Back-to-back Spotlights!
The Brewer
-Hi, I’m Dave! I’ve been brewing for over 12 years and got started the same way as most do—with a small pot on a stove, plastic bucket and an extract kit. I was hooked immediately and dove in head first with internet research, brewing books, blogs, magazines, and hands on brewing experimentation.
-Over the years I’ve added more and more equipment and automation, but Spike equipment is at the heart of my operation. I currently use a 3 vessel custom HERMS electric brewing setup using 3 Spike kettles, a CF5 and a CF10 fermenter. I even have two of the old school V2 kettles with the old dog logo, although one has since been retired.
-Don’t be afraid to experiment or make mistakes! I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a bad batch, just an unfamiliar palate.
The Beer
-Pils Death Do Us Part is a New Zealand Pilsner and is a perfect mix of a classic, crispy, drinkable lager brought into the modern era with new varieties of New Zealand hops. A great warm-weather beer!
-The name comes from the wedding vow play on words. The first batch was one of 4 beers brewed/served for a wedding of two friends.
The Why
-The grain bill is kept simple with a little malted wheat for flavor and carapils added to assist with more head retention. Mashing at 149 allows for a more fermentable wort, giving the yeast plenty to munch on which drives a lower FG and dry finish.
-Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Pacific Jade pair extremely well in this recipe. The key here is to not get overly fancy and let the beer do the talking.
-Fermenting at ranges of 54-56 keeps the lager yeast happy. To avoid off flavors, it’s important to do a Diactyl rest for a few days once gravity has reached the halfway mark between OG and FG. To perform this rest, I raise the fermentation temp in my CF5 or CF10 to roughly 68 for a few days. I generally keep it here until any buttery flavors disappear from samples taken. At that point, temperatures are slowly dropped by a few degrees per day until it reaches a final resting temp of 38. There is no set time I hold the beer at this point. I let the beer tell me when it is ready!
@benevolent_brew_works 🍻