Jeremy Myers, head brewer and co-owner of Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company (Croydon, Massachusetts) notes that there are no brewing salts added for mash pH adjustment. This recipe follows the Reinheitsgebot, so he uses acidulated malt.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Efficiency: 83%
Attenuation: 83%
OG: 1.049 (12.17°P)
FG: 1.009 (2.14°P)
IBUs: 36
ABV: 5.34%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
6.83 lb (3.1 kg) Weyermann Pilsen Malt
0.57 lb (258 g) Acidulated Malt
1.08 lb (490 g) Cara-Pils Malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.44 oz (12.5 g) Herkules [15.% AA] at 60 minutes
0.26 oz (7.4 g) Spalter Select [4.8% AA] at 45 minutes
0.44 oz (12.5 g) Spalter Select [4.8% AA] at 15 minutes
0.2 oz (5.7 g) Spalter Select [4.8% AA] at 10 minutes
0.2 oz (5.7 g) Mandarina Bavaria [6.0% AA] at 10 minutes
0.88 oz (25.1 g) Mandarina Bavaria [6.0% AA] at flameout
YEAST
Jeremy highly suggests White Labs WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager strain for dry, hop assertive Pilsners. For something in a more traditional German direction that shows a bit more malt character but still lets the hops character shine through, try Hessian Pils from The Yeast Bay.
DIRECTIONS
Mash the grains for 60 minutes at 148°F (64°C). Boil for 75 minutes following the hops schedule. Ferment at 55°F (13°C) for 2 or 3 days. Once you hit a gravity of 1.034 (8.5°P), ramp the temperature to 65°F (18°C). Hold at final gravity for 5 days and then do a forced diacetyl test. If there is no perceived diacetyl, cold crash to 40°F (4°C) and lager for at least 3 weeks—the longer the better.