Capital Pils Recipe

Apr 26, 2017

Capital Pils (23 Litres)

If you’ve ever tackled a tequila slammer, you know the ritual. You lick the salt, slam the shot and suck the lemon. But this is the beer version; so all you have to do is drink it. What we mean is, the Capital PILS delivers three powerful sensations. First, the smell… it’s like plunging your face into a handful of hop flowers. Then the taste… a sweet malty nectar with a velvety alcohol presence. And finally, the finish… a bitter slap to the head to remind you that you’re still alive. Inspired by the Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner, with similar alcohol content but a greater depth of colour and slightly lighter bitterness, the Capital PILS is a full flavoured DIYers dream. Get around it.

Ingredients

2 x 1.7kg Thomas Cooper 86 Days Pilsner
2 x 500g Light Dry Malt
500g Dextrose Corn Sugar
2 x 25g Hallertau Mittlefrueh Hop Pellets
2 x 50g Hallertau Mittlefrueh Hop Pellets
2 x 11.5g Fermentis W-34/70 Dry Yeast
1 x 250g Dextrose Corn Sugar or Carbonation Drops

Features:

Colour: Deep Gold
Body: High
Bitterness: High
Approx. Alcohol Level: 8.3% ABV
Naturally Carbonated: Natural

Instructions:

Step 1 : Mix

In a good sized pot (around 8 litres), bring 500g of Light Dry Malt to the boil in 3 litres of water, add 25g of hop pellets and boil for 10min. Add another 25g of hop pellets and boil for a further 5min then remove from the heat. Set the pot in a cold/ice water bath to cool then strain into a fermenting vessel (FV). Add the two 86 Days Pilsner brew cans, 500g of Light Dry Malt and 500g of Dextrose to the FV, stir to dissolve then top up with cool water to the 20 litre mark and stir thoroughly (don’t be concerned with any persistent lumps as they will dissolve over the course of a few hours). Check the brew temperature and top up to the 23 litre mark with warm or cold water (refrigerated if necessary) to start the brew as close as possible to 18C. Sprinkle the contents of both the W-34/70 dry yeast and kit yeast sachets then fit the lid.

Step 2 : Brew

Over the course of 12 - 24hrs, allow the brew temperature to drop down to around 13C - 15C. On about day 6, add 50g of hops pellets (we recommend wrapping the hops in a mesh cleaning cloth, pulled straight from the wrapper). After another 3 to 4 days, add the last 50g of hops pellets. Fermentation has finished once the specific gravity is stable over 2 days. This could take longer due to being a higher gravity brew at a lower temperature and expect it to finish in the range of 1012 – 1016.

Step 3 : Bottle

Bottle the brew with a priming rate of 8g per litre (2 carbonation drops per 750ml bottle).

Step 4 : Enjoy

Allow to condition for at least 4 weeks in the bottle. This brew may be consumed early and should benefit with further bottle conditioning. Expect the alcohol content to be around 8.3% ABV.