I got a bumper crop of sterlings out of my backyard last year and am wanting to use up a bunch in a strong pils. The plan is to hit around 1.090 with 6 lbs. of Briess pilsen dme in three gallons and hop the beejeezus out of it with my home grown sterlings. After lagering a long time a dry hop and into the bottle.
Last year I brewed an 1800s replica IPA that I hopped close to 200 IBUs and put it into the cellar for 9 months. The initial intense bitterness mellowed and left a nicely hopped beer. I dry hopped it for a week and bottled it. It ended up really nice so I thought I’d give the same procedure a go and use up some of my large supply of sterlings.
Sounds neat. I would be afraid of anything over 110IBUs but I am a bitterness pansy
Steve, have you considered replacing part of the extract with sugar for more fermentability? A drier beer would also make the hops stand out more. Maybe even use a touch of gypsum.
The last time that I used Briess pilsen dme in a pilsner (see Zymurgy Last Drop: Mar/Apr 2016)I got a F G of 1.008, but I do plan to use some sugar. I figure that I’ll need to shoot for 3 1/2 gallons to start with to end up with three gallons after accounting for wort loss due to the large amount of hops involved.
3 lbs. Briess pilsen dme
3 lbs. Briess Pilsen dme @ end of boil
1 lb. sugar @ end of boil
2 ozs. sterlings for 30 minutes
2 ozs. sterlings for 21 minutes
pinch irish moss for 15 minutes
1/4 tsp. nutrient for 10 minutes
2 ozs. sterlings for 9 minutes
1 oz. sterlings to steep
1 oz. saaz to dry hop (maybe more)
2 packs S-34/70
primary: three weeks @ 52f
lager: until extreme hoppiness has mellowed
Yeah, Briess Pils DME is pretty fermentable, ~ 80% fermentable IIRC. I agree a little sugar in the imperial version would be a good idea. Sounds great!