For Bock's sake

[Bertramus]

I have been looking at brewing up a bock for a while now but have been put off by the whole faff that is decoction mashing.

So my question is, does anyone out there have good experience of brewing bocks? And, if so, what sort of step mash will get close to the uber maltiness of the traditional decoction.

Basic recipe;

Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
Batch size: 19.0 l
Boil volume: 30.0 l
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.018
Bitterness (IBU): 26.5
Color (SRM): 10.6
ABV: 7.0%

Grain/Sugars:

3.00 kg Weyermann Light Munich, 50.0%
2.00 kg Weyermann Dark Munich, 33.3%
1.00 kg CaraPils, 16.7%

Hops:

20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 60 min, 8.1 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 60 min, 7.6 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 30 min, 5.8 IBU
20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 20 min, 4.9 IBU

 

[jmcquesten]

I have been looking at brewing up a bock for a while now but have been put off by the whole faff that is decoction mashing.

So my question is, does anyone out there have good experience of brewing bocks? And, if so, what sort of step mash will get close to the uber maltiness of the traditional decoction.

Basic recipe;

Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
Batch size: 19.0 l
Boil volume: 30.0 l
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.018
Bitterness (IBU): 26.5
Color (SRM): 10.6
ABV: 7.0%

Grain/Sugars:

3.00 kg Weyermann Light Munich, 50.0%
2.00 kg Weyermann Dark Munich, 33.3%
1.00 kg CaraPils, 16.7%

Hops:

20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 60 min, 8.1 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 60 min, 7.6 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 30 min, 5.8 IBU
20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 20 min, 4.9 IBU

Melanoidin malt will give you the same effects as a decoction mash (or close enough).

 

[TheMadKing]

Melanoidin malt will give you the same effects as a decoction mash (or close enough).

I can second this. I'm currently drinking a doppelbock I made by substituting melanoiden malt for a decoction mash and it came out great! Very thick and malty

 

[BigEd]

I have been looking at brewing up a bock for a while now but have been put off by the whole faff that is decoction mashing.

So my question is, does anyone out there have good experience of brewing bocks? And, if so, what sort of step mash will get close to the uber maltiness of the traditional decoction.

Basic recipe;

Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
Batch size: 19.0 l
Boil volume: 30.0 l
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.018
Bitterness (IBU): 26.5
Color (SRM): 10.6
ABV: 7.0%

Grain/Sugars:

3.00 kg Weyermann Light Munich, 50.0%
2.00 kg Weyermann Dark Munich, 33.3%
1.00 kg CaraPils, 16.7%

Hops:

20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 60 min, 8.1 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 60 min, 7.6 IBU
15.00 g Tettnanger (AA 4.0%, Pellet) 30 min, 5.8 IBU
20.00 g Hallertauer (AA 3.2%, Pellet) 20 min, 4.9 IBU

Before commenting on your questions I'm going to make some suggestions on the recipe. Dark Munich is going to make the beer darker than a Maibock. If that doesn't matter leave it in, the beer will still taste good but more like a traditional doppelbock. I like CaraPils but 16+% is way too much IMO. If you want some keep it to 5% or less, maybe 3%? The high OG from the rich base malts should provide plenty of body. If you do decide you want more the lighter color of a Maibock, consider using a majority of Vienna malt backed up with light Munich and/or Pilsner malts.

Re mashing, a multi-step mash is not going to replicate the results of a decoction because without the boiling of the mash fractions the compounds created by decocting that influence color & flavor will not be there. Yes you can add a little melanoidin malt and, yes, it will add some malty effects not in the base malt but it will not be the same results obtained by decoction. That said you can do a simple one-temp mash here and make a great tasting beer.

Here's my basic Maibock recipe which has always met with approval from my beer drinking friends.

10 US gallons (~38 L)

8 lbs Pilsner malt (34%; ~3.6 Kg)
15 lbs Vienna malt (64%; ~6.8 Kg)
.5 lb CaraFoam malt (2%; ~225g)

3 oz (85g) Spalter @ 60 min
1 oz (28g) Spalter @ 30 min

 

[Bertramus]

Nice, thanks guys. What do you recommend switching out for the melanoidin?

 

[Bertramus]

Big Ed, that is a very helpful contribution, thank you. The maibock/Helles bock is just a naming issue within software. I am looking to produce a dunkelbock as opposed to a dopplebock. Your reasoning makes total sense, however. I don't think there is a short cut to proper bock maltiness.

 

[Bertramus]

PS, what is Spalter?

 

[BigEd]

PS, what is Spalter?

German hops, Alpha Acid: 3.5% Aroma hop with mild, pleasant,
and slightly spicy notes.

Typical Brewing Style: Lager, Pilsner, Bock, Alt,
Kalsch, and Munich Helles.

 

[JimRausch]

Ok, here's my (relatively)easy decoction:
Mash in at 147, after 10 minutes take out 3 qt. of thick mash. Raise that to 157 and hold there for 10 minutes, then boil for 10 minutes before returning to the main mash. This will raise the main mash to 157. Hold there for 20 minutes and mash out. Only increases the total mash time to 75 minutes.
I use a 5G Denny-style picnic cooler for a mashtun and fill it to the 5G brim, so devised this decoction method to do a stepmash.
By the way, my Bock last year, using this method, earned a gold medal at the Boston Homebrew Competition.

 

[Bertramus]

Many thanks all, everyone has been very helpful and given me good for thought.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

My advice is (unless you are pressed for time) to give the decoction a go - the beer may or may not be better (I think it is...but I might be biased) but the process is easy and fun. It takes a LONG time but the day is kind of slow and relaxed, and the smells from the decoction are awesome!

 

[JimRausch]

My advice is (unless you are pressed for time) to give the decoction a go - the beer may or may not be better (I think it is...but I might be biased) but the process is easy and fun. It takes a LONG time but the day is kind of slow and relaxed, and the smells from the decoction are awesome!

It's true that while the decoction is boiling I want to grab a bowl, spoon and some milk. There was a hot cereal when I was growing up called Wheatena that smelled just like the decoction boiling. Memories.....