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Recipe: Frühling Kommt Maibock
Big yet simple in its construction, this is a showcase of what clean ethanol flavors can add to a beer. Apple-like alcohols meld with the hop aroma and bready grist to yield a simple yet dangerous lager that’s anything but boring.
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ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.077 (18.7°P)
FG: 1.020 (5.1°P)
IBUs: 25
ABV: 8.2%
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ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.077 (18.7°P)
FG: 1.020 (5.1°P)
IBUs: 25
ABV: 8.2%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.7 lb (2.6 kg) German pilsner
5.7 lb (2.6 kg) Maris Otter
2.8 lb (1.3 kg) Munich (9°L)
HOPS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Mt. Hood at 60 minutes [17 IBUs]
1 oz (28 g) Mt. Hood at 15 minutes [8 IBUs]
YEAST
Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 152°F (67°C) for 75 minutes. Recirculate until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 50°F (10°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 3 days, then increase by 1–2°F (1°C) per day until you reach room temperature (68–70°F/20–21°C). Give it plenty of time—as long as 3 weeks—to complete fermentation. Crash to 35°F (2°C) for 48 hours, then package and carbonate to about 2.25 volumes of CO2. Lager cold for 6 weeks or more.
BREWER’S NOTES
Give this beer plenty of time to ferment and lager before you tap it—a rushed lager is often a bad lager, and maibock shows faults clearly. If the beer ends up tasting a bit too simple for you, increase the Munich at the expense of the pilsner, up to a max of 40 percent Munich and 20 percent pils (leaving the Maris Otter alone)—that should be plenty. If it isn’t, well, make a traditional bock instead—you’ll love it.
