A Simple Bock

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MMW

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It's about the time of year to start thinking of a Bock to get through the winter months ahead. (Winter doesn't really kick in here until after Christmas). I'm looking for something with a dead simple grain and hop bill and am settling down on something like this:


6.5 lbs Vienna
6.5 lbs Dark Munich
1 lb Melandonin

2 oz Perle (8%) FWH

Mash at a moderate temperature (150-152)

Wyeast Bavarian Lager or While Labs German Bock

1.070 OG, 1.018 FG, 23 IBU, 16 SRM


Thoughts? Other hop suggestions?
 
If it were me, I wouldn't FWH a bock. It'll bring out way too many fruity, herbally flavor elements that you don't usually want in a bock.

Also, your calculated IBUs seems pretty low for 2 oz of 8% Perle. My calculator comes out around 46 IBU Tinseth or 63 IBU Rager. This presumes a full 5 gallon boil. (I'm not at home, so I didn't use BeerSmith, but the web calculator I used looks right.) So I'd back off on the hops some. You want the malt to be the star of your bock.

Grain bill looks great, extra malty & flavorful & mashing low looks good. I've not used the Dark Munich before. Has it got plenty of enzymes to convert itself?
 
Good question on the diastic power of the Dark Munich...I'll need to investigate that a bit, thank you.

FWH is percived as about a ~20 min addition according to my reading (I also no-chill, so it makes the conversion easy :fro:). I've FWH'd a couple of beers now and been very pleased with them. (This would be my first solely FWH beer, though)
 
Upon further investigation, the Dark Munich is only good up to 30% of the grsit. Now there are two directions to go:

Option 1
6.5 lbs Vienna
6.5 lbs Munich
1 lb Melanoidin
2 oz Dehusked Carafa III or De-bittered black (trying to minimize roasty/burnt flavors)

1.070 OG, 16 SRM

Option 2
Weyermann indicates Melanoidin malt is good up to 20% so,

5.75 lbs Vienna
5.75 lbs Munich
2.75 lbs Melanoidin

1.070 OG, 15 SRM

Both should yield a full malt profile at the low end of the style range for color; both are relatively simple grain bills. Quite frankly, either of these would probably do pretty well. Am I missing something?
 
Why would you put Vienna in a bock? This looks more like a Ofest, IMO.

I would suggest to use Light Munich 70-80% grist, some German pils to help convert and some coloring malts to add depth & color (Caramunich, Special B, Aromatic etc).

Yeast is everything for a bock. I am a fan of WLP833.
 
I like your first option & I think it'll be fine with Vienna in there. However, bock doesn't strike me as a FWH kind of beer. I've FWH'ed a number of times & I like it, but I think it's probably wrong for a bock where often you only add bittering hops but little or not flavor or aroma additions. Also, FWH add IBUs like a full 60 minute boil but with the additional flavoring of a 20 minute addition. (It's a smooth bitterness, though for its IBUs.) However, I think all that flavor hops is going to be very un-bock-like. That's OK if you want a beer that's not traditional. Just make sure that's what you want.

Like Oxymoron, I also love 833 for yeast.
 
Alright; the order is on the way from BMW. I'm going to go with option 1 and move the hops to 1.25 oz Perle (8%) at 60. WLP833 for the yeast.

Brewing Saturday with a Vienna. Christmas and Thanksgiving beers on the same day at the end of August :rockin:
 
Dark Munich varies between maltsters. Some are 6-row and some are 2-row. Most should have just enough diastatic power to convert itself but just barely. I would be wary of using a really high percentage of 6-row Dark Munich but you can use 2-row Dark Munich up to high percentages.

It also depends what you call 'dark' munich. Weyermann Munich Type I is only about 6L and their Type II is around 9L...so their Type II is the same as some other maltster's 'Light' Munich. The Weyermann stuff is 2-row.
 
Dark Munich is out (it was the Gambrinus 30 L). Weyermann 9L Munich (whatever you want to call it) is in.
 
Not sure about the Gambrinus but wouldn't be surprised if it is 6-row. Briess makes a Munich 10L and Munich 20L that are both 6-row but they also have a Bonlander Munich 10L that is 2-row and an Aromatic Munich 20L that is also 2-row.
 
Alright; the order is on the way from BMW. I'm going to go with option 1 and move the hops to 1.25 oz Perle (8%) at 60. WLP833 for the yeast.

Brewing Saturday with a Vienna. Christmas and Thanksgiving beers on the same day at the end of August :rockin:
`

I'm sure that beer will turn out great.

I made 11#s light munich and .25#s Carapils with 1/2oz Nugget and 3/4 oz of Hallertau and it was good beyond belief.

Made it again last spring with just 11#s light munich and 1 oz Perle and almost 1/2 oz of Liberty and Crystal leftovers and its just off the hook. Not quite dark enough for a real bock, but I'm sure anyone on this forum would drink it and gladly have another one.

That WLP833 has me intrigued, I will have to try that one. I used WLP810 the first time and w34/70 most recently. I may make it again weekend after next and try some of the melanodin malt as well.
 
Boundaries are meant to be pushed; that is best achieved through experimentation. I don't think any one is going to quibble about a couple of IBU, gravity points, or SRM.

If I wanted a commercial beer I'd go buy one and save the time :mug:
 
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