F8-01-01-11: Poplar Island Pilsner

Label inspiration: named after where I worked for over eight years, the label is an aerial picture of the island.

From the Mr. Beer website:

Mr. Beer’s Imperial Pilsner recipe

ABV: 6.5 %             SRM: 7                        IBU: 26

From the Mr. Beer website:

Think of this as a big ol’ German-style pils, featuring bright, grainy malt and distinctive hop character. These beers tend to finish dry and hoppy, and can have a bit of a minerally character from the water used. Extended lagering yields a clean, ester free finished beer with great clarity.

With this seasonal, we took this base concept and amped it up a bit. Our recipe features 100% pilsner malt in all its glory. It provides a bready, lightly sweet malty character to support the noticeable bitterness and bright hop flavor. Instead of traditional noble hops, we elected to feature citrusy Motueka and spicy Green Bullet. This comes with a classic German lager yeast to help make sure it brews up clean and crisp. It is a beer that’s sure to wash away any trace of Spring Fever.

REFILL INCLUDES:
1 Can Imperial Pilsner HME
1 Packet Saflager W-34/70 Dry Lager Yeast

Brewed beer on July 28, 2012. I turned down the fridge and placed the fermenter on the bottom shelf. We’ll see how that goes. The recipe calls for for temps to be from 48-59. I put a thermometer in the fridge for over an hour and it was near 48 so I turned down the fridge a little. We’ll see how it goes.

Bottled beer on August 20, 2012. After I bottled the beer, I put them all back in the fridge.  I think the temperature in the fridge is too cold for the second fermentation/ carbonation, but I’ll give it a go.

Tasted the beer on September 2, 2012.  And…it was pretty nasty. I’m not sure if it was the temperature during fermentation, contamination or trying it too soon. Maybe a combination of all three, I don’t know. I’m pretty discouraged.

I saved 2 beers just in case. I’ll leave them in the fridge for a few more months and will try them at a later time…

OVERALL SCORE: 2 out of 10.  Not as bad as the first batch of 350 Hefeweizen, but close. Again, I'm very disappointed. Maybe it'll taste better after it sits a while. In any case, I think I need to find a way to keep the lagering temps low enough for the yeast to do their work but high enough not to freeze them out...