My Maibock Recipe (partial)

[vitrael]

Going to be brewing a Maibock style ale this weekend that's somewhere between the Northern Brewer kit (actually a lager) and Yooper's Dead Guy clone. This is my first self-designed recipe so please let me know if I am doing anything really stupid, eg, is this too much crystal? Too much carapils? Not enough Munich? Etc etc.

Only the Munich needs to be mashed, but the 2-row is in there as well to get the target gravity and IBU using commonly available sizes of LME and provide some freshness. The 2L starter is a little big but the yeast is allegedly slow to start and highly flocculant.

Hopville link: http://hopville.com/recipe/711921/maibock-helles-bock-recipes/americanized-maibock

Vital stats:
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Original Gravity 1.074 / 18.0° Plato
Final Gravity 1.023 / 5.8° Plato
Color 12° SRM / 24° EBC (Copper to Red/Lt. Brown)
Mash Efficiency 65%
36 IBU

Fermentables
% LB OZ MALT OR FERMENTABLE °L
72% 9 2 Malt Extract Syrup 4°L
8% 1 0 American Two-row Pale 2°L
8% 1 0 Belgian Caramel Pils 8°L
8% 1 0 Briess Munich Malt 10°L
8% 1 0 American Crystal 20L 20°L

Hops
boil 60 mins 1.0oz Pearle leaf 8.0%AA
boil 15 mins 2.0oz Hersbrucker leaf 4.0%AA
boil 5 mins 1.0oz Saaz leaf 3.5%AA

Wyeast 1338 European Ale
1/2 Whirlfloc Tablet

Instructions:

Make 2L starter of the Wyeast 1338
Mash together all grains at 152F for 60 minutes.
Boil per schedule, cool to 65F and pitch starter.
Ferment @ 65F for 2 weeks

 

[smagee]

I'm not sure if you need a pound of both crystal *and* the belgian caramel; that seems like a lot to me, but I'm not terribly proficient at Maibock recipes. Otherwise doesn't look bad at all .

 

[Yooper]

I'd get rid of the amber extract- it's too dark and "carmelly". I'd replace it with the light or pale extract. I'd also use one crystal malt- choose either the Belgian crystal OR the US crystal, but not both! Two pounds of crystal malt plus an amber extract would be very cloying and sweet, not Maibock-like.

 

[vitrael]

I was under the impression the Belgian Carapils was primarily for body and foam and not flavor. If its similar enough to crystal 40 I would probably cut the crystal 40 first--I'm way more likely to use it in something else.

Carapils is dextrine malt, right? Does it also have caramelly flavor?

I just checked the LME I'm using and it's 4L, not 10L, so I have changed that.

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[vitrael]

According to the vendor, the Belgian Carapils I have is 4L and has a very light caramel flavor, and is primarily used for its high dextrin content. So maybe if I just back off the Crystal (half a pound?) I will get the desired profile.