Modern Homebrew Recipes (34 page)

•
Maibock
– Think all
bocks
feature nothing but malt? This pale
bock
has a surprising spicy hop character to go along with all that Pils malt deliciousness.

•
Traditional Oktoberfest
– The classic amber Märzenbier is no longer the signature beer at the Munich festival but is still very recognizable to US consumers. Now it exists primarily as an export beer, and as a target that few American craft brewers are able to hit.

•
Modern Oktoberfest
– The modern golden festbier served at Oktoberfest, designed to be easier to drink in large quantities than the traditional amber version. A fun case study to compare this beer to the
helles
and the
maibock.

•
Rauchbock
– A smoked dark amber
bockbier
from Germany with a rich malt profile to balance the smoked malt character.

•
Schwarzbier
– A traditional black lager from Franconia. The black IPA of Germany. Not really, but can you think of a better way to get people to brew this style?

•
Traditional Bock
– Not all big malty German lagers need to be
doppelbocks.
Try a slightly smaller, more drinkable version for a change. This style is the original
bockbier
style from Einbeck, sometimes called Ur-Bock (original
bock
) or dunkles
bock
(dark bock).

•
Blonde doppelbock
– Not all
doppelbocks
are dark; some are golden in color. The malt profile of this recipe isn’t as deeply rich, but it’s still pretty intense.

DARK AMERICAN LAGER

I got excited about trying to make this style after trying a version at a book signing in New York City. Lee Jacobson brought a beer for me to try, and told me it was a dark American lager. I thought, “Cool, I don’t try those very often.” It was very good, so I asked about the recipe. He kind of got a sheepish look on his face and said, “it’s a cream ale with Sinamar.” I totally respect that move; he made a great beer in an unorthodox way. My kind of beer. What’s that got to do with this beer? Nothing really, except that it inspired me to come up with my own version.

Style:
International Dark Lager (New BJCP Style)

Description:
A lawn mower beer for night? A very easy to drink summer beer with low bitterness and a chocolate and caramel malt richness unusual in many more pedestrian commercial examples. The yeast further enhances the malty richness.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

147°F (64°C) 60 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) primary

34°F (1°C) lager

Sensory description:
Restrained roast, super smooth. Malty with low bitterness. Very well layered. Malt supports roast nicely. Like a schwarzbier without the bitterness. Medium body, dry finish. Light coffee-like character with zero harshness. Mild caramel richness in background. Very well balanced. Definitely a regular drinking beer that should be popular in almost any crowd.

Formulation notes:
Don’t rush the lagering; it makes a big difference with this yeast. I go with some extra flavor European malts for more interest than straight American two-row with specialty malts. I’m trying for big flavor, but al trying to maintain the balance of the style by going light on the bittering hops. The yeast is non-traditional for this style, but I like the added flavor and malt-forward balance it gives.

Variations:
This beer is pretty easy to adjust to your taste preferences. Add or remove hops, dark malts, or caramel malts. You can easily increase bitterness
or vary the gravity. If you want something more neutral, swap in American ingredients for the European ones, and use a yeast strain with less character.

NOTHING BUT VIENNA

Using all Vienna malt, this recipe packs a lot in the flavor department. A double decoction mash increases the color, maltiness, and efficiency (of the malt conversion, not of your brew day).

Style:
Vienna Lager (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
A recipe with one type of malt and hops, creates a smooth, toasty, malty, and balanced lager.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Double decoction mash

Mash rests:

144°F (62°C) 20 minutes

Pull thick decoction, rest 15 minutes at 158°F (70°C), then boil 20 minutes.

Remix to hit 154°F (68°C), rest 20 minutes.

Pull thick decoction, then boil 20 minutes.

Remix to hit 170°F (77°C), rest 5 minutes.

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) 2 weeks

32°F (0°C) 13 weeks

Sensory description:
Rich toasty malt palate with balanced bitterness, clean fermentation character, and a smooth finish. The body is medium and has a slightly creamy texture, but still seems fully attenuated. The taste is slightly malt forward with the bitterness rising towards the finish to meet it, while the aftertaste is balanced and clean.

Formulation notes:
The decoction is important for color development; the beer should be at least a golden-amber color. There are no late hops in this beer, but some could easily be added for extra complexity. A half ounce (14g) at 5 minutes would work. Since this recipe includes nothing but Vienna malt, it’s a good beer to use to compare the flavors from different maltsters.

Variations:
I once made this as a double batch with another homebrewer and miscalculated the volumes. We wound up with 1.063 wort. Fermented out, it was described by one judge as “malty as hell” but well-attenuated with a smooth palate and deceptive alcohol presence. I found that I could sometimes enter it as a
maibock
and have it do well. The bittering hops can be bumped up if you like, and some late hops can also be used (maybe try a hop burst or first wort hopping) to make this a SMaSH beer. It could even be brewed as a pseudo-lager using a neutral ale yeast followed by cold conditioning. I’m not sure I’d enter that in competition, but I’d certainly drink it.

MEXICAN VIENNA

Vienna lagers originated in Austria in the first half of the 1800s, and were brought to Mexico by European immigrants in the late 1800s. These beers survive today, although they have been radically changed into modern American (or International) adjunct lagers. Cuauhtémoc makes a winter seasonal beer called
Noche Buena
(Good Night, or Christmas Eve) that is basically a strong Vienna made with some adjuncts. The beer is labeled as
‘estilo Bock’ (bock
style), which might be a bit misleading unless it’s looked at solely as an indicator of strength. This recipe is inspired by that flavorful beer and sits at the absolute upper end of the BJCP International Amber Lager style.
Nochebuena
is also the name of the Poinsettia flower in Mexico, and that flower appears on the beer’s label.

Style:
International Amber Lager (New BJCP Style)

Description:
Toasty malt with caramel, mild richness, moderate bitterness, and a dry finish with slight corn sweetness.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

152°F (67°C) 60 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) primary