My bock is cloyingly sweet

[aceluby]

Recipe:
6 lbs munich
6 lbs Pilsner
2.5 lbs vienna
1 lbs crystal 60

1 oz saaz @ 60
1 oz saaz @ 30

90 min mash at 152F, 90 min boil. Fermented with a jar of repitched 34/70, fermented for two weeks, lagered for 4 weeks.

This is my first time brewing the style and the first time I can remember even trying the style. I know this recipe is known as a desert beer, so I’m wondering if the hops given provide enough bitterness for the malt bill, or if this is just the style.

The second question I have is how I should go about “fixing” it. Everything I’ve read says these beers get better with age, so just try a glass ever week or so until its good, or could/should I fix it now and boil another ounce is saaz for an hour and add the water to the keg?

 

[DBhomebrew]

OG, FG, hops' AA? After 2 weeks, did you observe a repeated FG value? Over how many days?

 

[AlexKay]

I never try to fix a beer, just make the decision to drink or dump. It does sound like you need more bitterness, and adding some well-boiled hop tea might work. Or make another batch that's over-bitter, and blend.

In terms of adjusting for next time, bring the crystal down or cut it completely. (There will inevitably be people who come to post in this thread that will tell you that the only things that should ever be in a bock are Pils, Vienna, or Munich. I'm not one of those people, and like a little DRC in mine, and maybe some chocolate rye, but certainly if things are too sweet this is an easy place to make a change.)

Saaz can be anywhere from 2 to 5% AA. If your Saaz is on the low end, you're looking at ~15 IBU for a decently big beer. Aim for 25-30 next time; I'd recommend getting there with Magnum @ 60, and then throw your ounce of Saaz in at 5 or 10.

 

[aceluby]

Saaz is 3.3, so I think I might be on the low end.

 

[Airborneguy]

Nothing about the recipe screams cloying. Could be something in your process (numbers would help, as asked above), or your personal taste.

 

[DBhomebrew]

6.5% caramel in a big gravity, low IBU beer seems like a lot to me.

2wks may not have reached full attenuation.

After 2 weeks, did you observe a repeated FG value? Over how many days?

 

[bracconiere]

Nothing about the recipe screams cloying.

i thought crystal 60 in of it's self was shunned? 1lb in what i guess is a 5 gallon batch?

 

[Airborneguy]

i thought crystal 60 in of it's self was shunned? 1lb in what i guess is a 5 gallon batch?

I wouldn’t use it. It’s not to style but I hate commenting from that angle. I just don’t see that much as enough for this recipe to be inherently cloying.

Revisiting the hops though, that could be the culprit. Saaz is low aa and there’s not much in there.

I use 3oz of Hallertau in mine, all at 60.

 

[DBhomebrew]

We don't know OG. We don't know volume. We don't know whether attenuation is complete, within range. It's all spitballing without any of that.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

i thought crystal 60 in of it's self was shunned?

FWIW, AHA forums recently had a polite topic on recipe design using crystal malts.

 

[BrewMan13]

While not necessarily the culprit, I like to let my lagers ferment and lager for far longer than you did, with a long d-rest in between.
I wouldn't personally monkey with it at this point, maybe let it lager longer, and chalk it up to lessons learned.

 

[mac_1103]

FWIW, AHA forums recently had a polite topic on recipe design using crystal malts.

Polite? I'm sorry but that's just completely unacceptable.

 

[aceluby]

Just got back to this thread. So here are some other missing details (and here I thought I was asking a good question, shows me...)

1. This is a 5 gallon batch
2. I'm a heathen and this is warm fermented around 68 the entire time. 34/70 doesn't seem to mind and it usually ferments out pretty quickly in those temps for all the other lagers, pilsners, and marzens I've done (one of which was a 9% imperial lager)
3. Being the ever lazy heathen, I didn't take OG or FG. I feel like I was lucky I wrote the recipe down, which is the real lesson I'm learning here. If I brew a style I'm not familiar with, write everything down like I did in the beginning and take good measurements. Hard to get help without it, so I appreciate those that tried.

I couldn't imagine myself drinking the beer as-is, and if I'm going to dump it I might as well give a try to save it. Last night I made myself a little hop tea with 1/2 ounce of 13% columbus. Poured that into the keg last night, purged it, and gave it a try this morning. It was significantly better. Still a fairly sweet beer, but it finishes better instead of just more sweet. So I think my issue was that the hops I had are a smaller AA% than the recipe I was using. Another thing I need to do is if I get a recipe online, write down the url where I got it from. I couldn't locate it anywhere.

Lots to learn still, so appreciate all the help and feedback.