By Eric Buist

I’m a lazy homebrewer. There, I said it, we got that out of the way. When I heard about RAW beers, it wasn’t a way to play with a new style or dial in techniques, it was a way to shorten my brew day by skipping the boil. Similarly, when I first learned about Pilot Malt and the technical advantages, I realized I could take a step back from monitoring my temperature during the mash and relax a bit more. Afterall, the phrase is “RELAX, don’t worry, have a homebrew!”

Pilot barley was bred to have higher temperature stable Beta-amylase, which normally denatures around 150º. Pilot barley has beta that is still stable around 154, which allows you to have a more fermentable wort from a higher mash temperature! The effect of using Pilot is essentially a dual step mash at a single 152ºF infusion!

Here’s a recipe that will help lazy homebrewers get the most out of their mash, and allow you to get highly fermentable wort, yielding a crisp dry beer. This recipe is for a light, crisp Belgian Pale Ale.

Skagit River Beer

5 Gallon Batch

Malt

8lbs (88.9%) Pilot Pilsner

8oz (5.6%) Skagit Munich

8oz (5.6%) Rolled Oats

Hops

60 Minute - 0.5oz Nugget - 14.8 IBU

15 Minute - 1.00oz Cascade - 6.2 IBU

Whirlpool - 1.00oz Azacca - 2.2 IBU

Whirlpool - 1.00oz Comet - 2.2 IBU

Dry Hop - 1.00oz Azacca

Dry Hop - 1.00oz Comet

Yeast

Imperial Yeast - Whiteout (B44) or another low flocculating Belgian yeast

Mash at 152 for 90 minutes, boil for 60 minutes, ferment as you normally would.

This beer should finish around 1.049 and end up at 1.009 hitting 5.2%.

How are you going to get the most out of Pilot Malts?

Head to the SVM Store to get your hands on some fresh Pilot Malt!