders in pouches and jars. (Polyclar and citric acid you smart alecs ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Today, I bottled the second batch of this, or in reality the first batch of the proper recipe. I ended up with 23L in the FV, and got 62 stubbies (355mL), plus my usual one 500mL clear bottle as my test bottle for monitoring yeast settling etc. Bottled with 180g dextrose for carbonation. It was a bit more cloudy than the last batch at bottling time; I would imagine this was caused by yeast, as I did use Polyclar in it again and actually mixed it properly through the beer this time. They also didn't change appearance as they warmed up. Smell and taste was much more in line with what I'd expect in a Czech pilsner, so I'm looking forward to trying the test bottle! I'll give them the full two weeks before trying one this time with the colder weather we're having currently. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Sounds good Kelsey. Hopefully they'll be hitting their stride really nicely when the weather warms up a bit for Spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Yeah definitely. I will brew a few of them over the summer months too now that I have this quick lager method. They'll definitely be hard to resist in that time of the year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Cleaned out the FV earlier, after bottling the brew yesterday and was greeted with this rather strange looking yeast cake. Nothing wrong with the beer at all, but never noticed a yeast cake like this. Kinda looks like brains or something. The white "film" on it is the Polyclar that has settled out. Although it didn't show up that well in the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headmaster Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 That does look a bit unusual, but does look clean. The AG bo-pils I made a short while ago is fermenting away happily in the garage out of the fridge, in the ambient temp, pitched the large two stage starter WLP800, and it took off like a rocket at 9°C. Was foaming within an hour and full krausen within 12 hrs. Pitched saturday morning, OG 1055, lowered a bit from 1057 I think it was, by including about 1500ml of starter wort. It's at approx 1030 now, will be moving into the fridge soon to up the temp for diacetyl rest, quick lager method. Poured remaining decanted starter wort into sterilised PET bottles, left a couple of inches of headspace, and filled with a sugar syrup that I boiled with minced ginger and a bit of lemon zest. Let them carb up then halted fermentation in the fridge before the bottles exploded..! Resulted in a quite pleasant ginger beer, a bit malty and yeasty but very fresh tasting. This was my first ever starter, and it went pretty well, although had some eruption out the top with the 5 litre one at full krausen. 2nd stage took off much faster than the first. Can't have been too many viable cells left in my white labs vial, it's best before date was only 10 days to go when pitched. Lucky I made a starter I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Yes, it was pretty clean but definitely an unusual looking yeast cake. I was pleased to see the Polyclar evenly spread over it - this indicates that it was evenly spread through the beer too. I think this yeast is beginning to take longer to floc each time I re-use it too, but I can't really confirm that. The yeast starter I pitched on Friday is still cloudy, but it has been a lot colder this time around than the last time I made one, so undoubtedly that has slowed its fermentation progress. Sounds as if yours took off well though, that's always a good thing! I'd say it was a damn good thing you made a starter; I think the viability calculators are on the conservative side when it comes to how much viability it loses over time, but yeah, 10 days out from BB I'd be doing exactly what you did. I've had eruptions before as well, until I got a stir plate. Sounds like a good plan re the D-rest there too. That's awesome that those ginger beers with the starter wort turned out pretty good too. Maybe something to look into one day. Guess you could always leave them in the fridge for a week or so to drop the yeast out fully hey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 So I just threw the third batch overall and second of my proper recipes of this brew into the FV and pitched the yeast. I'd had the cube in the fridge since leaving for work this morning and it had brought the temp down to a pretty close 10.5C at pitching time, with fermenting temp set to 10C. I didn't take an OG reading because my 100mL test jar got broken and the LHBS didn't have any in stock when I went up there last week. I got a 250mL one for use on brew days but I don't really want to waste that much beer taking fermentation samples. Will go up on Monday and see if they have any 100mL ones as I'll need it for the day 6 SG test on Wednesday. Anyway, going by the post-boil SG reading which is the OG anyway, it is 1047 with 23 litres in the FV. So basically on target except for the 2 litres lower volume. This one was brewed with a Hochkurz mash schedule of 63C for 70 minutes then 69/70 for 20 minutes. It was a much smoother brew day and looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Took my day 5 SG sample, it is sitting at 1028 (1027 corrected for 12C sample temp), so when I go back to work later I am going to raise the STC up to 19 and leave the fridge closed. By the time it hits the 1024 it'll probably still be around 12-13C, as it is being maintained at 10C in the fridge and won't rise terribly quickly inside there in this cooler weather. This one took off a bit quicker so I'm not surprised to see it 3-4 SG points further along at the same point as the previous ones. It has a nice thick krausen on it probably about an inch high. I've left the sample on the kitchen bench with the hydrometer in it so I can get an approximate FG when it finishes. Smelling pretty good though aside from the rotten eggs! Won't taste it until it finishes and I take another two samples though. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Elvis is in the building!! Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 He's a pretty good brewer too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownsworthy Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Looking like a 'Stray Cat' there Otto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnaman Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Elvis is in the building!! Cheers' date=' Lusty.[/quote'] Looks more like Nick Cave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 I do get Nick Cave a bit when I'm out, or at work sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Yes indeed there is a bit of a Nick Cave look happening there. I've never understood the interest in his music (if that's what you call it? ) though. That said, it was sad to hear of his son's tragic death recently. Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 I've never been a fan of his music either to be honest, so yeah not an on purpose look. I've always liked that 50s leather jacket and greased up hair look, and since I am not currently playing wild heavy music I figured I'd go back to it for the time being. Yeah, not good news to hear about his son's death though. Back to the brew, it has risen by a whole degree since I bumped the temp controller up earlier. I think I'll open the fridge door during my shift breaks from tomorrow (by then it should be down past my 1023 target SG for the ramp up to begin) and get some warmer air in there to get it up nearer to 19. It never gets that high at this time of year but it does give the fridge a week's break. Summer will be a different story of course. Also while on the Bo Pils theme I ordered this set off eBay just before, which will be used in my bar set up when the time comes that I finally get one. I get bits and bobs here and there, so that when the time comes I don't have to go out and buy a heap of stuff at once. All the glassware I've gradually collected will go into it too. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Cool set. Strange shaped glasses for a Pilsner beer though don't you reckon? Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 I do agree there yeah. I mainly got it for the tap handle, but no doubt the glasses will get some use too. I'll be sourcing some proper pilsner glasses at some point though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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