Finishing a Bo Pils - Saaz hop tea?

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Finishing a Bo Pils - Saaz hop tea?

Postby squirt in the turns » Monday Apr 18, 2011 1:10 pm

I've had my first ever attempt at a lager, a Bohemian Pilsner, in primary for 2 weeks. It's been held at 10 degrees for the duration. I took a sample last night and it's down to an SG of 1.009, so I guess it's more or less done fermenting. It tasted pretty good, but is lacking the noble hop aroma that I believe completes the style requirements.

Unfortunately I've lost the recipe, but it was pretty simple, something like:
Batch size: 19L
4KG Weyermann Pilsner Malt mashed with a single infusion at around 66*c
Bittered with Perle to give a middle of the road total like 40 IBUs
A late, probably 0 min addition of Saaz (more flavour and bitterness than aroma due to no-chilling)
WY2278 - Czech Pilsner, built up to a 5L starter (5L poured off, yeast only was pitched)
OG 1.049
No-Chiiled in cube

I'm thinking of making a Saaz hop tea to give it the aroma, but I don't want to overdo it. I've only got around 15g Saaz left, so should I french press this for 20 mins, and add to secondary? I'm assuming this will produce a result much more true to style than dry hopping?

Also, as it's already at 1.009, have I missed any opportunity to do a diacetyl rest? When I tasted it, I couldn't detect any, so am I best not to worry about it?

As an aside: I actually made this in late September last year, hot packed it into the cube and more or less forgot about it due to a brewing hiatus. So it was stored for nearly 7 months. As such, I wasn't expecting great things from it, and granted my palatte is more used to over-hopped pale ales than crisp lagers, but I was pleasantly surprised by both the good flavour and the clarity (which seemed reasonable for a sample straight out of the primary). While long term storage of no-chilled wort isn't something I intend to make a habit of, I thought my observations might be of some interest and reassurance to the no-chillers out there.
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Re: Finishing a Bo Pils - Saaz hop tea?

Postby drsmurto » Monday Apr 18, 2011 9:10 pm

A hop tea will be ok.

Still ok to do a diacetyl rest if you feel you need it but unless you can taste smell/taste diacetyl i wouldn't bother (are you sure you can pick it? I struggle to unless its in large amounts).
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Re: Finishing a Bo Pils - Saaz hop tea?

Postby squirt in the turns » Tuesday Apr 19, 2011 1:13 pm

Not really sure how easily I can detect it. I could definitely smell and taste it in a big way in the starter, before I pitched, but there's nothing I can detect now at the end of the fermentation. I'm away over Easter, so I'll leave it at the same temp (10*) until Tuesday next week, then start dropping the temp toward 0. Assuming another week and a bit in primary won't hurt it? Once it's cold, I'll rack, add the steeped Saaz and continue lagering for as long as I can wait.
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