Snow Beer...a unique Lager

I've been thinking about brewing a lager all winter long. My basement is at perfect lagering temperature, I think, in the mid to low 50's. I have my basement fridge set at 41 degrees, perfect for a nice long rest for the lager yeast. I originally wanted to do a Bock because of my long time love affair with New Glarus Uff-Da Bock, and goats. Oh man I loved that beer in college. Are they still brewing that one? Anyways. Recently I've been looking at the Pilsner style and the thing about a Czeck Pilsner beer is that if you truly want to make it 'to style' then you have to use naturally soft water. Not softened water, but naturally soft water like the water they have in Pilsen.

To the point of my long winded, possibly uninformed rant....

I found out about something today that I just can't stop thinking about. I'd emailed Dane Gonzalez from Pearl Street Brewery and he replied with something that I thought was so interesting. He said..."A beer I never miss out on every year is snow beer and u should try it before its gone. Snow is naturally soft and works great for lagers. Gather the cleanest snow u can find and boil it down for a completely unique brew."

So, I've gathered a whole bunch of fresh snow from my front yard and I'm going to attempt a 'completely unique brew' and my first lager. I'm thinking I'll have to harvest some more tomorrow. I'll need about 9 gallons over all, or somewhere in there.

I ended up getting the European Pilsner kit from Midwest Brew Supply!

If anyone else has a tried and true Pilsner recipe that they'd like to share, I'd think about doing that one instead. Otherwise, I'd highly encourage you to brew up your own Snow Beer with some local snow while you still can and see how it differs from when you use normal water.