Brewing a German Pils Beer At Home (Grain to Glass)

[@bombbrew4119]

cleanest grain to glass video out! Love seeing the hole process through! Would love to see a video on just your cold side, like when to pull yeast, dry hopping, temp on glycol chiller and stuff! You know your stuff and would just love to see how you go about things, I have all Ss stuff and there is no one on youtube showing cold side technique. Thanks Ryan, your killing it dude!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much man! Great idea. I'll plan out a video for that soon. Cheers man! 🍻

[@3rwparks3]

i am going to brew a German Pils this week. This is a great reference video. Nice brau haus.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much! I love brewing Pils 🔥🔥

[@hectorguzman8435]

I love your setup! I made a couple pilsners one German and one Czech with glass carboys, a converted deep freezer as a cooling chamber, pretty amateur setup of mine lol but boy 2.5 months later I had the best beer I can think I have ever tasted. Cheers!! 🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Some of my favorite styles! 🔥🔥

[@garyelderman1229]

If nothing else, your crisp footage is great. And you'll answer questions from folks. Just subbed. Fun to brew with friends and vet them rolling with video content like yours

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the support! 🍻

[@grahamlawlorshomebrewrevie8227]

Great video mate . That’s some system you have there god how clear is it . Welll done keep up the good work cheers 🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you my friend 🙌🍻

[@joshuapinter]

Dude, your setup is next level. It's brewing pron for sure. Great job.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks man! It’s a fun system 🍻🙌

[@NOOFSMODS]

Nice work, would recommend the SS Brewtech recirculation manifold to minimise mash recirculation splashing once grain bed has settled. Was wondering where you get those hose label tags? They are neat!

[@IHCBosco]

love the detail of the brewing process. I'm just about to start all-grain brewing (still working on getting full setup) and love the helpful tips. Keep these videos coming. Great stuff!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! That’s awesome. It’s a fun craft that is for sure. Let me know if there’s ever a specific process you’d like to see and I’ll try and include it in a future video 🍻

[@Bullsbrew551]

Very nice system. Just made a German Pilsner myself. Came out very good.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! It's been a fun system for sure. What'd your pils recipe look like?

[@Bullsbrew551]

@@ryanmichaelcarter 5.2%ABV. 39.8 IBU. 5.2 gallons. 9.6lbs Weyerman Pils Malt (95%). 7.2oz Weyerman Caraform (5%). Step mash: 146F for 20 min. 152F for 40 min. Batch sparge with 4 gallons of 170F water. 60 min. Boil. H. Mittelfrueh @ 60min. 30IBU, H.M. @15min. 10 IBU, H.M. @ 0min (1.25oz) 0 IBU. Water Chem. Ca: 50, mg: 0.4, Na: 6.1, S04: 57, CI: 58. (ppm). O.G. 1.049. F.G. 1.009. Yeast: Saflager 34/70. Fermented at 50 F raised towards end to 65F. Lagered at 35F for 4 weeks. Then bottled to 2.6 vols of carbonation.

[@tonylamartina6729]

Great video. Straight to the point without a lot of filler speech. Really appreciate that a lot. Awesome setup too. Beer looks amazing. Look forward to more videos.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much, Tony! I appreciate that 🍻🍻🍻

[@thomasmacpherson5236]

The point you make re the water quality is very interesting and very important (also very quick and shortly made during the video ) good quality spring water with no added chlorine must be used, very ingredient is important. Great video and very interesting and informative thanks

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks! Yea most water sources are perfectly fine for beer as long as there isn’t any chlorine. Yeast will get pretty much everything it needs from an all-malt wort, except zinc

[@mutantryeff]

I'd like to see a video on which commercial beers are using which hops - especially lagers and noble hops.

[@jeffkastner6480]

Love what you do, very to the point. A lot of people use RO water s o it would be handy to know your additions. Wondering if your going to do a Czech pilsner or Helles any time soon. Cheers

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much! I typically don’t include the amount, but instead give the total PPM. Water chemistry is very advanced and best not to mess with if not using brewing software. It’s much better to use regular chlorine-free water in that case

[@TheMattMustain]

How am I just finding you?!?! Sometimes the KZbin algorithm is right on. Great vid and subbed. 🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you my friend! Cheers! 🙌🍻

[@TWillBeer]

A great into to brewing video. I love how you go over every step of the process. Very well done!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much! Let me know if there's ever a certain process you'd like to see. Cheers!

[@paulbrodie6929]

Great video, one of my favourite styles and always good drinking, your attention to the finer details is great, thanks for a great video.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much, Paul! I appreciate it 🍻🍻🍻

[@craiglyons2687]

What a beautiful brewery!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much 🙌

[@MikeP350]

Thats quite the brewery you have!! Very clean video as well, cheers 🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! 🍻🍻🍻

[@aprilhernandez3060]

Ryan great content! Love the vids and your system setup. Keep up the good work.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks so much, April! 🍻

[@Drew206619]

How much did that system cost?

[@exodo999]

I love your videos, I was wondering if you made the Beer system or did you buy the complete system?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! It’s a mix of different equipment/parts but the main set of kettles and pumps are included in Spike Brewing’s 15-gallon Tank Trio system. I have most of the other parts linked in my bio

[@exodo999]

Awesome@@ryanmichaelcarter , this is really helpful! I will take a look to your bio, thanks again!

[@wd6358]

Looks fabulous!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you!🙌

[@BusinessBrief392]

This is home-brewing on a whole other level

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Cheers!

[@klecksklacks9555]

I am about to brew my 1st lager and your vid was extremely helpful, thanks for that. Which kind of Wifi / App Control did you use to change the temp settings of your ssbrewtech unitank? Thanks again, Sven

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Awesome! I hope your brew goes well! I don’t have a wifi app for my controller.. it’s all manual

[@Artofdrink]

With the temperature compensation probe that you have, you don't need to cool your sample to measure the pH. Nice setup.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you my friend! It's best to always measure the pH of the mash at ROOM temperature. Measuring at high temps will shorten the life of the meter's probe. The meter does have temperature compensation, but this is for adjusting the pH for various temperatures measured relative to the temperature used during calibration. Hope that makes sense. Cheers!

[@MatthewHerrold]

why don't you stir in your hops that cling to the ID of the kettle? don't you think you're missing utilization of the hops in the boil?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

You definitely can, you might save yourself a few cents by doing that. And you’re right, you’ll definitely increase extraction that way. I don’t worry about it tho.

[@MatthewHerrold]

@@ryanmichaelcarter yeah I think you're probably not getting the IBUs you think you're getting by letting these hops come out of contact with the wort which is needed for isomerization.

[@SERVISONE]

Great video dude! When you add lactic acid to your water, what ph target are you shooting for? Does the ph change again after you add in the grains? Thanks for any info!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

My goal is to adjust the water so that the mash pH falls around 5.2. The water pH will vary depending on the beer I’m brewing, but you can calculate that in your brewing software. And yea, the pH will rise to that 5.2 range once the grain is added

[@bulldog9708]

Great video and channel. Quite a complex process but it doesn’t need to be !

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! Cheers🍻

[@spinaltechnologies]

Great work but I don’t think I can make this at home, ingredients and equipment looks at another level

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks 🍻 you will need a way to keep the tank cold for lagering but other than that you can use the same exact gear needed for a standard beer

[@toddhanna7949]

Hi mate, just wanting to know a bit more about the reason behind transferring and the benefits of moving the brew from one fermenter to a second fermenter ?. Love your videos BTW so thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hi Todd, the main goal is to get the beer off the yeast that has flocculated to the bottom. This layer can leach off-flavors into the beer if left in contact too long. The best process is to use a conical fermenter with a bottom drain so you can drop the cone without transferring the beer. But you can also move the beer to a secondary fermenter, leaving the flocculated yeast behind.

[@ElementaryBrewingCo]

Ohhh man your brew set up is sweet!!!!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! It's been a fun one. I'm currently in the process of some upgrades so should have something cooler here soon!

[@judassamurai2624]

Awesome Step a step 🎉❤

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

It’s a fun one!

[@jmsnystrom]

Nice soundstage!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you!

[@garyelderman1229]

Can you please add brewing water adjustments in grams for us not yet familiar with PPM?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

It’s really important to do it based on total PPM, which is all calculated in brewing software. Without that, it’s best not attempt to adjust water chemistry because every water source is different. Adjusting to the correct PPM will determine the amounts

[@garyelderman1229]

I will start with RO water. And thanks for the reply. @@ryanmichaelcarter

[@jimmybacon1868]

Cool video thank you sir! I personnaly think that 90 min is a bit too much, I used to do so but now I am doing 30 minutes boil and I did not notice any difference. I have hard that DMS level are low with modern malts these days... Anyway good video thank you!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! Yea you’re right, modern malt is typically very well modified and a long boil may not always be necessary

[@gerrylynch3991]

Did you switch brew systems? A few minutes ago I watches your tour of your Spike system but this is a SSBrewtech system. Why did you change? Which one do you like better?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Yea I upgraded to Spike at the end of last year. I like Spikes system significantly more. Much better quality and better features.. also welded right here in the U.S. which is really cool

[@ChristyColey]

What is that you used to pull the lactic acid out of the container? I need one of those

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

It’s called a pipette. I found that on Amazon a few years ago

[@nmoutlaw7396]

Awesome video!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! 🍻🍻🍻

[@austinque9]

How much was your entire rig? Everthing! That beer looks perfect!!

[@JohnnyReverse]

What is that you used to pull the lactic acid out of the container? I need one of those

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

It’s called a pipette.. it’s basically just a glass tube used to measure liquid volume. I found this one on Amazon

[@andrevangijsel957]

Can you make a more detailed video on your pipework / valve setup.Would be great.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hey Andre, here is a link to my brewhouse tour video. I'm making some upgrades to my system so I'll be making a new one here soon. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGPUiX-votSKbpo

[@andrevangijsel957]

@@ryanmichaelcarter Yes I've seen that but that video is a bit short :).

[@jimdeasy]

Pro as always! Wondering about the RIMs tube. You kinda glaze over the mash out step, I know it’s that SS Rims tube doing the work. Any tips on how to run that?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks, Jim! So for mash out, I increase the mash temperature up to 168-170F at the end of the mash. This takes about 10 minutes of recirculation on my system with the RIMs tube. Once I get to temp, I start transferring to the boil kettle. The high temp stops the enzyme activity in the mash and also makes the sparge more efficient. For the sparge, I like to do a fly sparge with 170F water to keep the temp stable. The trick is to keep the flow rate steady to get a good rinse on the grain. You can gauge this by monitoring the fluid level in the mash tun. Usually I keep it at about 1-inch above the mash bed.

[@frey311]

Hey man…awesome beer…super clear…question for you about how you clean your system…do you run PBW throughout? Also do you run starsan or line cleaner as well? I’ve noticed I find myself taking most all the hoses off to get a thorough clean…guess I’m wondering if there’s a more efficient way…thanks

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thanks man! Yea I only use PBW on my brewhouse and tubing. I’m going to do a full cleaning video soon once I get my upgrades finished. After recirculating cleaner and a rinse, I’ll disconnect all my tubing and hang them to dry

[@paolorr]

Hey Ryan! Nice video! I noticed that the wort is very clear when you transfer to boil kettle. Do you stir the grains during mash? Or just stir when you dough-in? If you stir, how long do you recirculate? I have a brewzilla and I always get grains in the wort before boil 😢

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! I use a RIMS setup which recirculates during the mash. This recirculation allows the grain to act as a filter and clears up the wort

[@Digger72]

Good video thanks

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you!

[@Marceloluizz]

Amazing video with beautiful filming and edit. Really didactic. If possible, can you enable automatic subtitles in KZbin? It's very helpful to people from abroad. Cheers from Brazil! 🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you Marcelo! Sometimes the captions take a while for KZbin to process, but it looks like they're working now. Cheers from California!

[@normodegard183]

What is your boil off typically like? Looks like 9ish gallons down to 6.5? That’s a ton! Do you aim for 6.5 at end of boil and transfer 6 to the conical?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hey Norm, usually around 1.5 gallon. However my pre-boil volume accounts for trub + the additional volume left in my pre-HX filter and tubing. Normally I will get 6-6.5gal into the fermenter and depending on dry-hopping, I might lose an additional 0.5-1gal to hops/trub + measurements during fermentation

[@TheBruSho]

Super cool setup and great filming too! Keep em coming!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you and will do! Cheers 🍻

[@pimerafina1]

Good evening could you kindly write what the hops are called? Hops added: -0.25 once (7 g) every 90 minutes (3 IBU) -1.25 once (35 g) every 60 minutes (15 IBU) -1 oz (28g) every 30 minutes (9 IBU) -1 oz (28 g) every 10 minutes (4 IBU) -0.50 (14g) at flameout -15 minutes before knocko (3 IBU)

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hey there 🍻 the only hop in this beer is Hallertau Mittelfruh

[@TombiggbeeLife]

Love the Info on making beer. Excellent process for sure. However, Yeah! you CAN make beer like this at home... if you have god only knows how much money this equipment costs. I Suppose the info here can be done in a more budget friendly way I guess. Great vid, slightly misleading title though. Thumbs up from this guy

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Yup you’re exactly right- beer can be brewed at home significantly cheaper. My first setup was a Home Depot cooler and 5 gallon pot in my apartment kitchen. The expensive gear just makes it much more efficient and easier

[@MinhaCervaMinhaVida]

Very good 🍻🍻🍻

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! 🍻🍻

[@Rino88dotcom]

Thought the stuff needs to be cooled before adding yeast!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Yes that is correct. Wort must be cooled before adding yeast. For lagers like this, I typically cool to about 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit.. For ales, you can go warmer.. about 65-70 F

[@koplandavid]

when do you drop the yeast?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Usually about 48 hours after fermentation finishes

[@mayer298]

can u please do a video on how to clean the equipment after a brew day?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Yea that’d be a good one. Definitely something I’m asked a lot. Do you have a similar setup?

[@mayer298]

@@ryanmichaelcarter not now, but I am looking into buying one

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

@@mayer298 right on! I’ll try and get a cleaning video put together soon 🍻

[@omarpadilla4739]

I do not miss sparging

[@jmsnystrom]

How do you do A diacetyl test?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hey Jan, the easiest way is to collect two small samples from the fermenter (about 1 fl oz). Microwave one sample for about 15 seconds with a lid to raise the temp to about 150F, then let it cool with the lid on. You then compare the smell and flavor of the 1st sample to the 2nd sample. If you smell butter in the heated sample, then there is diacetyl present

[@rob1399]

I've only played with mead and cider so far and now I'm thinking I want to dive deeper

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Yesss! 🍻🍻🍻

[@3444cc]

Any info on your manifold set up? Thanks

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Hey Paul 🍻 what would you like to know about it?

[@3444cc]

@@ryanmichaelcarter Hey Ryan. Guess it is the valve tree. I have Stout kettles and a HERMS set up. Looking for something like this. Not sure if it would work.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

@@3444cc very cool! Those are nice systems. The valve tree I use is a kit that mounts to the Brew Cubes which is a product from Ss Brewtech. It’d be much cheaper to use a few TC Tees and a cross to build a similar rig. You can get all the parts from Amazon- 304 stainless steel. I have a Tee so I can feed my pump with two inlets. And the valve tree has four outlets that I use for mash recirculation, sample valve, whirlpool, and knockout

[@3444cc]

@@ryanmichaelcarterYour set up seems pretty inexpensive actually.. $250 ish. Did yours come with the valves?

[@3444cc]

The valves alone are $79 which is crazy

[@moedogger21]

Nice! Subbed

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@martyandjamie]

good video cheers

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! Cheers my friend🍻

[@duffycop]

Doesn't the German beers do decoction?

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

You definitely can, and a lot of people do, but decoction is not necessarily a part of German beer. A decoction is just a process used during the mashing process. Some believe it to give beer a fuller malt profile, but its definitely a subjective topic.

[@duffycop]

@@ryanmichaelcarter oh, I didn't thought it is a subjective matter.. Okay, you've got a point! Thanks for the answer! 🤗✌🏻 Keep it up! I really like your videos!

[@pjoter2243]

Thumbs up for Celsius CC

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Cheers!

[@Drew206619]

Brew at home w 30$k system 😂 Looks good

[@timpolster]

Nice job with your video and beer. Just an observation - I think you would benefit from some oxygen mitigation on the hot side. For a 100% pils beer, the color was fairly dark. Not everybody wants or cares, but with your system, it looks to me like you are dedicated.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Thank you! The lighting can be a little deceiving. This beer is very light in appearance- more of a pale straw yellow color. Hot side aeration has a very minimal impact on beer, and it’s only apparent on beer that has been stored for extended periods

[@timpolster]

I used to brew that way but have brewed low oxygen for about four years now. It does make a flavor difference, especially in pale lagers. You should at least give it a fair shake as it represented a higher plateau in brewing for me. Cheers.@@ryanmichaelcarter

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

@@timpolster happy to hear it’s turning out better for you 🙌 Cheers!

[@SarasD14]

When you added the lactic acid, it became a pilsner, not a german pils anymore.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

The lactic acid addition breaks the German purity law (Reinheitsgebot).. one thing you can do tho is add acidulated malt instead if you like

[@SarasD14]

@@ryanmichaelcarter yes. Sir! I use acidulated malt for my japanese rice lager which I brew.! Sick setup tho!.

[@benjaminfauchald2990]

Got 99 comments but this ain’t one

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Cheers 🍻

[@mike2410]

'Make beer at home' with circa £10,000 worth of lab equipment

[@jacsondematos4758]

🇧🇷🇧🇷👋👋👋🍺🍺

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Saude! 🍻🍻🍻

[@RISKYTAP]

Step one : Be rich enough to afford equipment Step two : Do not go bank corrupt before buying the ingredients

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Little equipment is needed to brew beer.. nice gear just makes it more convenient but I have some videos on my channel that show how to do it for cheap if you’re interested

[@jupireitsema143]

Dude. Not all home brewers have 150K worth of brewing gear in our garage. 2 thumbs up on the video quality. 2 thumbs down on relatability. J*sus. Is your garage connected to a pro- brewhause? My wife lets me brew and dirink my beer cause its my hobby.... this level of brewing requires corporate sponsorship or a sugar daddy. Ending on a good note.... the video quality is spot on pro quality.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

😂 thanks man. You can brew great beer with a much simpler system.. the extra features just make things a little more efficient and simpler

[@dilldowschwagginz2674]

An authentic pils isn't made with "authentic German ingredients"... It's Brewed with authentic Czech ingredients.

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Actually “Pilsner” is Czech Pilsner.. “Pils” is used to describe a German version which is what this video is about.. very similar style with a few twists

[@newtubeorder8141]

thats not brewing at home , you got a brewery right there 😅😅

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

😂

[@jurekolar9102]

Yeah the process is just fine....But in most videos where those stars of the brewing go through the grain to glass journey but they always seems to forget to mention the fact that they have at least few thousants of dollars of equipment just for experimenting (like few brewing tuns of even few 3 vessel systems) and have their own breweries and they boast about the finesses like water treatment and proteins coagulation or whatever that a person just trying to brew something for a fun will never have......I mean those videos should be intended for a everyday working people who are making beer in the afternoon at home for fun.....Not to make them feel incompetent to make even close resemblance of a similar batch of beer......Another self promoting video

[@DenkerNZ]

This is one damn expensive home brew setup. Jealous!

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

It’s a fun one 🙌🍻

[@pooterdog2549]

THat is so much work and so much equipment, great video but that looked like a ton of work lol

[@ryanmichaelcarter]

Brewing is a ton of work! About 5-6 hours on brew day plus all the time spent cleaning, kegging, and random other tasks