Pilsner Hops Recomendations

[biggmatt]

I am going to make a honey pilsner with some hops I have on hand.

The recipe

3 lbs pilsen dme
2.5 lbs honey
w34/70 bohemian lager yeast

I have 2 ounces Northern Brewer, 1 oz cascade, 1oz tettnang, 1oz hallertau

I usually make dark lager and it's been 15 years since i made pilsner, any suggestions on which hops? and how much, when?

 

[Anyhowe]

Buy some saaz and do it right. Find a little Munich malt, double your DMe and lose the honey.

 

[meatcleaver]

what's your batch size & boil volume?
do you boil your honey or add at ko?
the tettnang &/or hallertau will work, just need a bit more info...

 

[Lefou]

If you're using that much honey, you're going to expect a dry Pils in a five gallon batch ...but I'm assuming that's exactly what you want.

Lower alpha hops for bittering, maybe use the Cascade and NB hops at the end of the boil for an extra hop kick. Pils is usually a dry, hoppy beer and no rule says you can't use what hops you have on hand.

 

[Splyntr]

Like Anyhow said, Saaz is the way to go if you're going for a Czech pilsner no question about it. If you can't find Saaz, Sterling or Mt. Hood are good American substitutions.

However if the only hops available are the ones you listed, I'd leave out the Cascade, bitter with Northern Brewer, and use the Tettnag and Hallertau for your other additions.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Sorry, but that's not a pilsner - it's a super-dry honey flavoured lager. It might be a delicious beer, and by all means give it a go, but don't call it a pilsner!

Aside from that, I'd use Cascade (the grapefruit will complement the honey nicely). Go VERY light on the hops - assuming you're looking at a moderate ABV beer( 4.5-5%), aim for a maximum of about 18 IBU's in total, with about 1/3 to 1/2oz (assuming 5 gal batch) of late hops (20mins or later). It really depends on what you're looking for though. If you're looking for a BMC, just use hallertau at 60mins to 12IBU's.