March is a classic month, with two time-honored styles that should be in every homebrewer’s recipe book. You’ll start off with a pale, clean pilsner from the Czech Republic that tastes like the original Urquell. Then you’ll brew a Belgian dubbel, a red ale that mirrors the beer brewed for 150 years by the Trappist monks of Chimay.

Pilsners Around the Planet

For most brewers the formal definition of a pilsner is a lager made with hops grown in the Saaz region of the Czech Republic. But the world of pilsner is more multi-cultural than many people realize.

There are three main types of pilsner: the traditional Czech style, German, and European (also known as Dutch or Scandinavian). There’s also an American version, spelled pilsener. Yet another style, lesser-known in this country but popular in Germany and Britain, is Diat Pils. This beer, sometimes called “Diet Pils,” really has nothing to do with being on a diet. It was originally formulated for diabetics to drink, being well-attenuated and lower in residual sugar. Feldschöbchen Diabetiker Pils is one example.

The original pilsner, brewed in 1842, was Pilsner Urquell. The first name reflects a Bohemian village in what was Eastern Czechoslovakia. The second name is Germanic, meaning “original source.”

The pilsner style — and lagers in general — came together as a combination of factors over time: advances in malting to create pale-colored base malts, a viable lager strain of yeast, and mashing by decoction. Advances in equipment technology also played a role as steam was used to heat brew kettles instead of fire, which decreased the amount of coloring in the kettle.

The fruition of all these factors created a pale, clean beer which had never been seen before. The introduction of glass drinking vessels further clarified the charms of pilsner, and soon the new clear lager took the world by storm. By the 1850s, pilsner — a term synonymous with lager at the time — was being brewed in Germany, exported to Britain and gaining a foothold in the United States. These days, some better-known pilsners are the original Urquell and Budweiser Budvar (Czech styles), DAB Pils, Warsteiner and Spaten Pils (German styles), and Heineken (a Dutch style).

Czech pilsners are very smooth and well-rounded, but have a distinct hop presence — a result of noble varieties, namely Saaz. The finish is malty and can, in some cases, be slightly sweet with terminal gravities as high as 1.020 (5° Plato). The German pilsners are similar, but are lower in original and terminal gravities. They also may have a more perceptible hop bitterness due to the higher degree of attenuation, decreased maltiness, and the use of hops other than Saaz — Northern Brewer and Perle, for example. The Dutch style is lighter still, commonly made with some sort of adjunct such as corn or rice and attenuated to possess a very dry finish with little maltiness.

Becks, brewed in Northern Germany, is another popular pilsner that models the light Dutch style. Others include Golden Pheasant (Zlaty Bazant), a very authentic, traditionally flavored pilsner lager brewed by the Hergestellt-Abgefiillt brewery in Slovakia. The Aass brewery in Norway, founded in 1834, whose beer possesses a distinct character due to the yeast strain and a malty, caramel background, is also a well-known name. A few more recommended Czech pilsners: Radegast, Lobko and Lev Lion.

Brew Like the Czechs

When people in this country think of pilsner, Urquell usually comes to mind, although some say Budweiser Budvar (which you can’t buy in America) is a better beer. The key to reproducing these pilsners is understanding the ingredients and the methods involved, because they may be a bit unorthodox at times.

Malt and Mashing

Budvar, Urquell and other Czech breweries are still using very undermodified two-row malt, a variety most American microbrewers would never touch. This mandates a decoction method of mashing to maximize the yields from the grain. Many U.S. micros use American, Canadian, or English two-row malts, that are more highly modified than their continental cousins, for the pilsners they brew.  

The base of the pilsner should be created from the palest malt possible, and one as modified as possible, no matter your mashing technique. The malt recommended here is a two-row Chariot-type malt, 1.5° to 2° Lovibond, with a protein content of 10.5 percent to 11 percent and a high nitrogen level. The conversion temperature for Urquell is 149° F, the same as our recipe. The full decoction schedule at the Urquell brewery has rests at 95° F, 122° F, 149°F, and 165° F. The recipe here will convert at 149° F for 60 minutes or until a starch test shows conversion is complete.

After mashout, the wort is lautered into a traditional copper kettle and boiled for two hours. Saaz hops are used in three additions, and eventually the wort is run through a hop back of Saaz flowers and cooled in a large coolship for pitching.
 
It’s the Water

The water in Pilsen is very soft, with only 35 parts per million total dissolved solids. Some North American brewers adjust their brewing liquor to emulate this profile, but the fact is that the liquid would have to be acidified anyway during mashing —which would add some of the dissolved solids back into the water. Very hard water, however, may need to be softened to reach the mash pH desired.

There is an interesting note about the Urquell process. Most water is adjusted by changing the concentrations of a few ions like calcium, magnesium, sulfate, chloride and carbonate. The soft Urquell water could be acidified before or during mashing by the use of gypsum or similar calcium-containing substances, but instead it is done naturally through the steps of the decoction. An acid rest at 95° F activates peptidase, which lowers the pH of the mash mix by converting malt phosphates to acids.

The water profile for pilsner varies with the source consulted, but the numbers used for this article (in parts per million) are: calcium 7, sodium 2, magnesium 2, chloride 5, sulfate 5 and bicarbonate 15.

Fermentation: Just the Facts

Primary fermentation for Pilsner Urquell takes place in large wooden casks. The yeast is pitched at 40° F. The beer is fermented at 46° F for 14 days. It is then transferred to lagering vessels and kraeusened for the long secondary. The yeast used here is Wyeast 2278 (Czech Pils), although 2124 (Bohemian Lager) and 2007 (Pilsner Lager) are both excellent. You can also try White Labs WLP800 (Pilsner Lager).

Ninety Days of Lagering

Traditional lagering takes three months. At Urquell the beer is lagered in oak casks and sealed with a thin layer of molten pitch.

Our beer will be lagered for the full three months and primed before bottling. After a couple of days to carbonate, the beer will be ready to drink. Lagering should be as close to 32° F as possible without freezing the beer. Lagering refrigerators and chest freezers are two ways of keeping the beer cold during aging. The yeast will most likely be settled out, so adding a little to the priming solution may be necessary. To do this, activate a smack pack of yeast and let it grow for a day or two until the nutrient inside is consumed, just like you would for brewing. Mix it with your corn sugar and pour it in the bottling vessel with your bright beer.

The Timeless Belgian Dubbel

Now that your pilsner is in the fermenter, it’s time to turn to another classic style: the Belgian dubbel. This style varies from one brewery to the next — as do all Belgian and Trappist beers — but for the most part they are brownish red ales, fermented fairly warm, with distinct estery and spicy yeast flavors. They are subtly hopped, with fragrant noble and French-type hops, and are medium- to full-bodied. By the numbers dubbels look like this: OG  1.050 to 1.070 (12.5° to 17.5° Plato), ABV 6 percent to 7.5 percent, Color 10 to 14 SRM, IBU 18 to 25.

Some great dubbels to try are Affligem, Duinenn and, of course, Chimay — our model for this month.

A Religious Experience

In 1850, not far from Chimay, Belgium, some Trappist monks who followed the rule of Saint Benedict built a Cistercian abbey. As recorded on the commemorative cross erected in 1925, they immediately started working the land of the Scourmont plateau, formerly known as “Mont du Secours.” Their work was restricted to a maximum of five hours per day. The rest of their day, which began at 4:30 a.m. and ended at 8:30 p.m., was centered on their main activity: the search for God through study, silence, and prayer. They farmed solely to provide for their livelihood and assist those in difficulty, as permitted by their order, and not to make profits. In 1862 they set up a brewery. This activity, as well as a cheese factory, still generates income for the monks who, in accordance with their way of life, use it to assist foundations that the order has established in India, Wales, and Rwanda.

Chimay Premier (nicknamed “red cap” for the color of the label and bottle cap) is the brewery’s dubbel. It stacks up as a 7 percent ABV. Original gravity is 1.070 (17.5° Plato). The main flavors are malty, toasted, yeasty, and well-rounded alcohol. Slightly sweet, it finishes with apricot, banana, and clove. It is also highly carbonated, which adds to the flavor and white, rocky head. Overall, tasting a Chimay Premier is a religious experience.

Brew Like the Monks

Belgian dubbels are made with combinations of Belgian pale, crystal, and brown malt. They also contain candi sugar like many other Belgian beers. This recipe uses dark candi sugar. Candi sugar is 100 percent fermentable and yields about 1.046 per pound per gallon.

The hops in our recipe will be Styrian goldings for bittering and flavor with French spalt to finish. IBUs are a moderate 20. Other good hops for dubbels include the noble varieties.

Yeast for our recipe is the slurry grown from a bottle of Chimay red. The beer is not filtered or fined, so the original yeast remains in the bottle. Fermentation takes place at 71° F, a few degrees warmer than our normal beers but a common practice. It adds a bit of ester and character to the beer that is typical and desirable. Too much warmth, however, will result in a great deal of banana flavor which can overwhelm and destroy the beer’s finer qualities. Fermentation starts in the primary for seven days at 71° F followed by a 14-day secondary at 65° F. Then the beer is bottle-conditioned for at least a week before drinking.

MARCH RECIPES

Czech Pilsner
(5 gallons, all-grain)

This is a slightly drier version of pilsner from last year’s schedule. The previous recipe finished at 1.015 (3.7° Plato). This recipe ferments down to 1.010 (2.5° Plato).

Ingredients

• 6.5 lbs. two-row pilsner malt, 1° to 2° Lovibond
• 1 lb. carapils malt, 2° Lovibond
• 1 lb. cara-Munich malt, 10° Lovibond
• 4.5 oz. Saaz whole hops (3.2% alpha acid, 12 AAUs):
    2.5 oz. (5.6 AAUs) for 90 min., 0.5 oz. (1.6 AAUs) for 30 min.,
    1.5 oz. (4.8 AAUs) at end of boil.
• 2 pt. yeast starter of Wyeast 2278 (Czech Pils)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grain in 2.75 gal. of water for 60 min. at 149° F. Sparge with enough 168° F water to yield 5.75 gal. of wort.

Total boil time is 90 min. At beginning of boil add 2.5 oz. Saaz and continue for 60 min. Add 0.5 oz. Saaz and boil 30 min. At end of boil, add 1.5 oz. Saaz. Whirlpool and cool to 45° F to pitch starter.

Ferment at 40° F for 14 days then rack to secondary fermenter. Continue fermentation at 33° F until gravity is 1.010 (2.5° Plato).

OG = 1.048 (12.0° Plato)    ABV =  4.5%
Color =  4.2 SRM    Bitterness = 40 IBUs

Extract with Grain Option:

Substitute 5.5 lbs. very light pilsner malt syrup for the two-row malt. Steep carapils and caraMunich malt in a nylon bag at 150° F for 30 min. Remove bag and rinse with enough 168° F water to make 5.5 gal. Add extract. Total boil time is 60 min. At beginning of boil, add 2.5 oz. Saaz and continue for 30 min. Add 0.5 oz. Saaz and boil for remaining 30 min. At end of boil, add 1.5 oz. Saaz. Follow fermentation schedule for all-grain version.

Belgian Dubbel
(5 gallons, all-grain)

Ingredients

• 5.5 lbs. Belgian aromatic pale malt
• 1 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 2 lbs. crystal malt, 20° Lovibond
• 1.5 lbs. Belgian biscuit malt
• 2 lbs. dark candi sugar
• 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% alpha acid, 5.5 AAUs): 0.5 oz.
    (2.75 AAUs) for 90 min., 0.5 oz. (2.75 AAUs) for 45 min.
• 0.75 oz. French Strisselspalt hops (4% alpha acid,
    3 AAUs) at end of boil
• 1 pt. starter of yeast from Chimay bottle
• 2/3 cup priming sugar  

Step by Step

Mash grain in 3.25 gal. of water at 150° F for 60 min. Sparge with 168° to 170° F water to collect 5.75 gal. of wort.

Total boil time is 90 min. At beginning of boil, add 0.5 oz. Styrian Golding hops and candi sugar and boil 45 min. Add 0.5 oz. Styrian Golding hops and boil 45 min. more. Add the Strisselspalt hops. Whirlpool and cool to 71° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.

Ferment for seven days at 71° F, then rack to secondary fermenter. Continue for 14 days at 65° F until fermentation is done or gravity is about 1.012 (3° Plato). Prime and bottle. Carbonate and age at least seven more days before drinking.

OG = 1.070 (17.5° Plato)
Color = 25 SRM    Bitterness = 20 IBUs

Extract with Grain Option:

Substitute 5 lbs. pale Belgian malt extract syrup for Belgian aromatic pale malt. Steep carapils and crystal malts in 5 gal. of 150° F water for 30 min. Sparge grains with enough 170° F water to make 5.5 gal. Heat to boiling and add extract syrup and candi sugar. Total boil is 60 min. At beginning of boil, add 0.75 oz. Styrian Goldings, continue for 15 min., and add 0.5 oz. Styrian Goldings. Boil for 45 min. more, add Strisselspalt hops. Whirlpool. Cool to 71° F and pitch starter. Oxygenate/aerate well.

Ferment as all-grain version.
 
April Brews: Maibock to celebrate the upcoming month, and a bold, peated Scotch ale that’s strong in gravity and flavor.

Special thanks to Notre Dame Abbey de Scourmont and the Chimay brewery for literature, information and help with this Styles article.