Advice on Fruity Maibock

I think I'm about ready to make the purchase, but I wanted to get some last minute thoughts on this pseudo-maibock recipe. I'm going for a maibock with a nice fruit and vanilla note to it.

1.071 O.G.
1.020 F.G.
6.6% A.B.V
7 SRM
25 IBU

Mash at 153F for 60 Minutes
66% Mash Efficiency
90 Min Boil

Grist
6.75 lbs Vienna (40.3%)
6 lbs German Pilsner (35.8%)
3.5 lbs Munich (20.9%)
0.5 lbs Carapils (3%)

Hops
Perle 0.5 oz (8%) 60 min
Perle 0.5 oz (5.5%) 20 min <-- Lower AA% because they are a little old
Spalter 0.5 oz (4.4%) 15 min
Perle 0.5 oz (8%) 7 min
Spalter 0.5 oz (4.4%) 7 min

Yeast
WLP810 - San Francisco Lager

I'll be fermenting around 66F as that is sort of the lowest I can go with my brewhouse. This is also why I am using WLP810 instead of a traditional lager yeast.

Maibock isn't supposed to be fruity. Are you planning to add other ingredients? For the base recipe itself my suggestions would be to eliminate the Munich and replace with more Vienna & pils. Also kill the late hop additions @ 7 minutes, use Perle only for the first addition and the Spalter in the middle.

Aren't fruity maibocks supposed to be fruity? That seems to be what the OP wants. Speaking of which, where is the vanilla going to come from?

FarmerTed said:

Aren't fruity maibocks supposed to be fruity? That seems to be what the OP wants. Speaking of which, where is the vanilla going to come from?

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So WTH is a fruity Maibock? Is it something along the lines of a low alcohol barleywine?

Maybe consider using 1007 or 1728 and fermenting on the warm end of the spectrum to get your fruity notes? I did a northern altbier with 1007 a while back and when fermented at the top end of the scale it came out fruitier than I wanted (still decent, just not what I wanted). Maybe add the guts from a couple of vanilla pods to a secondary to get the profile you're looking for as well? It's an interesting idea.

I'm just trying to recreate the profile in possibly my favorite beer, Berkshire Brewing Company's Maibock. I get a lot of tropical fruit and a nice smooth subtle vanilla in the body. Keep in mind that I am not actually creating a maibock by definition. I've surrendered to that fact. I am merely trying to create something similar in style (body, bitterness, color, only German ingredients), but with a twist on it.

BigEd said:

So WTH is a fruity Maibock? Is it something along the lines of a low alcohol barleywine?

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Since you asked, I would say that it is a maibock with fruity characteristics, probably derived from the yeast or perhaps with a fruity hop like Nelson Sauvin.

Pacman yeast might also be a good choice for the beer, like in Dead Guy Ale.

scruff311 said:

I'm just trying to recreate the profile in possibly my favorite beer, Berkshire Brewing Company's Maibock. I get a lot of tropical fruit and a nice smooth subtle vanilla in the body. Keep in mind that I am not actually creating a maibock by definition. I've surrendered to that fact. I am merely trying to create something similar in style (body, bitterness, color, only German ingredients), but with a twist on it.

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Berkshire is a great microbrewery and I am friends with folks who work for Berkshire. Their Maibock is very good and while it is fermented with lager yeast it does have some ale characteristics, the fruitiness you mentioned particularly. I suspect this is because that while Berkshire does make lager beers with lager yeast they are predominantly an ale brewery and some of the house ale yeast flavors do come through even on their lagers. If you have the opportunity to drink a German made Maibock it will not have these "fruity" characteristics.