American maibock--anyone tried it?

[diesel_88]

I love classic German styles and am trying to convert my American Light Lager-loving-friends over to the rich maltiness. Got a wild hair and came up with an American/German hybrid maibock recipe. Anyone else ever tried this?

Will post the recipe if it turns out.

 

[Yooper]

I have! I called it MY-bock, since it wasn't a German maibock but was really good!

 

[Cyclman]

Did you use any noble hops, or all American? I love the spiciness of some of the German hops in a Maibock. OTOH, I love all bocks, so maybe I need to try this!

 

[sfgoat]

I have also done it using liberty hops and it was really good.

 

[diesel_88]

Got it bubbling away in primary. Not sure about results, but here's the recipe so far (will update when finished):

Just Frühling Around
American Maibock

By weight:

• American 6-row 30%
• German pilsner 30%
• Munich 30%
• Flaked rice 30%

2-step infusion mash:

• Step 1 @125 for 20 min, 0.35 gal/lb
• Step 2 @151 for 90 min (boiling water addition)

Boil 90 min

Hops: Mt. Hood, 7.1% AA, 4.7 grams/finished gal for 60 min; (22 IBU; probably too low, given the too-high OG. But given the rice to lighten flavor, maybe OK)

OG 1.070 (too high; shooting for 1.063. Got tired and screwed up calculations.)

Yeast: WL833 (German Bock) washed from last Spring's Maibock

FG: TBD. (Wanted 6.5% ABV, but looks like it will hit closer to 7)

 

[NewBrewB]

Guess it didn't turn out so well? No update/results.

 

[harrydrez]

Might still be lagering.

 

[diesel_88]

Guess it didn't turn out so well? No update/results.

Sorry, I haven't been back to this fine website for quite some time. And I'm not really sure why. I offer penance.

In fact, my American Maibock turned out really well, as I remember it. I'm going to try it again brew-after-next, using Horizon instead of Mt. Hood, and trying again for my lower OG.

 

[diesel_88]

I used Horizon instead of Mt. Hood for this second iteration, which just went into the secondary. FG was 1.008--surprisingly low--putting ABV at about 7%. Hydrometer taste test was quite promising; looking forward to the first bottle in about six weeks!

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

Curious, why six row?

 

[chri5]

Curious, why six row?

Diastatic power for all that rice.

 

[chri5]

Just Frühling Around
American Maibock

By weight:

• American 6-row 30%
• German pilsner 30%
• Munich 30%
• Flaked rice 30%

2-step infusion mash:

• Step 1 @125 for 20 min, 0.35 gal/lb
• Step 2 @151 for 90 min (boiling water addition)

Boil 90 min

Hops: Mt. Hood, 7.1% AA, 4.7 grams/finished gal for 60 min; (22 IBU; probably too low, given the too-high OG. But given the rice to lighten flavor, maybe OK)

OG 1.070 (too high; shooting for 1.063. Got tired and screwed up calculations.)

Yeast: WL833 (German Bock) washed from last Spring's Maibock

FG: TBD. (Wanted 6.5% ABV, but looks like it will hit closer to 7)

SO is it the using of mt hood instead of something like hallertauer what makes this an american maibock? Was the mt hood choice because it is similar to hallertauer/tettnanger, or availability?

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

Diastatic power for all that rice.

D'oh, completely missed the rice.

Also read this as "diastatic power, for one" the first three times.

I should sleep once in a while. o.o

 

[diesel_88]

SO is it the using of mt hood instead of something like hallertauer what makes this an american maibock? Was the mt hood choice because it is similar to hallertauer/tettnanger, or availability?

Mt. Hood in my original recipe was for its similarity to German noble styles, and it made a good brew. But it's AA was a little on the low side, so I wanted to use a true bittering hop for the second try. I have read that Horizon is similar to Magnum, so I went with it. Since the recipe only uses a bittering addition, there won't be a whole lot of hop character to mess around with, so I expect little difference.

The "American" part comes from mixing in American hops and grain--the grand post-prohibition tradition of six-row barley with adjuncts.

 

[diesel_88]

D'oh, completely missed the rice.

The rice and six-row is a nod to post-Prohibition American lager. Helps lighten the brew up for our non-beer enthusiast friends. Haven't yet tried it on them, however!

 

[chri5]

The "American" part comes from mixing in American hops and grain--the grand post-prohibition tradition of six-row barley with adjuncts.

I obviously noticed the rice, but didn't make that connection. . Thanks for clarifying.