So, for the 23rd anniversary of my first batch on Fri. I’m gonna brew a bock. Don’t think I’ve ever made one before. I’m basing it on what I have here since I won’t be going to the LHBS before brewing. Comments appreciated, and I’ll be happy to explain my choices if anyone wants to hear.
OG 1.072 25 IBU
16 lb. Mecca Grade Metolius (basically a dark Munich)
4 lb. Mecca Grade Pelton (pils)
4 oz. Special B
2 oz. Midnight Wheat
Mash at 155
2.7 oz. Hallertau Mitt 3.7% AA - 60 min.
1 oz. Hallertau Mitt 3.2% AA - 15 min.
Looks a rather conventional recipe, I bet it will be delicious. I don’t think my palate would be able to discern only 4oz of Special B against all that dark munich maltiness, but it’s not out of place. Save me a half-liter.
Thanks to you both. Pretty much every recipe I looked at for reference had caramunich and Spec B is as close as I’ve got on hand. Thought about adding some rye, but I’m about to keg a rye APA so I figured I’d play it straight on this one. Spec B has such a strong flavor that I decided I’d rather be light than heavy.
That looks very much in the right ballpark to me Denny. Pretty similar to the recipe I developed for our club to brew last year and it turned out delicious and definitely on target for style. It seems that in using the ingredients on hand you’re making small substitutions for what might be a tad more traditional - should be tasty nonetheless.
Yeah, Drew said he wouldn’t use the Spec B because it ws Belgian (and he doesn’t care for it). I don’t care if it’s traditional or not. I mean, I have Mecca Grade malt in there! What I want is tasty and something to counterbalance all the IPA I have on hand.
Same here. I’d be more likely to use sub in something like C60 in place of the CaraMunich if needed. Special B is pretty distinctive. I don’t doubt it will be good, but if it were my bock I’d go with a different crystal.
What’s your batch size, a quarter pound of Spec B (what, ~1%?) doesn’t seem like it would be that out of place…IMO. Being the only Caramel malt, with plenty of Munich base to be the main component seems you will be getting just what you are looking for, maybe leaning a bit more Dopplebock.
I would have thought maybe a lower mash temp? Never brewed a Bock myself, just might need to some day.
As a reference point: There’s a Traditional Bock recipe in the brewing book the Brits refer to as “the Bible__*__” that has Special B in it. It has 350 gram (12 oz) in a 23 liter (6 gal) batch.
*Home Brew Beer: Master the Art of Brewing Your Own Beer. Greg Hughes. pg 92
I’ve brewed a variety of bocks over the years and for traditional and doppelbocks have gone with and without any crystal. I tend to prefer a small presence vs none at all. I’ve mostly used caramunich at the 60ish L range, but between 8 and 16 ozs in a 5G batch. I think that smaller amount of Special B will add some character, but should blend nicely with the Munich malt character. I don’t think it would stand out as odd. This style does have more breadth to it than what it would seem when choosing malts.
