Emersons Pilsner

[Reviled]

Hey guys

Keen to try and make something similair to this, now the site says that they use NZ saaz, but does anyone know what NZ saaz? And/or if they use another type of hop as well?

Cheers

[Adam]

Pretty sure they use b saaz (motueka saaz)

[studio1]

would be keen to see what comes up - I'm very keen to make a drop like this one.

[Stu McKinlay]

Riwaka. They use NZ malt - I'd use German Pilsner malt myself, just to get it a little crisper.
Make sure it is bitter, clean and has plenty of late addition hops.
You can probably get away with US05 while you play with malt and hop, then move to a better yeast (Wyeast's Danish Lager maybe).

Or you could just buy Emerson's Pilsner and brew something totally diferent.

[Reviled]

Im thinking Bohemian Pilsner, and somewhere between 30-40IBU... Any idea on crystal bill?

And yes I could just buy it, but my budget doesnt allow for that sort of thing very often ;oP Not to mention I want to get a keg filled of something like this for new years, so the wife has something to drink too :o)

[Stu McKinlay]

I wouldn't use crystal, maybe a little carapils or tiny amount of caramunich if you really want more oomph. Better yet, though a longer and more involved brew day, 100% Bohemian Pilsner malt and a decoction mash.

Try 100% Bo Pils to start, and then see what you need from there. Give it a really good boil and chill as quickly as you can.

[Reviled]

How does a decoction mash work? Like a step mash?

So you think if I try to do a nochill there could be bad implications with a Pilsner? Ive only ever no-chilled all my AG beers...

[Stu McKinlay]

Google decoction. Basically you pull out a thick part of the mash and boil it, then put it back into the mash to raise the temperature to the next temp. I brew ales, so have never actually tried it.
Dan, if he's around, is the NZ decoction mash master - he won best beer at last year's hoebrew comp with a triple decoction Traditional Bock.

You could give it a try but no chilling a lager, especially with Pils malt, could well result in a high amount of DMS in the final product (think boiled cabbage, asparagus or sweetcorn). Not pleasant. Ales are a bit safer with no-chill because of the more modified malt and ales yeasts tend to blow off some of that and hide what remains with esters.

[Reviled]

Ive got a copper chiller, I guess i could give it a try but I just dont like the idea of wasting all that water? I allready use enough brewing ;oP Ill ask about no chilling a Pils on AHB and get some feedback...

[jt]

Ha !
half of them will say do it, no problems and the other half will say don't do it, you'll never make a pils that way.
Then they'll have a long argument about the benefits / evils of no chill ;-)

[Reviled]

Sweet, makes for interesting reading throughout the day ;oP

So sorry, whats the benifit to a decoction mash in a Pilsner?

[Dan]

They say the first pilsens were brewed this way, there is a bit of a debate on the benefits of a decoction mash in modern day, its still used widespread in germany.
In my opinion it promotes a really rich malt profile which I have failed to simulate using specialty malts alone, so far.
This year I brewed a bock without decocting which was an identical recipe to a previous one i had done last year, absolutely different beer, the decocted one imo was far better.
Ive decocted in a pils a couple of times, and it really boosts the colour and the maltiness if thats what your after in a pils.
Personally I usually only bother to decoct when making strong lagers, its a long day and it I wouldnt make a strong euro lager without decocting now.

I once made something similar to emmersons pils, all saaz D (Riwaka).
Nz lager malt and a couple of hundred grams of munich, cant remember which yeast though, I think it was wyeast 2007 pilsen lager yeast.

[Greig McGill]

The Brewing Network have a new show out called "Brew Strong" hosted by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. One of the more recent episodes was a discussion of Melanoiden formation, and methods of getting lots of this without using a decoction mash - the upshot was "do whatever works" but the general opinion was that decoctions aren't needed to get that rich malty flavour historically achieved that way. I've yet to try a decoction mash though (I don't really brew styles which benefit) but I will. I'm keen to do it to see what happens.