It's time to brew for hot summer days!

This Sunday's brew session will feature one of my favorites, Pilsner Urquell.  I had an opportunity to drink this as fresh as I could get in my visit to Romania and Hungary in March 2005.

Pilsner Urquell hails from the Czech Republic and is the grand-daddy of pilsners.  This classic Pilsner has a thick white head, bright gold color, and a wonderfully floral bouquet of Saaz hops in the nose.  Only Czech Saaz hops are used in this beer.  This Pilsner is extremely well-balanced with hop bitterness and malt sweetness.  Drinking this delicate-bodied Pilsner when it is fresh is as close to beer heaven as you can get.

This is an all-grain single stage, picnic cooler method.

Details:

Yield:  5 gallons        Final Gravity:  1.011 - 1.013        SRM 3.5        IBU 43

Original Gravity:  1.050 -1.053        5 % Alcohol by Volume

Grain Bill:

9 lb. 2-row Pilsner

0.5 lb. Weyerman Carafoam (1.3 - 2.3 Loviibond)

2 oz Munich Malt

2.7 oz Czech Saaz (Bittering - entire boil)

1.0 oz Czech Saaz (Flavor - last 15 minutes of boil)

1 tsp. Irish Moss (last 15 minutes)

1.0 oz Czech Saaz (Aroma - last 3 minutes of boil)

0.5 oz Czech Saaz, dry hop in Secondary

1st Choice: White Labs 800 Pilsner Lager Yeast

2nd Choice:  White Labs 82 Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast

Mash all grains together at 150F for 90 minutes in the picnic cooler.  12.5 quarts water at 165F to mash in to get 150F. Sparge with 6.25 gallons at 170F.

Ferment at 70F for 12 hours then drop by 15F every 24 hours to 50F. Primary Ferment  5 - 7 days.  Dry hop Saaz in secondary for 21 days.

Keg or Prime & Bottle with 1.25 cup M&F extra-light DME.

The pictures of the brew are here.