Food
Brew it Yourself
Utepils
Enjoying Beer in the Great Outdoors By Josh Armstrong, PhD, Certified Beer Judge
I
think that early May is one of the greatest times of the year to sit outside and enjoy a beer in Northwestern Ontario. Our awful winter weather has finally gone, the spring sun brings new warmth, the black flies have yet to emerge, and you can feel the green coming back into your life. For most beer lovers, the first outside beer of the year brings a great deal of joy and satisfaction. This is especially true for northerners after a long, cold winter. The Norwegians even have a word for the emotional aspect of enjoying the season’s first beer with those closest to you under the springtime sun: utepils (pronounced “OOH-ta-pilz”). Living in Thunder Bay, we have ample outdoor space to utepils. Whether it be in a backyard or on a patio, there are plenty of great outdoor spaces to appreciate a beer with friends under the sun. While
22 The Walleye
we lack a legitimate beer garden in the city, the patio culture in Thunder Bay is growing. With the city now allowing pop-up patios at a number of restaurants and with the Red Lion Smokehouse’s fantastic patio at their new location, times are good for beer lovers in the Lakehead. If I had to pick one style of beer to utepils with, it would have to be a pilsner (or pilsener or pils). Originally developed in the Czech Republic, this pale, golden lager has changed the brewing world. In fact, the style accounts for 95% of global beer volume currently consumed. The two main versions on the pilsner beer style are Czech and German. While both tend to be thirst-quenching, palate-rinsing, and refreshing, the Czech versions typically have a richer malt character and less pronounced hop flavour. The German style pilsners tend to be drier and have a
crisper, more bitter finish. Classic commercial examples of pilsners from Europe include Pilsner Urquell (Czech) and Wernesgrüner (German), both regularly available at the LCBO. Ontario produces many pilsners like Steam Whistle and Bellwoods Brewery’s Paper Tiger and Biergarten. The characteristic ingredients for brewing pilsners include pilsner-style malt, German or Czech hop varieties, clean lager yeast, and soft water (Lake Superior water is perfect for the style). Pilsner malt is lighter in colour than other base malts and adds a wonderful mild, malty-sweet flavour that can remind some people of honey. The European hops add floral and spicy notes in addition to a pronounced yet soft/rounded bitterness. The lager yeast that is used should have good attenuation so that the beer has a clean, crisp, dry finish. This spring we brewed up a Czech-style pilsner called “Czech Your Perception.” The recipe was relatively simple, consisting of pilsner malt and saaz hops (see recipe sidebar). We chose to try Czech Budejovice Lager yeast from White Labs (WLP 802) for the first time. It’s a lager yeast strain from southern Czech Republic and is known to produce dry and crisp lagers with a good average attenuation (80%). We were aiming for a highly sessionable pale beer that pairs nicely with patios, shellfish, salads, and sunshine. Whether drinking your own homebrew or enjoying your favourite commercial pils, I hope that you get the chance to experience utepils this month with your closest friends and family. Prost!
Czech Your Perception – Czech Premium Pale Lager (38 L, all-grain) OG = 1.046 FG = 1.009 IBU = 39 SRM = ~2.9 ABV = 4.6% Water 67 L of Lake Superior Malt Bill 6.75kg Pilsner malt (97.8%) 155 g Acidulated malt (2.2%) Hops 150 g Saaz hops (% alpha acid) with 60 minutes left in the boil 100 g Saaz hops (% alpha acid) with 10 minutes left in the boil 150 g Saaz hops (% alpha acid) for 25 minutes in whirlpool at 80°C Yeast White Labs - Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast WLP802 Instructions Adjust your water chemistry with gypsum, calcium chloride, and Epsom salt. Protein rest for 15 minutes at 50°C. Mash for 60 minutes at 65°C. Boil for 90 minutes, add hops as indicated. After completing the whirlpool, cool wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 10-12°C, perform a diacetyl rest, and allow beer to age at a cool temperature for a minimum of two weeks before consuming.
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