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Author Topic: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?  (Read 3394 times)

Offline TrippleRippleBrewer

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Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« on: October 21, 2016, 11:33:22 am »
I'm brewing this weekend and have come up with a recipe that's a Bopils-ish ale using S05 fermented at around 58 to 60 degrees.

Recipe will be 6 gal anticipated OG around 1.61
  • RO water with very small additions of MgS04, CaCl
  • 10lbs 2row
  • 4lbs Pils malt
  • 1/2lb Carafoam
  • 150 degree mash or as close as I can get with my single step infusion
  • .5oz Magnum first wort
  • Saaz, Sterling, Crystal, Tettnanger, and a couple others blended and tossed in 1oz quantities about every 5 minutes from 20 to flame out
  • Dry hopping with 1oz Hallertau and 2oz Saaz
  • Safale S05

Pilsner Urquell is easily my favorite import. I realize this won't really taste like it, but I'm hoping the results carry some similarities. This will be bigger and hoppier for starters.

Thoughts, opinions? Anybody try something similar and like it?
I had planned to go all Saaz and I have enough to go that route ( bought extra ).
I've never used Crystal and recall some reports of catty flavors? Or dank? I might leave them out.

TIA

Offline denny

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2016, 11:40:18 am »
Never found crystal to be catty.  And I'd leave out the carafoam.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

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Offline Todd H.

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2016, 11:51:30 am »
I just made a "boh pils" with all sterling, and quite liked it, though I wish I had used something with a little spice, too.  I'll bet your mix tastes delicious.
I had 2.5% carafoam and am not certain it actually did anything wrt head formation/retention.
For the record, I used 34/70 at 19 degrees C (66F).

Offline Steve Ruch

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2016, 12:04:43 pm »
Wyeast's Pacman yeast would work really well for what you want to do.
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Offline TrippleRippleBrewer

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2016, 12:13:05 pm »
Thanks Guys!
I'll take your sage advice Denny and leave out the Carafoam.
I actually bought a couple other hop varieties but I forget. I was grab-bagging noble or hybrid US varieties and have more than I need for this batch. I am fairly certain I have Tettnanger and I know I have Perle so some spicy is available. I was looking at tossing them in the whirlpool and steeping for 30 minutes below 170.
My LBS doesn't carry Wyeast. I can get the 34/70 though. I have used it before. Thought it tasted buttery like I warm fermented but that issue turned out to be draft line contamination and took awhile to sort out.
Too late to switch yeasts now. I don't have time anymore. Tomorrow AM starting early after coffee.
« Last Edit: October 21, 2016, 12:17:01 pm by TrippleRippleBrewer »

Offline Brew Cat

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2016, 12:28:36 pm »
Those temps and 05 should work for a mock pilsner. It's your beer but it sounds more like a pale ale than a pilsner. I would use more pilsner and less 2row maybe 50/50 also 5oz is alot of flavor and aroma hops for a pilsner.
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Offline TrippleRippleBrewer

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2016, 03:40:45 pm »
Those temps and 05 should work for a mock pilsner. It's your beer but it sounds more like a pale ale than a pilsner. I would use more pilsner and less 2row maybe 50/50 also 5oz is alot of flavor and aroma hops for a pilsner.

I was actually thinking same with the regards to the malt but this is more of a leftovers beer with the grains. I checked and I have 5lbs Pils available and I'm running that together with 9lbs 2 row and a 75 minute boil.
Checked all my Alpha on my hops and adjusted times to dial in about 40 IBU in beersmith.
I'm good to go - thanks all!

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2016, 11:22:57 am »
You can easily ferment 3470 at that range and get the expected lager flavor. I've used it several times this year in the mid-60s and get a beer that tastes like it was fermented cooler. (I didn't lager those beers after fermentation so they still have something of an ale feel to the grain character but as far as fermentation it's unmistakably 3470.)

That said, the most obvious difference you will see and taste will be in using pale malt rather than 100% pilsner as a base. You'll end up with a beer that tastes a lot more like a loving tribute to an older generation of APAs than PU or similar bopils. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2016, 12:17:25 pm »
You can easily ferment 3470 at that range and get the expected lager flavor. I've used it several times this year in the mid-60s and get a beer that tastes like it was fermented cooler. (I didn't lager those beers after fermentation so they still have something of an ale feel to the grain character but as far as fermentation it's unmistakably 3470.)

Agree 100%. There is no need to make a mock lager with an ale strain, when you can use 34/70 at ale temps and get results that actually taste like a lager.
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Offline JJeffers09

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2016, 04:37:57 pm »
I 100% disagree.  If you make a clean ale with proper fermentation who cares if its 34/70 or a clean ale strain.  A snob would care, and I gotta tell ya, if you are brewing for a snob you're always doing it wrong...
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2016, 06:49:08 pm »
I 100% disagree.  If you make a clean ale with proper fermentation who cares if its 34/70 or a clean ale strain.  A snob would care, and I gotta tell ya, if you are brewing for a snob you're always doing it wrong...
To me, a 34/70 fermentation at ale temps still tastes like 34/70, while a cool US-05 fermentation still tastes like US-05. It might be because I use those two strains for 90% of my beers, but I think there's a noticible difference between the two.
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Offline JJeffers09

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2016, 04:25:49 pm »
I agree 05 will give you ale characteristics at almost any temp.  However, try wlp060, I was pleasantly suprised how it came out lagerish at 70F... 13/14 people at a game day party could not tell

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Offline Iliff Ave

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2016, 08:19:02 am »
If the goal is to make a lager, use W34/70 at your planned fermentation temp.

If the goal is to make an ale, use 05.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #13 on: October 26, 2016, 08:48:06 am »
I 100% disagree.  If you make a clean ale with proper fermentation who cares if its 34/70 or a clean ale strain.  A snob would care, and I gotta tell ya, if you are brewing for a snob you're always doing it wrong...

They taste different; I don't care about the authenticity of using one type of yeast over another.

Conventional homebrewing wisdom has always been if you can't get into the 40s get into the upper 50s with US05 to emulate a lager because supposedly no lager strain could ferment that warm without creating a myriad of off-flavors. But that has been discovered to be untrue, at least for some strains (particularly 3470). Brewers without temperature control are not limited to ale yeast but are still welcome to that option if they prefer.
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Bohemian ale? Does this sound like a good idea?
« Reply #14 on: October 26, 2016, 08:55:23 am »
Another vote for 34/70 at temps up to 60F (never gone above that). It's a clean, forgiving strain that stays pretty lager-y warm.
Jon H.