Bock vs. Mild for a Juniper Rye beer

[jovis]

Can anyone spell out the difference between a bock and a dark mild?

I'm looking a making the juniper rye bock from Radical Brewing, but not sure I want to deal with the time and hassle of lagering the beer. I could just use German Ale Yeast and ferment in the low 60s, but I was wondering if a Mild was similar enough to a bock that I could switch the malt bill and hops and come out with a moderately similar flavor - or at least a beer that would showcase the rye and juniper in the same way as the bock from Radical Brewing.

Any thoughts?

 

[Pie_Man]

No, a bock and a mild are not very similar, except maybe in color. Bocks are much stronger than Milds and way more malty in flavor. Milds are low alcohol English brown ales with a very subtle flavor.

If you are using a German ale yeast instead of a lager strain, but keeping the grain bill the same, it's probably more of an Altbier than a Mild. Either way, you are brewing a Bock beer with juniper and rye, so you can call it whatever you want.

Here's a link to the BJCP style guidelines that should better explain the style differences: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php
Bocks - Category 5 | Milds - Category 11 | Altbiers - Category 7

 

[Piratwolf]

If you decide to go with a mild, I have three suggestions for you.
1. Keep the roast level low--maybe a pale mild rather than a dark? Or at least a lower lovibond chocolate malt & avoid black patent and similar grains. There's a chocolate rye malt out there , now that I think of it.

2. With the really low ABV,you'll probably want to keep the juniper additions modest as well. I intensify the maltiness of my milds by pulling off a gallon, boiling it down to 1/2 gal, and adding it background the main boil. Even with that, however, I think you'll want to keep the juniper kinda low.

3. Consider using wlp023 Burton Ale yeast. I tend to go with 007, but I think the faint sulfur notes & low fruitiness of 023 will play better with the juniper & rye.

Let us know what you go with & how it turns out, please!

 

[jovis]

Thanks for the feedback! Based on that, I think I'll stick with the bock style and just go ahead and lager the thing with a lager yeast - got to try it sometime right?