NZ Pils 2026

Today I'm brewing one of my favorite lagers, a New Zealand Pilsner. I've only ever tried American interpretations of the style, never one actually brewed in NZ. However, this recipe is based on a one (since deleted) from a NZ homebrew shop that is allegedly a clone for Panhead's Port Road Pils, one of the style examples cited in the BJCP guidelines. Variations of this recipe have done well for me in competitions and I think it's a great hop-forward easy drinking lager. 

I tend to tweak this recipe a little bit every time I brew it. Tweaks are usually grain-related based on what's available and/or what I have on hand. Today I'm using up the last of my Rahr North Star Pils that I brought from Utah. I'm dialing back the Hopshot slightly from 3ml to 2ml because I've noticed I seem to get better hop utilization here in Florida at roughly 100 feet above sea level. Finally, I'm moving my normal whirlpool additions to flameout, and I'm moving the dry hop additions to the whirlpool. My primary driver for this is I'm trying to eliminate any risk of oxidation with dry hopping, and honestly it's probably not very common for this style to be dry-hopped to begin with. Here's the recipe as I'm brewing it today.

Target OG 1.048

Target FG: 1.011

IBU: 54

ABV: 4.7

7# 9oz - Rahr North Star Pils (93.7%)

6oz - Weyermann Carahell Malt (4.7%)

1g BrewTan B (Mash) 

2ml Hopshot (60 min) 

10g - NZ Motueka (10 min)

20g - NZ Nelson Sauvin (10 min)

30g - NZ Riwaka (10 min)

20g - NZ Motueka (Flameout)

30g - NZ Nelson Sauvin (Flameout)

30g - NZ Riwaka (Flameout)

3g - Loral Cryohops (Flameout)

40g - NZ Riwaka (whirlpool, 30-45 min @165F)

7g - Loral Cryohops (whirlpool, 30-45 min @165F)

Whirlfloc

Wyeast Nutrient

4.66g BCAA (Dissolved in water or wort, 5 min)

Zinc Buddy

Saflager W-34/70

Single infusion mash at 151F, 90 min boil, acidify mash to a pH of ~ 5.1-5.2. Start fermentation at 48F, ramp up to 52F over 6 days, diacetyl rest when gravity ~1.016.

Water Profile

This is a fairly soft water profile with slightly higher sulfate to chloride ration. To 11 gallons of distilled water, add:

• 6.0g Gypsum
• 2.3g Magnesium Chloride
• 2.4g Calcium Chloride

Water Profile

Target Water Profile
Ca	Mg	Na	SO4	Cl	HCO3
53.8	6.6	0.0	79.8	55.6	0.0

Brewing Notes

I hit my initial strike temp exactly at 151.1. The initial mash pH was a little high so I dosed with 1.5ml of phosphoric acid to bring the pH from 5.67 down to 5.36.

Session Readings
Equipment used	10g MT
Strike water volume	3 gal
Strike water temp	167.3 °F
Mash thickness	1.512 qt/lbs
Beginning mash pH	5.67 - Before acid 5.36 After acid
Ending mash pH	X
1st running gravity	X (1.0)
Volume into BK	X gal
Pre-Boil gravity	X (1.0)
Pre-Boil pH	X
Post-Boil gravity	X (1.0)
Post-Boil pH	X
Aeration	0.5l/min for 2 min
Post ferm gravity	X (1.0)
Post ferm pH	X (1.0)

Read more...