Shout-out to Ken for a great recipe. I brewed it on the 5th, OG = 1.052. FG today 1.010. I didn’t have the nobel hops so substituted for what I had on hand: Fuggles and S. Golding.
As usual, I tasted my FG sample and must report that Ken’s recipe with my substitutions have produced an excellent beer. Ok, no carb yet and it will go into lagering tonight but IME when the very young FG sample is delicious, the final is mo-delicious. Imagine if I’d followed the recipe exactly.
Thank you ken.
Oh, next time (and there will be a next time) I’ll brew hop it with noble hops.
Stormy: That is my next beer. I have 2308 ready to make a starter with and when (if?) it warms up around here, I’m making it. I think I’m using Magnum for bittering and Hallertau for the later addition. Also… I did a little homework on this beer recently because my inspiration for this beer was Shiner Bock. I found a bunch of homebrewing forum posts about making “Shiner Bock” and a bunch of them said that First Gold hops were in it. Why would a bock beer made in Texas have First Gold hops? When I go to the Shiner site, it says that Shiner Bock is made with Noble hops so I don’t get it. Anyway, I plan to make it and have it ready by spring. Glad to hear it’s looking and tasting good so far. Cheers Brother.
I have to chime in with StormyBrew here… I have made several of Kens recipes and have yet to be disappointed. I even won first place in our clubs Oktoberfest competition following his recipie. The man has some talent for throwing together beer recipes.
I will be trying his Yuengling clone here maybe even tonight (I brewed it on 12-15) and kegged it over the weekend. Can’t wait to see how that one has turned out!
:cheers: to Ken… his website has inspired and helped me tremendously.
I also have the Yuengling clone ready to go. It’s in a keg and was carbed within the last couple of weeks. It’s the second time I made it and the first time it was a little “pale” but the flavor was good. This one should have a little more color to it. Cheers.
[quote=“StormyBrew”]I’m proud to be a kenfanboy.
[/quote]
:lol:
Well, the good news for you is that you’re one of a few. Maybe when the Imperial-this, the Bourbon-Barrel that and the Funked-up Sour Belgian thing all fall away people will remember the simpler recipes! Cheers gang.
[quote=“Ken Lenard”][quote=“StormyBrew”]I’m proud to be a kenfanboy.
[/quote]
:lol:
Well, the good news for you is that you’re one of a few. Maybe when the Imperial-this, the Bourbon-Barrel that and the Funked-up Sour Belgian thing all fall away people will remember the simpler recipes! Cheers gang.[/quote]
Ken - there’s a lot more of us than you may think. Lovenbeer summed it up perfectly in the conclusion to his post.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I would love to see your take on a helles or traditional german bock on the great Mayfair Court website. Just saying in case you are considering additions to your site. Cheers and thanks again from a kenfanboy…
[quote=“jeebeel”][quote=“Ken Lenard”][quote=“StormyBrew”]I’m proud to be a kenfanboy.
[/quote]
:lol:
Well, the good news for you is that you’re one of a few. Maybe when the Imperial-this, the Bourbon-Barrel that and the Funked-up Sour Belgian thing all fall away people will remember the simpler recipes! Cheers gang.[/quote]
Ken - there’s a lot more of us than you may think. Lovenbeer summed it up perfectly in the conclusion to his post.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I would love to see your take on a helles or traditional german bock on the great Mayfair Court website. Just saying in case you are considering additions to your site. Cheers and thanks again from a kenfanboy…[/quote]
I do have a helles on there but I bet it could be updated with some other information. In fact, some pieces of my site could use some new information. I appreciate the thoughts for sure.
Oh, and by the way… when I mentioned Imperial-this, bourbon-barrel-that falling away, etc., I mean no disrespect to those who like it. My angle has always been MAKE WHAT YOU LIKE. But the softer styles usually get beaten up on, especially by homebrewers. I can go out and have a nice IIPA and enjoy it. I just don’t want 5 gallons of it at home. Cheers Beerheads!
I almost never put high gravity beers into my kegorator and by far the vast majority of beers I make are right around 1.050 O.G. Like most homebrewers when I started (lo 25-30 years ago) I made my fair share of jet fuel. Now however, I appreicate nuance and frankly I think it takes more skill to make a really good lower gravity brew over a really big hoppy beast. I make primarily English and German beers and I guess after all that brewing and all those styles, if I were to choose just one it would probably be an English Best Bitter (of course vanilla is my favorite ice cream). Fortunately thank the good lord, I don’t have to make that choice.
When I mentioned my interest in seeing your take on a helles or traditional bock, I should have been clearer in saying a helles bock or a traditional bock (given your skill with german styles). Not an american 8-9% version (that may he overhopped), but a german one: 6.5 or so %, appropriate hops. True to style like the rest of your lagers.
I say this out of self-interest as these are one of my favorite styles and I have 2 kegs of these lagering for the next couple of months. I bet a Mayfair maibock would be great…
When I mentioned my interest in seeing your take on a helles or traditional bock, I should have been clearer in saying a helles bock or a traditional bock (given your skill with german styles). Not an american 8-9% version (that may he overhopped), but a german one: 6.5 or so %, appropriate hops. True to style like the rest of your lagers.
I say this out of self-interest as these are one of my favorite styles and I have 2 kegs of these lagering for the next couple of months. I bet a Mayfair maibock would be great…[/quote]
Hmm. I like the sound of that. I was noodling with a traditional bock awhile back and looked at some recipe sites, books, BJCP guidelines and took my own tastes into consideration too. I never made this beer but I have the recipe laid out as …
[b]Mayfair Court Traditional Bock
7 lbs Best Malz Pilsner
6 lbs best Malz Munich 10L
6 ounces Belgian CaraMunich 45L
4 ounces Biscuit
7.2 AAU of Northern Brewer pellets (I could see Magnum here too) for 60
½ oz Perle pellets for 15 mins
½ oz Hallertau or Hersbrucker pellets for 10
Wyeast 2206 Bavarian or 2124 Bohemian lager yeast
I would mash at 150° or so single infusion and probably dilute my water (a personal thing) 25% with distilled, make sure my Ca was at 50ppm and use a balanced water profile or possibly one that slightly favored chlorides. The hops could be anything but they should be German. I like German Magnum for bittering because it’s got a high AA% and it’s so darn clean. I could see Spalt and Tettnanger being used here in the flavor or aroma additions as well as Northern Brewer, Magnum or Tradition for the bittering. Lots of options here including the yeast. The 2206 would create a deeper, maltier beer while the 2124 would be a little “brighter”. 2308 would actually be an option as well and if you include that then you also have 830, 838 and maybe even 820. Cheers Jeebeel!
[quote=“Ken Lenard”][quote=“StormyBrew”]I’m proud to be a kenfanboy.
[/quote]
:lol:
Well, the good news for you is that you’re one of a few. Maybe when the Imperial-this, the Bourbon-Barrel that and the Funked-up Sour Belgian thing all fall away people will remember the simpler recipes! Cheers gang.[/quote]
Geez Ken now people are going to start listening to 1) Denny 2) You 3) Someone else 100) Me… maybe! (Inside joke) :lol:
Well that’s excellent - ask Dr. Lenard and he delivers. No surprise there.
Thank you Ken, that beer looks tasty. And I appreciate the suggestions for substitutions. Will put this into my rotation with what I think will work best for my brewing process and tastes. :cheers:
[quote=“Loopie Beer”]
Geez Ken now people are going to start listening to 1) Denny 2) You 3) Someone else 100) Me… maybe! (Inside joke) :lol: [/quote]
LOL. Loopie, you’re killing me. You’re not 100. Your 97. Lulz.
[quote=“jeebeel”]Well that’s excellent - ask Dr. Lenard and he delivers. No surprise there.
Thank you Ken, that beer looks tasty. And I appreciate the suggestions for substitutions. Will put this into my rotation with what I think will work best for my brewing process and tastes. :cheers: [/quote]
Jeebeel: If you make this beer, please let me know how it comes out. I have 830 fermenting now and I just made a starter for 2308 this morning. Waiting patiently I have 2206, 2124, 940 and 2278 so I am loaded for bear on lager yeast. I would love to know how the bock comes out because I would make it (possibly with 2308 or 2206) as quickly as I have those ready so that it would be ready for spring… whenever that is. Cheers Brothers.
Quick question for you concerning the Traditional Bock recipe presented; without running that through brewing software that looks like it would come out pretty light to me (I’m guessing maybe cooper colored like an Oktoberfest maybe). Are you trying to get somewhere between a Helles Bock and the darker stuff with that one?
Just as an aside (and not to question the master or anything) but I would be sorely tempted to drop a bit of Melonodin malt in that and of course likely I would decoct. My problem with many Bock recipes I’ve seen is that the beer ends up way sweeter than I personally care for (I like my German biers on the dry side, fully attenuated). Yeah you want supper malty but sweet, not so much. This one looks like it should be on the dry end for the style which makes it attractive. I also really like what the bisquit malt does for beers and in fact put some in the Oktoberfest I’ve got lagering right now.
[quote=“Barley Water”]Quick question for you concerning the Traditional Bock recipe presented; without running that through brewing software that looks like it would come out pretty light to me (I’m guessing maybe cooper colored like an Oktoberfest maybe). Are you trying to get somewhere between a Helles Bock and the darker stuff with that one?
Just as an aside (and not to question the master or anything) but I would be sorely tempted to drop a bit of Melonodin malt in that and of course likely I would decoct. My problem with many Bock recipes I’ve seen is that the beer ends up way sweeter than I personally care for (I like my German biers on the dry side, fully attenuated). Yeah you want supper malty but sweet, not so much. This one looks like it should be on the dry end for the style which makes it attractive. I also really like what the bisquit malt does for beers and in fact put some in the Oktoberfest I’ve got lagering right now.[/quote]
SRM calculates to 16. The 6 lbs of Munich 10L plus the CaraMunich should get it close to that. The Munich should get it malty, the CaraMunich might leave behind some sweetness but the 150° mash temp should dry it out decently and if not, possible mash a little lower and/or use whichever yeast has the higher attenuation number. I use a little Biscuit and Aromatic in my Festbier too.
Ladies: I am making my American Bock right now. Mash is done, I’m recircing and my active starter of 2308 is licking it’s chops. 22° here right now and it feels like a day at the beach! Cheers!
Lulz.