Award Winning Czech Premium Pale Lager (Bohemian Pils) All-Grain Recipe

[@stevesaber5069]

I really like your approach to recipe development. I have actually brewed two of your recipes but would love to see you display a pint or glass of your finished product at the end of your videos. 🍺🍺 Cheers!!

[@headbanger5501]

I brewed this in mid-September and can share that it's been a crowd favorite since I kegged it. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it's a keeper! I'm already planning to brew this again in the coming months with no plans on changing anything. It's perfect as is...highly recommend if you are looking for a smooth and delicious Czech lager!

[@MeanBrews]

thats awesome! Make sure and give it a thumbs up on Brewfather!

[@robertengland8726]

I can't wait to do this recipe, and given that decoction seems like the way to go, thank you so much for explaining in the download recipe the full details for the decoction steps. Happy Days

[@MeanBrews]

you will not be disappointed!

[@bigjplay]

Love this! Another great video!

[@vitishko]

Ahhhaaahaaa... :) Thank you so much first. ...just simple beer, you said :) Thanks Man

[@DrulluDrasl]

This is great stuff. I will try this recipe and compare it to our own.

[@superslyko123]

Thank You Mean Brews! Shorted my hands-on experimentation by years! Wow, but I opened another can of worms!!!! I don't decoction mash, too much work. A simple Google search gave me 1000's of suggestions, including not doing anything at all! The step mashing is a 33% fix?????? Help! With all the research I have done, this recipe is a winner! I can't wait to brew this.

[@prahasens]

No puns intended, but picture of Starobrno you are using as a wall made me smiling. Because reputation of this brand, belonging to Heineken, here in Czechia is rather dubious, to put it mildly. Anyway, thanks for work you are doing. And the last comment, I really approciate some Czech lagers with aroma hops. Especially Czech Kazbek variety or German Mandarina Bavaria.

[@MeanBrews]

We can't get Kazbek in the USA. would love to experiment with it

[@adambroad3479]

Awesome video. A friend of mine put me in touch with your channel. Hes brewed a number of your recipes and has been saying how very good they are. Keep up the great work. I think I'm giving this 1 ago, but using the yeast I have in stock.

[@MeanBrews]

Awesome! This one just got a silver at the colorado state fair: coloradostatefair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Final-Results-for-Colorado-State-Fair-Homebrew-2022.pdf

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

I've made one, only once, using the Bohemian Lager yeast from Mangrove Jack's. It's a low flocculator. Fermented pretty high. It got a good score, but not very high. Will try to make it again...

[@jaggersbrewingco]

Good info in here. I feel like I should of been taking notes!

[@dschneid11]

Nice to see Boston's soft tap water basically fits this profile! I didn't realize I had Bo Pils-ready tap water in my kitchen (except my sodium is a bit higher).

[@MeanBrews]

totally jealous with my 120ppm sodium tap water where I live.

[@mattcastellino]

Same experience with WLP800. Gets finicky/ slow at the colder end of the temp range once ~50% of fermentation is complete BUT it makes some beautiful, rich and clean lagers that make it worth it.

[@goodolarchie]

Floor Malted Weyermann Pils + Czech Saaz + Urquell strain. Best SMaSH on the planet.

[@MeanBrews]

couldn't agree more!

[@vitishko]

@@MeanBrews 100%

[@Knibrahem]

L11 is called Gateway? Not sure why you wouldn't use their L28 Urkel though.... I'm going to play with it.

[@zzing]

It was really interesting seeing this because I was thinking about doing this on labour day - when I plan to get my glycol chiller. But decided instead to an Oktoberfest beer because I can still decoct it! Your information being presented is genuinely useful! My recipe I think was going to be a smash. I think continuous hopping might be an interesting approach to take as well.

[@MeanBrews]

I think this style lends itself well to continuous hopping.

[@pedroreis9352]

Thanks a lot for this video. I was really needing this! Already have a recipe on mind, I'm thinking about double decoction, some carapils and of course many saaz addictions. I had some difficulty trying to understand a phrase you said because I'm not familiar with this word. By "finicky" you mean we shouldn't ferment lower than 53ºF for the wlp 800 yeast, right? I hope this recipe turns out great. Really appreciated!

[@MeanBrews]

LOL I'm sorry! Finnicky means it doesn't like that temperature. literally I had fermentation stop at temperatures below 53 the first time I used it. But the 2nd batch I racked the wort directly onto the yeast cake and it fermented at 50 fine. This is what I call "Finnicky" i.e. its not consistent.

[@pedroreis9352]

​@@MeanBrews Alright, in one week I'll be making one of these. I'll give a little more time to lager, 2.5 months at 5ºC instead of the typical 0ºC, heard somewhere it's more beneficial to the flavor so I'll try it since I have time on this one. Bought an extra keg especially for this beer.

[@vascosantos2182]

Great video man, i really love the way you present this, reminds of my times in college, but this time is beer college😜😜. One question, do you ferment and lager in the same fermenter or do you change halfway? Do you think that's ok to lager in a keg? Thank you for what you provide to the brewing community!

[@MeanBrews]

great questions. I primary and diacetyl rest in a spike flex Plus. I spund my lagers at about 5-10 points from FG, right before my diacetyl rest. then i crash and transfer to a keg and lager in the keg. I've had good results with this process.

[@pedroreis9352]

@@MeanBrews What do you mean by "spund", do you release some pressure? Again, english problems... About the lagering, should it be with or without pressure in the keg? I was thinking about using some pressure so I could try it from time to time to see the differences and this way it would be carbonated but if it isn't the best way to go, I won't use pressure

[@MeanBrews]

@@pedroreis9352 www.precisionfermentation.com/blog/natural-beer-carbonation-spunding/

[@pedroreis9352]

@@MeanBrews Understood! You use the end of fermentation to build up some pressure with a spunding valve in order to keep it under control and you keg it ready to drink (eventhough it has to lager, it could be drinked anyway). Thanks a lot. Edit: Just to make sure I understood the equation, decoction volume = total mash volume * (target temp - start temp) / (boil temp - start temp) --- protein rest to Saccharification rest -> decoction volume = 20,5 * (67-52) / (100-67) = 9,32 L . Is this correct? I used 67 for start temp because I have to hold it for 10min there before boiling the decoction part.

[@lpirola]

First of all, thank you again for the great video. Do you remember what was the actual FG for this beer?

[@MeanBrews]

I do not have it recorded what my final gravity was for my last batch

[@pantseilmari8151]

Do you think this could be fermented under pressure or would the outcome suffer? I've had good results without decoction and using commonly found dry yeasts but I'd like to up my game. Just wondering if the slower and cooler fermentation is really necessary.

[@MeanBrews]

Personally I believe you get a better product fermenting in the high 40's low 50's.

[@pantseilmari8151]

@@MeanBrews thanks for the reply!

[@melpomenean]

So in theory, one could make this as a SMaSH beer? Seem like if you just use Bohemian pilsner and Saaz along with decoction mashing and the right hopping and boil schedule then you're good. Not gonna lie, I was sorta hoping the data would show a fair amount of recipes winning by using melanoidin without a decoction mash, but it looks like decoction really is the way to go.

[@MeanBrews]

absolutely we've done really well with floor malted pilsner malt and saaz hops triple decocted.

[@johncspine2787]

Do you make all these beers, and do you film a taste test?

[@MeanBrews]

I make these beers but do not film it. This is a fantastic recipe. Process and ingredient driven.

[@johncspine2787]

@@MeanBrews I was thinking about how you show trends, and wonder how much is random preference, or how much might be the changing and improving malts, and maltsters, and the revival of heritage grains like Hana, Chevallier and Isaria among others influencing the recipes with new and better quality and taste..I’m starting brewing after an absence, I tend to muck up my recipes with lots of different ingredients (adding several quality pilsners instead of using just one to add layers of complexity) just because I have them..I need to stick to simple recipes so I get a feel for what the individual ingredients actually taste like.

[@Invalido99]

Hi there, is says in the pedigree comments on your Brewfather recipe that all recipies below has won with a variant of wlp820. Is that a typo and it's supposed to be wlp802, or are people actually winning with a german lager strain instead of a czech?

[@MeanBrews]

Not a typo. Won with 820

[@paulb9478]

I've just brewed this recipe but did a single decoction. The colour is much lighter than commercial examples. Do u think this is the malt or the multiple decoction ?

[@MatthewHerrold]

depends. what malts did you use? how much volume did you decoct? How long did you decoct? I just brewed this exactly and will share where my SRM is once I keg it. Its currently crashing

[@paulb9478]

@@MatthewHerrold I used weyermann pils and carapils. 20 min decoction about 4l of thick mash

[@MeanBrews]

@@paulb9478 thats probably not enough to produce some good maillard reactions to get enough color and flavor that you're looking for. I'll come back to this when the beer is kegged.

[@paulb9478]

Thanks. Perhaps my decoction process is wrong. I'll have to look into it

[@stenlee556]

Hi, I have a question: why is orthophosphoric acid used in this recipe, and not lactic acid, as usual?

[@MeanBrews]

I prefer phosphoric over lactic. It is what our palates are used to and the acid produced during malt CA/MG + Phosphate reactions.

[@stenlee556]

@@MeanBrews I understand your logic when you apply orthophosphoric acid. Although lactic acid is perceived by yeast much better. Is it possible to use two acids at once at the same time?

[@MatthewHerrold]

@@stenlee556 I suppose you could. and I've used Lactic acid quite a bit in my brews before with success.

[@hraball5015]

Hi there! Im not sure if anyone told you, and it´s kinda late now, but I have noticed one thing, that is on first sight not visible. I am Czech homebrewer and I want to highlight that the picture that you are using as a green-screen background contains no Czech Lager at all. You are using picture of Starobrno. Starobrno is not a beer at all but it is actually carbonated donkey piss. Nobody concious in Czech republic - except inhibitans of Brno City - is willing to drink such horrible tasting liquid...