Bighorn Trout Run Czech Pilsner

Evening light on a green, moving run

A Czech Pilsner named for the Bighorn River, bready and spicy at 5.0%, for long evenings on the water.

Brewed to order

Two spotted trout swim across a cream label above blue-green waves on an amber bottle by the Bighorn. Teal lettering, olive backs and golden bellies give the label its river colours.

ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 35
Colour: 14SRM
OG to FG: 1.0511.013

Czech Pilsner at 5.0% ABV
Saaz hops at three additions
35 IBU with a clean, bitter finish
Two spotted trout on teal waves
Bready malt with soft caramel

In the glass

A glass of Czech Pilsner: brilliant pale gold, thick white head.

14SRM

Bready malt, a soft caramel middle, spicy Saaz and a clean, bitter finish

Serve: 45°F in a tall glass with a thick white head
Alongside: Grilled bratwurst, pretzels with mustard, pan-fried trout

A pair of spotted trout curl through teal and seafoam waves across the label, and a third rides the neck. The bottle sits on a silver, weathered log. Behind it the river slides past green and glassy, under golden bluffs and dark cottonwoods.

Bready Bohemian malt comes first, then a soft caramel middle. Saaz brings a peppery, herbal snap and a clean bitter finish that keeps you reaching for the next sip. Open one when the hatch slows and the light goes gold.

Lagering at 34°F for three full weeks is where this beer comes together. Rush it and the malt stays rough; give it the time and it turns smooth and bright.

The numbers

5.0%Alcohol by volume

(1.051 − 1.013) × 131.25

35Bitterness, IBU

Bitterness only means anything against the style. This one is a Czech Pilsner.

14Colour, SRM

The swatch above is this number on the standard reference ramp, not an impression of it.

Gravity1.051 down to 1.013 — 75% apparent attenuation.

Named for the Bighorn River

South-central Montana · MT

The water it is named for

Water type: Tailwater

Details

River: Bighorn River
Style: Czech Pilsner
ABV: 5.0%
Tasting notes: bready malt, soft caramel, spicy Saaz, herbal, clean bitter finish
Colors: cream, teal, olive green, golden yellow, amber

Make it yourself

A home brew day set up in a garage: kettle steaming on a burner, mash tun and chiller beside it.

At a glance

Style: Czech Pilsner
Gravity, OG → FG: 1.051 → 1.013
ABV: 5.0%Derived from OG and FG
Bitterness: 35 IBU
Colour: 14SRMdeep amber
Difficulty: Practised handa true lager needs steady cold fermentation and three weeks of patient lagering.
First pint: 35 daysFrom brew day, including conditioning
Brew day: 2 h 40 minKettle on to kitchen clean. The rest is the yeast.
You supply: brew kettle, mash tun, wort chiller, fermenter, temperature-controlled fridge, hydrometer, thermometer, sanitiser, keg or bottles with caps
Written for: 5 gal (18.9 L)
Efficiency assumed: 72%Brew-in-a-bag, full-volume. House guidance

Grain bill

4 malts · 9.63 lb for 5 gal

Piles of pale, amber and dark malted barley on a wooden bench beside a scale.

Milled grain, weighed for each batch size. The percentage is each malt's share of the grist and stays the same at every size.

Malt	% of grist	12-pack batch · 1.25 gal	Classic · 5 gal	12×12 batch · 15 gal
Bohemian Pilsner malt	77.9%	1.88 lb (0.85 kg)	7.5 lb (3.4 kg)	22.5 lb (10.21 kg)
Munich malt	10.4%	4 oz (113 g)	1 lb (0.45 kg)	3 lb (1.36 kg)
CaraMunich malt	10.4%	4 oz (113 g)	1 lb (0.45 kg)	3 lb (1.36 kg)
Carafa Special II	1.3%	0.5 oz (14 g)	2 oz (57 g)	6 oz (170 g)
Total grain	100%	2.41 lb (1.09 kg)	9.63 lb (4.37 kg)	28.88 lb (13.1 kg)

Hop schedule

3 additions · 90 min boil

Whole green hop cones and hop pellets on slate, one cone split to show the yellow lupulin.

Pellet hops, weighed in grams. Boil times count down to the end of the boil, so 60 minutes means the first thing in the kettle.

Hop	Use	Time	12-pack batch · 1.25 gal	Classic · 5 gal	12×12 batch · 15 gal
Saaz	Boil	60 min	18 g (0.63 oz)	71 g (2.5 oz)	213 g (7.5 oz)
Saaz	Boil	15 min	7.1 g (0.25 oz)	28 g (1 oz)	85 g (3 oz)
Saaz	Boil	Flameout	7.1 g (0.25 oz)	28 g (1 oz)	85 g (3 oz)

Yeast and pitch

Czech lager yeast · 1 liquid pack for 5 gal

Czech lager yeast (Wyeast 2000 Budvar Lager). Pitch at 48°F.

Yeast	12-pack batch · 1.25 gal	Classic · 5 gal	12×12 batch · 15 gal
Czech lager yeast	1 liquid pack	1 liquid pack	3 liquid packs

One pack per 5 gal, and one more above 1.060 OG in a batch over 3 gal. Never fewer than one. House guidance

Water

8.64 gal into the mash for 5 gal

Full-volume brew-in-a-bag: all the water goes in at the start and there is no sparge. Volumes are the total to heat, so the kettle has to hold the mash and still leave room to boil: the 12-pack kit sells a 5 gal stockpot and the 12×12 kit a 30 gal kettle for that.

Water	12-pack batch · 1.25 gal	Classic · 5 gal	12×12 batch · 15 gal
Into the mash	2.34 gal (8.9 L)	8.64 gal (32.7 L)	20.18 gal (76.4 L)
Boiled off	0.75 gal (2.8 L)	1.88 gal (7.1 L)	1.88 gal (7.1 L)
Held by the grain	0.19 gal (0.7 L)	0.77 gal (2.9 L)	2.31 gal (8.7 L)
Left as trub	0.15 gal (0.6 L)	1 gal (3.8 L)	1 gal (3.8 L)
Into the fermenter	1.25 gal (4.7 L)	5 gal (18.9 L)	15 gal (56.8 L)

Boil-off, grain absorption and trub are typical figures for a stovetop pot and a propane kettle, not measurements of your own gear. Brew once, note what you end up with, and adjust. House guidance

Water profile Soft, low-mineral water with very little sulfate lets the Saaz read gentle and the malt stay round.

Mash

150°F · 60 min

The mash turns starch into sugar. Hold the temperature steady and the beer finishes the way the recipe intends.

Rest150°F for 60 minutes
Strike waterHeat to 160°F; the grain cools it to the rest temperature. House guidance
Mash-outRaise to 168°F and hold 10 minutes, then lift and drain the bag. House guidance

Mash ina cooler rest keeps the finish crisp and dry

Boil

90 min · 3 hop additions

Hops go in on a countdown from the end of the boil. Early additions give bitterness; late ones give aroma.

Length90 minutes
60 minSaaz
15 minSaaz
FlameoutSaaz
15 minA kettle fining (whirlfloc or Irish moss) clears the beer if you have one. House guidance

Boilthe long boil drives off the cooked-corn note pilsner malt can carry
Chillto 48°Fpitch cold so the yeast starts clean

Fermentation

3 steps · first pint in 35 days

A glass fermenter of amber beer with foam on top and an airlock.

The recipe's own schedule, in order. Temperature control matters more than almost anything else on this page.

12 days at 50°F
2 days at 60°F for a diacetyl rest
21 days at 34°F

First pint 35 days from brew day.

Packaging and carbonation

2.3 volumes CO₂ · bottle or keg

Plain aluminium cans and a small keg on a workbench beside a priming-sugar measure.

Target 2.3 volumes of CO₂.

Bottling	12-pack batch · 1.25 gal	Classic · 5 gal	12×12 batch · 15 gal
Corn sugar to prime	0.88 oz (25 g)	3.51 oz (100 g)	10.53 oz (299 g)
12 oz bottles it fills	12	50	144

Dissolve the sugar in a little boiled water, stir it gently into the beer, then bottle. The amount is worked out for 60°F, the warmest the beer got while it fermented.

Kegging Set the regulator to 9.1 psi at 38°F.

Kegging instead Skip the bottles with 3 × 5 gal ball-lock kegs, 1 × 5 lb CO₂ tank, 1 × dual-gauge regulator, 1 × gas and beer lines with picnic taps: the kegging upgrade for the 15 gal home brewery, $594.

Brewer's notes

3 tips

Pitch twice the yeast you would for an ale; lagers start slow and cold.From the recipe
Taste before you drop to 34°F; any butter note means the diacetyl rest needs another day.From the recipe
Weigh the Carafa carefully, because two ounces is enough to set the colour.From the recipe

A fermenter, airlock, siphon, hydrometer, thermometer and bench capper. — The kit

Every kit size

Ingredients only

Ingredient kit · 12-pack batch

$26.59

$2.22 a bottle

Grain milled, hops bagged per addition, yeast, priming sugar and 12 caps, for 1.25 gal.

Includes Bohemian Pilsner malt · Munich malt · CaraMunich malt · Carafa Special II · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 12 items

Ingredients

Bohemian Pilsner malt$4.291.88 lb (0.85 kg) · Milled to order
Munich malt$0.654 oz (113 g) · Milled to order
CaraMunich malt$0.724 oz (113 g) · Milled to order
Carafa Special II$0.090.5 oz (14 g) · Milled to order
Saaz (60 min)$2.4918 g (0.63 oz)
Saaz (15 min)$1.507.1 g (0.25 oz)
Saaz (flameout)$1.507.1 g (0.25 oz)
Czech lager yeast$11.991 pack · Liquid yeast, shipped cold
Milling and kitting$31

Packaging

Corn sugar for priming$0.360.9 oz · Primes to 2.3 volumes of CO₂
Crown capsIncluded12

Guide

Printed brew guideIncluded1

Ingredient kit · 12×12 batch

$177.09

$1.23 a bottle

Grain milled, hops bagged per addition, yeast, priming sugar and 144 caps, for 15 gal.

Includes Bohemian Pilsner malt · Munich malt · CaraMunich malt · Carafa Special II · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 12 items

Ingredients

Bohemian Pilsner malt$51.5322.5 lb (10.21 kg) · Milled to order
Munich malt$7.773 lb (1.36 kg) · Milled to order
CaraMunich malt$8.673 lb (1.36 kg) · Milled to order
Carafa Special II$1.086 oz (170 g) · Milled to order
Saaz (60 min)$29.93213 g (7.5 oz)
Saaz (15 min)$11.9785 g (3 oz)
Saaz (flameout)$11.9785 g (3 oz)
Czech lager yeast$35.973 packs · Liquid yeast, shipped cold
Milling and kitting$81

Packaging

Corn sugar for priming$4.2010.5 oz · Primes to 2.3 volumes of CO₂
Crown caps$6144

Guide

Printed brew guideIncluded1

Complete home brewery

Complete home brewery · 12-pack batch

$220.41

$18.37 a bottle

Bought separately $241.95 · you save $21.54

All the equipment, then the ingredient kit, for 1.25 gal. Works on a kitchen stove.

Includes 5 gal stainless stockpot · Fine-mesh brew bag · 1.5 gal glass fermenter with drilled bung · 3-piece airlock · and 22 more

Every item in this kit · 26 items

Equipment

5 gal stainless stockpot$49.991
Fine-mesh brew bag$9.991
1.5 gal glass fermenter with drilled bung$17.991
3-piece airlock$2.491
No-rinse sanitizer, 4 oz$12.991
Hydrometer and test jar$15.991
Digital probe thermometer$14.991
Mini auto-siphon with tubing$13.991
Spring-tip bottle filler$5.991
12 oz amber bottles$16.9912
Wing capper$19.991
Brewery wash, 1 lb$9.991
0.1 g kitchen scale$14.991
Long stainless spoon$8.991

Ingredients

Bohemian Pilsner malt$4.291.88 lb (0.85 kg) · Milled to order
Munich malt$0.654 oz (113 g) · Milled to order
CaraMunich malt$0.724 oz (113 g) · Milled to order
Carafa Special II$0.090.5 oz (14 g) · Milled to order
Saaz (60 min)$2.4918 g (0.63 oz)
Saaz (15 min)$1.507.1 g (0.25 oz)
Saaz (flameout)$1.507.1 g (0.25 oz)
Czech lager yeast$11.991 pack · Liquid yeast, shipped cold
Milling and kitting$31

Packaging

Corn sugar for priming$0.360.9 oz · Primes to 2.3 volumes of CO₂
Crown capsIncluded12

Guide

Printed brew guideIncluded1

Complete home brewery · 12×12 batch

$1,273.09

$8.84 a bottle

Bought separately $1,394.87 · you save $121.78

All the equipment, then the ingredient kit, for 15 gal. You supply a propane tank and water.

Includes 30 gal stainless kettle with ball valve and thermometer · 72 · 30 gal brew bag · 50 ft copper immersion chiller · and 25 more

Every item in this kit · 29 items

Equipment

30 gal stainless kettle with ball valve and thermometer$3991
72,000 BTU propane burner and stand$991
30 gal brew bag$44.991
50 ft copper immersion chiller$1291
7.9 gal fermenting buckets with lids and airlocks$89.973
No-rinse sanitizer, 32 oz$32.991
Brewery wash, 4 lb$34.991
Hydrometer and test jar$15.991
Refractometer$29.991
Digital thermometer$24.991
½" auto-siphon with tubing$24.991
Bottling buckets with spigots$55.982
Bottle filler$5.991
12 oz amber bottles (6 cases)$119.94144
Bench capper$59.991
Mash paddle$24.991
Digital scale$24.991

Ingredients

Bohemian Pilsner malt$51.5322.5 lb (10.21 kg) · Milled to order
Munich malt$7.773 lb (1.36 kg) · Milled to order
CaraMunich malt$8.673 lb (1.36 kg) · Milled to order
Carafa Special II$1.086 oz (170 g) · Milled to order
Saaz (60 min)$29.93213 g (7.5 oz)
Saaz (15 min)$11.9785 g (3 oz)
Saaz (flameout)$11.9785 g (3 oz)
Czech lager yeast$35.973 packs · Liquid yeast, shipped cold
Milling and kitting$81

Packaging

Corn sugar for priming$4.2010.5 oz · Primes to 2.3 volumes of CO₂
Crown caps$6144

Guide

Printed brew guideIncluded1

The creator

Dekasso

@dekasso

Wherever the truck rolls to a stop.

See everything by @dekasso

Remixes

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Where this came from

river beer · made September 16, 2026

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bighorn river
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saaz
fly fishing
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