Bocher-Hoppy BOCK :-)

Bocher-Hoppy Bock

This is a bock inspired by my wife's co-workers. We have a somewhat symbiotic relationship.
I like to share, and they like my beers.

20.4 lbs - pilsner malt
4.7 lbs - Munich Malt 20L
4.7 lbs - Munich Malt Type II
1.0 lbs - Flaked Oats
1.0 lbs - Weyermann Carafa III (dehusked)
0.66 lbs chocolate malt
0.5 lbs Malto-Dextrin

___________________________
32.3 lbs - total

Minimum water 1.5x32.3lbs grains - approx 12.12 gallons
I may add a little extra for grain absorbtion.
0.2 gallons absorbed per lb of grain = 6.5 extra
18.6 gallons total (Adjusted up - too dry)

8.5 gallon mash water...way too dry.Added 3 gallons. Having a hard time hitting my 158 deg target.

11 gallon total Mash at 160 deg F w/2 gallon wort taken out, warmed, and
added back in to stabilize temp.

Take first runnings and leave grain bed really wet.

Sparge 1, 4 gal at 180 deg F dropped to 163 deg F, "modified fly" w/dwell at 20 minutes.

Sparge 2, 4 gal at 180 deg F dropped to 163 "modified fly" wait, then drain.

About 12 gallons Pre-boil.

Hops
60 min. - 4.0 ozz 3% alpha acids Hallertau pellet
15 min. - 0.5 oz Cascade whole leaf hop.
3 min. - 0.25 oz Cascade whole leaf hop.

Cooled overnight on LEED approved 20 degree rear deck.

OG. 1.070 @ about 80 deg F.

One package Safale s-04 dry ale yeast.

Start yeast in 1 cup room temperature water for a few
hours with a teaspoon of sugar till you see activity. Pitch yeast and cover pot(s).

Tastes like a red right now....

I borrowed and adjusted Aiyinger Celebrator clone from "The Best of BREW Your Own" 250 Classic Clone Recipies. Had help with the adjunct ingrdients from Bull Falls Home Brew Depot.

Holy wort overload. I don't know if I'm going to have enough room on the stove. Eight gallons of sparge water and probably almost eight gallons in mashing.... I have three five gallon pots.

Lucy, you got some 'splainin' ta do!

What is the saying about wisdom comes from bad planning?

..other thoughts. It doesn't smell like anything I've brewed before. It's pretty mellow - kind of caramelly and full - the hops aren't overpowering.

Added maltodextrin right at the end of the boil.

Also the sparges were really slow. This was the first time I used oatmeal. Does oatmeal do anything to slow that down?

I am formulating a theory. I've been casting the trub and extra runnings into a third pot for salvage. It has been making really good beer.

I put the last running I let drip through the wee hous of the morning into a pot added about 50 percent more water - cascade hops and boiled it - a smidge more just before flame out...

I have two regular buckets and a third fermentinng bucket now, for a grand total of 15 gallons post boil.

Why would sitting on the trub make a beer any mellower? That's the word I'd use. They seem clearer also?

Hmmmn, It just occurred to me. I have no freakin' idea what this should finish at!

Dammit.

OK, I ran it through beersmith a while back. I think it should have finished around 1.012 ish. I racked to secondary, took a reading two of the three buckets were at 1.014, one was at 1.020 - and actually still bubbbling quite nicely in stand tube for my htgrometer. I decided to mix all three of them together.

I poured thm in thirds. ...an old friend told me he aerated beer during fermentation. This will be a first for me.

Decided I'd wait and see if the SG drops a little more. All three buckets were at about 1.016.

Wish me luck.

Major screw-up. Called a neighbor who bottles because I didn't have enough caps. He ran some over and helped bottle while sampling. He had an awesome Steam Anchor BTW.

...long story short, I forgot to add priming sugar. :-(

I may re-bottle this. I was going for a big heavy-duty head.

Dang.

Keep up the good work. It's interesting to read through your process. I ran out of priming sugar the last time I bottled as well. Had to resort to a few ounces of table sugar. Beer came out alright though.

My wife wanted to share this with her co-workers. I was fairly apprehensive at first. It started out harsh and tanic tasting with very little short lived fizzy head.

The head is starrting to have slightly more duration. The beer is mellowing out quite nicely too.

...maybe I will share some.

I'm starting to get a reputaion around town because I like to share my homebrew - its fun.

A bottle of this was dragged to her office, sat in a fridge for a few years and brought back home. It aged marvelously. It gained hints of raisins, whiskey and oak. I shared the last bomber with a friend whom I knew would appreciate it.

She no longer works at that company. Now I should make one for her new endeavor, Funktion Design Studio.

Dynachrome said:

..other thoughts. It doesn't smell like anything I've brewed before. It's pretty mellow - kind of caramelly and full - the hops aren't overpowering.

Added maltodextrin right at the end of the boil.

Also the sparges were really slow. This was the first time I used oatmeal. Does oatmeal do anything to slow that down?

Click to expand...

Nothing strange about your observations. Bock wort is on the malty side, especially if you mash with a higher temperature. Sparging will be more time intensive when you use wheat or oats because both tend to thicken your mash.
Brew calculators can be a good way to estimate attenuation and compare different yeasts. Malty beers with higher starting gravities can suffer stalled fermentations, especially if you underpitch with less attenuative yeasts, so choose well and pitch correctly.

Dynachrome said:

A bottle of this was dragged to her office, sat in a fridge for a few years and brought back home. It aged marvelously. It gained hints of raisins, whiskey and oak. I shared the last bomber with a friend whom I knew would appreciate it.

She no longer works at that company. Now I should make one for her new endeavor, Funktion Design Studio.

Click to expand...

One question.
How did extended refrigerator aging affect carbonation and foam retention on this? I love porters and stouts with a healthy dose of oats and have found they keep a nicer foam stand served chilled, but not cold.
Spoetzl Brewery's Shiner Bock is a good commercial example of a mild, neutral bock that doesn't keep a foamy head. Curious how yours turned out.

It was a very good beer from the reviews of my friends. I honestly don't know how the one bomber survived.

It was a Mai Boch from recollection "The Best of BREW Your Own" 250 Classic Clone Recipies."

It was in the fridge for most of three years and in my closet fora bout another 1-1/2. It had a lot of character. It got fruity. It tasted like raisins. I really enjoyed the difference from the original young beer.