Imperial Pilsner

Last week I did some testing around my apartment to figure out where I could store beer to ferment at the right temperature and I discovered that the coldest part of my apartment stays at around 48F. Apparently, exposed brick in a corner apartment in Chicago winters keeps pretty cold. Which is awesome because it means that it’s cold enough to make a lager!

Today I’m brewing an Imperial Pilsner loosely based on the recipe in Sam Calagione’s Extreme Brewing.

Here’s what’s going in:

• 9 lbs Pilsner DME
• 3 lbs Extra Light DME
• 1/2 lb Cara Pils
• 2 oz Czech Saaz Hops (2.4-3% AA)
• 1 oz Hallertau Hops
• Wyeast 2007 Pilsen Lager Yeast

Here’s the process:

1. Add Cara Pils in a grain bag to cold water. Bring that to 170F and remove grain bag.
2. Bring that to a boil and dissolve in the Pilsner DME and 2 lbs of Extra Light DME. The rest will be for bottling.
3. Add 1oz of Saaz at 60min mark.
4. Add 1/2 oz of Hallertau at 20 min.
5. Add 1/2 oz of Hallertau & Irish Moss at 10.
6. Add 1/2 oz of Saaz at flame-out.
7. Chill to 65, add Yeast, put it in the cold, add cold water to make 5 gal.
8. Ferment 2 weeks, transfer to secondary w/ last 1/2 oz of Saaz.
9. Ferment another 2-3 weeks & bottle.

We’ll see how this goes…