Maibock

[Yooper]

If I don't have to work tomorrow, I'm going to brew. I love maibocks, so I thought I'd better start one pretty quick if it's going to be ready this spring. Here's my plan: View attachment maibock.bsm

For you lager experts, how does that look?

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I'm no expert, but it looks good. I like that you're doing a decoction. Makes a big difference in German lagers, IMHO.

 

[Kaiser]

For you lager experts, how does that look?

You are getting most of your color from the crystal 80. Though this will work, it will not give you the maltiness you may want to have in that beer.

I brewed my last Maibock with 60% Pilsner and 40% light Munich. This year I will go with 80% Pils and 20% dark Munich, b/c I'm out of the light Munich and will have to buy a new bag eventually. Though this is a personal preference, I'd say it's closer to how Maibocks are done in Germany, though there are probably a few examples that are brewed with almost 100% Pils and then colored with darker malts.

As for the decoction, if you plan to decoct from Protein to Saccrification, keep the protein rest at 133 *F and pull the decoction after 10 min. The main mash will be sitting at this rest for a long time and you don't want it to sit there at a low protein rest temp unless you really have undermodified malt. If you have time, you can also give this mash schedule a try. This is the schedule I now always used instead of a triple decoction. It's faster than that and easier on the proteins while still boiling a lot of the mash.

For fermentation make sure you keep the primary fermentation temps close to 46 *F or at least below 50 *F. For that you will need a healthy pitch of yeast (about 5-6 oz of sediment or thick slurry) otherwise it will take a long time to finish. The low temp is so the yeast doesn't produce to much higher alcohols. Though I had a few commercial German Bocks that had a sharp alcohol finish, I don't consider them a good example of the style.

Kai

 

[Bernie Brewer]

glad someone answered that actually knows what they're talking about.:cross:

Thanks Kai.

 

[Yooper]

As for the decoction, if you plan to decoct from Protein to Saccrification, keep the protein rest at 133 *F and pull the decoction after 10 min. The main mash will be sitting at this rest for a long time and you don't want it to sit there at a low protein rest temp unless you really have undermodified malt. If you have time, you can also give this mash schedule a try. This is the schedule I now always used instead of a triple decoction. It's faster than that and easier on the proteins while still boiling a lot of the mash.

For fermentation make sure you keep the primary fermentation temps at or below 50 *F. You don't want the yeast to produce higher alcohols. Though I had a few commercial German Bocks that had a sharp alcohol finish, I don't consider them a good example of the style.

Kai

Exactly what I needed, Kai, thanks! I don't have a way to change the grain bill out here in the sticks, but I can definitely change the decoction. Thank you so much!

Temperature control is not a problem for me, so I was planning on keeping it at just about 50 degrees or a hair under. Again, thanks so much!

Lorena

 

[Kaiser]

Exactly what I needed, Kai, thanks! I don't have a way to change the grain bill out here in the sticks, but I can definitely change the decoction.

Well, next time you can try a different grist.

I'm not sure if you are buying you malt in bulk. But most German lagers, especially the southern German ones, benefit by treating Munich malt as a signficant part of the base malt rather than a specialty malt.

I have once read the suggestion to use Pale Malt as the base for a beer and get the color through specialty malts. That might be true for American and English style beers and work well for the mirco brewer or home brewer who doesn't want to keep 4+ types of base malt handy, but many German styles (especially Bocks, Dunkels and Alts) should not be brewed like this (IMHO).

I have to get some of my more honed recipes posted here.

Kai

 

[Yooper]

Well, next time you can try a different grist.

I'm not sure if you are buying you malt in bulk. But most German lagers, especially the southern German ones, benefit by treating Munich malt as a signficant part of the base malt rather than a specialty malt.

I have once read the suggestion to use Pale Malt as the base for a beer and get the color through specialty malts. That might be true for American and English style beers and work well for the mirco brewer or home brewer who doesn't want to keep 4+ types of base malt handy, but many German styles (especially Bocks, Dunkels and Alts) should not be brewed like this (IMHO).

I have to get some of my more honed recipes posted here.

Kai

I'd love to try some of your proven recipes. I don't buy in bulk- I buy it as I need it either online or at a LHBS 150 miles away. So, I plan my brews in advance, and then brew three or four times in a couple of weeks. I've used Munich malt in several recipes in the past, and would really like to use more of it. Thanks for the input!