Non-Alcoholic North German Pilsner
Pils Nah! is a great beer-flavored-beer to brew if you are new to NA brewing, or you just want to add a new NA option to your brewery’s offerings. Light color and body, grainy malt notes, and structure and hop flavor from the use Hallterau Mittelfrüh.
The recipe below is outlined with two brewing methods, offering brewers the flexibility to adapt to the equipment setups commonly found in today’s craft breweries.
Key Statistics
- Est. ABV: 0.44%
- Original Gravity: 5.25° P
- Final Gravity: 4.4° P
- IBU: 25–30
- Color: Straw
- Brewhouse Efficiency: 80%
- Mash L:G Ratio: 3:1
Grains
85.7% Weyermann® Pilsner Malt
10% Weyermann® Carafoam Malt
4% Weyermann® Acidulated Malt
0.3% Weyermann® Carafa III Malt
Hops
60 min: Magnum | 15 IBU
30 min: Hallertau Mittelfrüh | 5 IBU
0 min: Hallertau Mittelfrüh | 3 IBU
Whirlpool: Hallertau Mittelfrüh | 3 IBU
Version #1 Step Mash
The step mash method is intended for use with breweries with mash mixers and incorporates DSM TasteZyme™ G, a glucose oxidase enzyme product. TasteZyme G converts some of the glucose in the wort to gluconic acid, giving the finished beer structure and balance, and consuming mash oxygen in the process, thereby improving beer stability.
Mash Profile
50°C: 20 min
65°C: 30 min
72°C: 25 min
76°C: 5 min
Yeast
- Pitch Rate: 0.65 g/L
Additional Ingredients
Brewers TasteZyme™ G
- Mash: 1 g/kg malt
- Fermentation: 1 g/kg malt
Version #2: Single Infusion Mash
The infusion mash version includes an abbreviated kettle sour process using Fermentis LB-1 Levilactobacillus brevis to reduce wort pH to ~4.0 before wort boiling and fermentation.
Note: Fermentis LB-1 replaces DSM TasteZyme G™ in this version of the recipe.
Mash Profile
72°C: 15 min
76°C: 2 min
Yeast & Wort Bacteria
- Pitch Rate: 0.65 g/L
- Target pH 4.0–4.4
Brewer’s Notes
Pils-Nah! showcases just how much character a non-alcoholic beer can deliver. Built on a foundation of premium German malts—bringing a crisp, grainy sweetness and a soft, bready backbone—this recipe gives brewers the authentic malt richness needed to balance noble hop spice and subtle floral aromatics.
The result is a true-to-style pilsner experience, proving that great malt is the key to crafting an NA beer that feels every bit as satisfying as its full-strength counterpart.