I'm just too efficient ;)

Brewing Processes
1

Hi all,

I am in the process of brewing a German Pils, and although I know it’s a tricky style, I am having one problem in particular that I would love to correct.  The recipe I used was apparently calculated at 70%, and I am finally ready to state officially that I consistently get 75% efficiency.  Therefor, I am halfway through a 90 minute boil, and my the wort gravity is 1.050…the top end of the style guidelines (at least in BeerSmith).  I don’t want to stop the boil yet, though, since the wort is 100% Pilsner malt and need to drive off the DMS…and I haven’t added my late hop editions anyway.

Is there a quick way to figure out a dilution to bring the O.G. down?  I know that this style requires careful attention to attenuation and I don’t want to mess it up by starting 5 points too high.

Thanks.

2

beersmith has a dilution tool. just tell it the gravity of what you are diluting with (water 1.000) and the gravity you want to reach and it will tell you how much to add.

3

OMG I am a bonehead…thanks, that will help a lot!

4

If you don’t have beersmith, it is a simple calculation.

Take the gravity of the wort as points, so 1.050 becomes 50.  Multiply by the volume you have.  Divide by the gravity (in points) that you want.  That tells you your final volume.  Subtract the volume you have, that tells you how much to add.  So if you had 5 gallons at 1.050 and you wanted it to be 1.040, it’s just:

50*5/40 = 6.25 gallons final
6.25 - 5 = 1.25 gallons of water to add

Make sure the water you add is boiled.

5

That brings up a question I have…
Is it necessary to boil that long, to drive off DMS?
I was under the impression that DMS was removed much faster than that, when you have a good, vigorous boil.

6

I’ve read that Pilsener malt-based worts need a little extra time…the recipe I’m using (the whole book, for that matter) recommends 90 minutes on recipes that utilize a large portion of Pilsener malt.  If this isn’t accurate, I’d love to know…would shorten my brewday.

7

DMS boils off very quickly, but it is being formed from the SMM from the malt during the boil, so it is an ongoing process.

Necessary?  I haven’t tested it, but I boil 90 minutes when I use pils malt.

8

I boil maybe 70-75 min. with pils malt - my normal amount of time for just about any beer.  I’ve never experienced DMS from not boiling longer.

9

DMS and DMS precursors vary by grain variety (Moravian is higher), by kilning method and degree of modification.  I think a 90min boil probably covers the worst case scenario.

10

In relation to the efficiency aspect of your situation, I have found that I always get higher than normal efficiency when doing Pils malt beers, at least with Best and Franco-Belges.  I do a Belg. Strong Golden every year where I get 80%+ instead of my normal 75%.  Don’t know if others have this experience too but I thought it might help you for next time.