Fellow brewer K_McArthur started this discussion last month: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/historical-lager-why-did-style-disappear-427723/
In doing so, we realized we had both just brewed John Palmer's famous, "Your Father's Mustache," which is a simple but somewhat profound pre-prohibition style Classic American Pilsner.. Essentially the recipe is 8 lbs 6-row, 2 row corn, hopping to 25 ibu and a very light hand with late addition hops.
The recipe that jived with my system and efficiency was:
I don't know K_McArthur's recipe / process, but I expect his gravity came in higher. He used White labs 800, Pilsen (correct me if I'm wrong, kevin)
The gist is that we brewed the same recipe using three different yeasts. K_McArthur and I of course have very different systems, so that is the other major variable between my two (2035/WLP 862) and his (WLP 800)
I tasted the three beers with a friend. My friend knew which was which, I did not.
Here are the three pours:
862, then 800, then 2035. Taken immediately after pouring.
Here they are after a few drinks:
Taken after about 20 minutes.
Tasting notes
First, these beers were all very similar. They were all easy to drink, balanced and refreshing lagers, and sort of like BMC with amped-up flavors.
WLP 862
Huge corn aroma. Good clarity, medium white head with medium-low retention. The darkest of the three beers. This is the only of the three that screamed CORN! to me. Remember that flaked maize is 30% of the recipe. Medium finish and medium-light body with sweetness but not cloying. Again, corn. Very easy to drink.
WLP 800
COMPLETELY different aroma from the other two. Strongly sweet and rich aroma of almost caramel and malty sweetness. Lightest color of the three beers. Excellent clarity. Little to no head. Good carbonation. This beer had the quickest finish of any of the three beers, very little lingering flavors or aftertaste of any kind. Low bitterness but balanced. Light body with sweet but quick (not lingering) finish Beautiful clarity.
wyeast 2035
Little to no aroma. Flavor strongly grainy/bready without malty sweetness. Overcarbed. Huge lingering white head. Dry grainy finish. Balanced and drinkable. Some weird sulfurish aroma compounds. Very light body.
In general, the three beers were, as you might expect, very similar. Mouthfeel was nearly identical between the three. Flavors were similar. The most obvious difference was in the aroma. The 862 and 800 both strongly leaned towards sweet (not cloying sweet, these beers were all light bodied) and the 2035 had very little aroma and what it did have was a light sulfur / husky sort of aroma. With flavor, 2035 has a very unique and borderline dry/harsh thing going on. Among the three, I would only guess that the recipe had corn if I was drinking the beer that used Cry Havoc / 862.
In offering a yeast choice for this beer, I would lean towards the 862 or 800.
I don't have much in the way of conclusions other than brew on, try different yeasts, keep experimenting, and trade beers with other members! Thanks so much to K_McArthur for the beer swap. K_McArthur also included a lovely wit that I won't get into in this thread, but it was excellent. Both beers show that he is a brewer with a lot of skill and taste...and his friends who get to enjoy his beer are lucky indeed!
This was a lot of fun!
In doing so, we realized we had both just brewed John Palmer's famous, "Your Father's Mustache," which is a simple but somewhat profound pre-prohibition style Classic American Pilsner.. Essentially the recipe is 8 lbs 6-row, 2 row corn, hopping to 25 ibu and a very light hand with late addition hops.
The recipe that jived with my system and efficiency was:
8 lbs 6-row
3 lbs flaked maized
1 oz cluster @ 60 min (24.5 ibu)
0.25 oz saaz @ 10 min
0.25 saaz @ 0 min
2.5 gals used WLP 862 (cry havoc)
2.5 gals used Wyeast 2035 (American Lager)
OG: 1.044
FG: 1.013 / 1.015 (2035 / WLP 862)
Efficiency 57% (yeah, yeah)
I don't know K_McArthur's recipe / process, but I expect his gravity came in higher. He used White labs 800, Pilsen (correct me if I'm wrong, kevin)
The gist is that we brewed the same recipe using three different yeasts. K_McArthur and I of course have very different systems, so that is the other major variable between my two (2035/WLP 862) and his (WLP 800)
I tasted the three beers with a friend. My friend knew which was which, I did not.
Here are the three pours:
862, then 800, then 2035. Taken immediately after pouring.
Here they are after a few drinks:
Taken after about 20 minutes.
Tasting notes
First, these beers were all very similar. They were all easy to drink, balanced and refreshing lagers, and sort of like BMC with amped-up flavors.
WLP 862
Huge corn aroma. Good clarity, medium white head with medium-low retention. The darkest of the three beers. This is the only of the three that screamed CORN! to me. Remember that flaked maize is 30% of the recipe. Medium finish and medium-light body with sweetness but not cloying. Again, corn. Very easy to drink.
WLP 800
COMPLETELY different aroma from the other two. Strongly sweet and rich aroma of almost caramel and malty sweetness. Lightest color of the three beers. Excellent clarity. Little to no head. Good carbonation. This beer had the quickest finish of any of the three beers, very little lingering flavors or aftertaste of any kind. Low bitterness but balanced. Light body with sweet but quick (not lingering) finish Beautiful clarity.
wyeast 2035
Little to no aroma. Flavor strongly grainy/bready without malty sweetness. Overcarbed. Huge lingering white head. Dry grainy finish. Balanced and drinkable. Some weird sulfurish aroma compounds. Very light body.
In general, the three beers were, as you might expect, very similar. Mouthfeel was nearly identical between the three. Flavors were similar. The most obvious difference was in the aroma. The 862 and 800 both strongly leaned towards sweet (not cloying sweet, these beers were all light bodied) and the 2035 had very little aroma and what it did have was a light sulfur / husky sort of aroma. With flavor, 2035 has a very unique and borderline dry/harsh thing going on. Among the three, I would only guess that the recipe had corn if I was drinking the beer that used Cry Havoc / 862.
In offering a yeast choice for this beer, I would lean towards the 862 or 800.
I don't have much in the way of conclusions other than brew on, try different yeasts, keep experimenting, and trade beers with other members! Thanks so much to K_McArthur for the beer swap. K_McArthur also included a lovely wit that I won't get into in this thread, but it was excellent. Both beers show that he is a brewer with a lot of skill and taste...and his friends who get to enjoy his beer are lucky indeed!
This was a lot of fun!