CS 9 - PILS - Brewed By Max

[Max Giles]

Ahoy shipmates,

This be my first case swap and this be my first Pilsner that i ever done brewed.

The label on the bottle is a bit misleading because it says Pils. Which indicates that it is a German Pilsner. It isn't. It is a Czech Pilsner based extract.

I didn't write down the hop additions at the time so below is the rough memories of what i did.
I also didn't write down the O.G and F.G but i used an online recipe calculator that gave me an estimate of 3.87%ABV.

2.2Kg of Mangrove Jack British Series Pilsner
1.7Kg of Black Rock Ultra Light

10mins 15g Motueka
10mins 15g Riwaka
5mins 15g Motueka
0mins 15g Riwaka

15g of Riwaka & 20g Motueka dry hopped on the 4th day.

Yeast. I used the yeast that came with the Mangrove Jack kit. I normally buy additional yeast to the kit yeast but was told that this one was a good quality yeast.
Yeast pitched at 24degC (as recommended by packaging so i guess it's not a lager yeast?)
Fermented at roughly 20degC for 8 days.
Bottled on the 26.4.13
No finings used.

Colour - 28-36 EBC,
Bitterness - 18 - 22 EBU
3.9% ABV

I don't think it tastes like a Pilsner myself. More like an Amber. Sure you'll let me know...

Cheers

[mattd2]

I tried this one while cooking a roast for dinner last night. As you said, I'm not really getting a pilsner on this one, more of English bitter perhaps?

Appearance: Clear copper brown with a thick head.

Aroma: Grassy hop aroma

Flavour: An earthy flavour, balanced more towards bitter but with a slight sweetness at the end.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, light body.

Overall: If I had to put it in a category I would say a bitter. This would be the type of beer I would give someone that exclusively drinks Waikato/Lion Red/Tui if they asked for a homebrew. It has a bit of character, but would not scare them too much.

Cheers!

[Max Giles]

Yea it's definitely not a pilsner is it! Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to get more daring the more brews i do.

[Tom C]

Appearance Clear amber, Fine white sustained head

 

Aroma Some sweet malt, Very light hop, Sherbet as it warms

 

Flavour Light, Slight sourness, Bitter finish

 

Mouthfeel Dry, Well carbonated

 

Overall Hard to define, but not a pils.  No real faults but not much else going on either.  If anything I would say it was close to a big brewery's brown lager (AKA NZ Draught / Bitter)

[DP]

Appearance
Pours nice and clear. Amber/pale amber. Healthy, off-white head.

Aroma
The first smell that came to mind for me was mango. A sweet, tropical smell.

Palate
Good carbonation. Finishes dry.

Flavour
Clean, dry, mild malt flavour. Bitter.

Overall
More a NZ draught-style bitter than a Pils. But the bitterness is refreshing and I agree with Mattd2 and Dash6 here: this would make a good replacement for many of the big-brand beers in NZ. That's not a bad thing either! You've managed to achieve a clean flavour. Definitely not a pils but would make a good after-golf/after-mowing beer.

[Max Giles]

Great! Thanks. Glad I've managed to make a half decent brew. It's good to hear that although it's not the most characterful beer that a clean flavor has been achieved.
In the next case swap i'll try something more daring!

[Tilt]

As the other blokes say, this has the makings of a tasty NZ draught.  Relatively delicate, cleanly fermented, sweetish and nicely carbonated with a hint of the Mot/Riwaka in there. My 5 year old hit it on the head after a wee sniff - "sweet and beery" which is what it is in a comforting, caramelly, 'heartland draught' kind of way. If I was going to do anything to this I'd add complexity and mouthfeel by steeping 200g of carared or caramalt and maybe a touch of choc or black, do at least a half hour boil and add 10 IBU of Motueka at 20 minutes to complement what you've already got.  Maybe double the 0min and dry hop additions if you want to pimp it  up.

For me this brings up fond memories of sipping the head off my Grandpa's Southwark Bitter with the races on the radio in the background and the form guide spread over the kitchen table.  I  did a quick search on Southwark to see if they still made it and just had to post a link to this review. Sort of makes a Croweater homesick it does....... but it reminded me that my memory was all clouded by nostalgia - Max, yours is way better! 

Thanks mate and hope you're going to stick with the case swap thing as you get into your brewing, I'll be keen to taste whats next.
   

[Max Giles]

Great. Thanks for those tips. It's great to get some ideas of how to boost its body and charisma. I have some caramalt that i was using in a Traditional Dark beer that i was making. I might repeat this recipe using some of your ideas.

I'm definitely going to stick with the case swap. When's the next one?

Went to Brothers Beer last night. I had a Parrot Dog Bitter Bitch. Incredible beer. Any Ideas on the hops in that one anyone?

[paul m]

Poured clear . nicely carbonated,  as it warmed up i definitely got a lolly flavour. Sort of reminded me of the book binder. quite drinkable! thanks  

[Max Giles]

Thanks paul. To be mentioned in the same sentence as bookbinder is great! Thanks.

[Dan]

Appearance Good head to the last drop. Clear copper colour. Looking at the recipe - I have no idea where the extra colour has come from - but it looks good in the glass. The yeast left in the bottle was well settled and hardly moved at all for the second pour.

 

Aroma Hops and malt - a nice balance between the two.

 

Flavour Bitter finish. Light malt. A little hop in there too.

 

Mouthfeel Perfect carb level for me which gave it a slightly bigger feel than the 4%er that it is.

 

Overall As other have mentioned - great little NZ Draught! Very sessionable and waaayy more more-ish than any commercial draught. Cheers.

[Luke Davey]

Appearance: Solid fine white head that holds well. Very clear and light amber colour. Little sediment.

Nose: I had a faint smoke hit, which i see no one else has mentioned so i think i'm ill or well off the mark.

Taste: Reasonable bitterness that lingers a while after. Slight hop hit, but a bit under a pilsner. 

Mouthfeel: Slightly dry, and nicely carbonated.

Overall: This is a lot like the first kit and kilo pilsner i did, very enjoyable, and would be a real quencher on a hot day. Cheers

[Matt Smith]

As others have mentioned, pours a brilliantly clear copper colour that looks just awesome in the glass. Overall the balance, drinkability and hop flavour is great.

I'm just getting a bit of a cooked cabbage/vegetal note, I'm not really sure where this would have been caused, but could be from a post ferment DMS infection, or possibly due to slow cooling after your boil. Generally the DMS precursor SMM has been driven off during manufacturing of the extract, so I'm not certain this would be the culprit, however I have read that once malt is hot again it continues to produce the precurser. Perhaps somebody else with a sharper palate has picked this up and can be of more help.

Anyhow thanks for the beer Max!