# 🍺 Top-down Brew: German Pilsner

Original Gravity

Enter the desired original gravity as specific gravity (1.0XX) or degrees plato (°P).

Style specification: 1.044 to 1.050; 10.9 to 12.3 °P

Target volume

Enter the desired volume at the end of the boil. The volume units can be either liters, gallons, or US barrels.

Measurement Units
Metric US US Barrels

Select the preferred unit of measurement for the inputs and outputs. Metric uses liters, grams, and kilograms. US uses gallons, ounces, and pounds. US Barrels (31 gallons = 1 barrel) is in barrels, pounds, and ounces.

Mash Efficiency

Enter the anticipated mash efficiency percentage. If this is not known, try the following values based on the sparge method: Steeping (50%), No-sparge or brew-in-a-bag (65 to 75%), Batch sparge (80%), or Continuous (fly) sparge (85 to 90%).

Grains

Enter the name, fermentable %, Lovibond, and yield (SG or percent) with comma separations.

Continental pilsner malt is essential, such as Weyermann or Durst pilsner malt. The malt bill can be 100% pilsner base malt. The sources recommend 0 to 10% light crystal malts for head and body-building purposes, such as CaraPils/CaraFoam. Vienna malt is used in some recipes, but overuse could veer into other beer styles. Decoction mashes were traditionally used. Single-step infusion mashes between 147 to 150 F (64 to 66 C) are effective.

- Beer-analytics.com German pils analysis
- Brew United's grain database
- BYO magazine grain and adjunct resource

Sugars

Enter the name, fermentable %, Lovibond, and yield (SG or percent) with comma separations. The grain and sugar percentages must add to 100%.

Sugars are not needed in all-grain beers. Malt extract brewers should use 100% light or extra light malt extract, especially if these are made from pilsner malt.

- BYO magazine sugar resource

Bitterness

Enter the desired bitterness in international bittering units (IBUs).

Style specification: 22 to 40 IBUs. The beer-analytics.com averages suggest a BU/GU of .67.

Hops

Enter the hop name, IBU %, AA %, and boil minutes with comma separations.

The hops should be traditional German or continental European varieties, like Hallertau, Saaz, Tettnang, and Hersbrucker. The sources recommend Tettnanger for bittering and Hallertau for flavor and aroma. Saaz can be used, but this could result in being more like a Czech pilsner. Crystal, Liberty, and Mount Hood are possible American substitutes. The reviewed recipes have late hop additions for flavor and aroma.

- Beer-analytics.com German pils analysis
- Brew United hop database
- BYO magazine's hop resources

Late Boil Additions

Enter late boil additions like spices with the name and dosage (grams/liter), with a comma separation.

Spices are not needed.

Dry Hops

Enter dry hops with name and dosage (grams/liter), with a comma separation.

Dry hopping is not needed.

Yeast
Ale Lager

Select the yeast type, ale or lager.

The yeast should be a clean fermenting, German lager yeast. Use fermentation and lagering practices that lower diacetyl.

← Click here when the data entry is done.

## Results

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## Notes

German Pils (also called pilsner or pilsener) was inspired by the Czech pilsner style. It is hoppier than related German lager styles. This is the most popular beer style in Germany.

2021 BJCP 5D - German Pils characteristic ingredients: "Continental Pilsner malt. Traditional German hops. Clean German lager yeast."

Vital statistics: OG: 1.044 – 1.050, FG: 1.008 – 1.013, IBUs: 22 – 40, SRM: 2 – 4, ABV: 4.4 – 5.2%

The water should be low in carbonates, yet have small to moderate amounts of chloride and sulfate. These minerals are important for avoiding a wimpy hop character.

## Sources

Beer-analytics.com German pils analysis

Dornbusch, H. (2014, November). German pilsener: Crafting the edgy cousin of a Bohemian original. Brew Your Own, 50 - 57.

Dornbusch, H. (2005, July-August). Northern German Pils: An edgy blond lager with a bitter history. Brew Your Own, 19 - 22.

Zainasheff, J. (2010, December). German pilsner: Clean, crisp, and dry. Brew Your Own, 19 - 22.

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