Munich Helles for Spring

Now you guys got me reading again. http://allaboutbeer.com/article/maibock-and-helles-bock/ I’m still not sure what it is. But according to this article I guess it’s a maibock. I put it in brewers friend recipe builder and the parameters were all met . I’ll just call it a pale bock. And as far as the late hops if they were fresh I’d probably halve them. Either way it’s a descent beer.

Hell’s bock! Sneezles61

hell_cat_bock

2 Likes

Starter has been in the fridge all day. Turns out a 3L starter will more than meet the needs of 5.5gals so hopefully it will finish in time to decant and pitch Wednesday. We have a big snow storm coming so I’ll shake it a lot to amuse myself if I’m snowbound tomorrow.

I’ve modified the recipe to just 9.25 lbs of pilsner malt and process based on discussion above and some research. I think I’m going to do a decoction but if I get up feeling lazy that day I’ll just do a step mash.

2 Likes

We got that snowstorm last night…9"

Looks like we have 5-6 now, still snowing lightly. About to head out and clear the driveway.

A couple of inches here in West Michigan.

zero, nary a flake, nada here in Cocoa Beach.

2 Likes

How do you lager your beer? In an electric refrigerator? How archaic.

2 Likes

Is there really cocoa trees there ? Sneezles61

Nope. Although they probably could grow here for awhile, our occasional cold snaps would do them in. It snowed here in 2010.

In case inquiring minds want to know, Nearby Cocoa, Florida was named after a cocoa powder box nailed to a piling that served as a mailbox for the USPS boats in the 1800’s.

Sorry, you asked :relaxed:

3 Likes

Absolutely not… I want to learn from others! Thank you! Sneezles61

1 Like

Very interesting! We used to live in Eau Gallie when I was a pup. Grandparents wintered there as well. Way back when dinosaurs walked the beach!

Eau Gallie has a great little brewery there now, Intracoastal Brewing Co. Probably the best local brewhouse.

Cool story Bro.

Seriously I love stuff like that. We did a sail boat cruise of the Galapagos Islands a fww years ago and one of the islands had a barrel that was supposedly one of the oldest post offices in south America. You left your mail there and every boat that stopped would check for mail going near their destination. We actually took a letter back to Virginia and delivered it. The letter my kids left got delivered to them about a month after we returned home. .

5 Likes

Finally getting around to brewing the Helles today. I’m heating strike water as I type. I’m going with a simple 9.25 lbs pils malt and will do the decoction as outlined in my OP.

2 Likes

First rest has about 10 mins left in it before I pull the decoction. I set it up as a decoction mash in BS2 and it’s giving me much smaller volumes to pull than the above outlined schedule (can’t remember where I got that).

BS2 says

3.5 qts will get me 135-145, 4 .75 qts 145 to 160 and 3.25qts to mashout temp.

So I pull the larger amounts and only add back what I need? Then just keep adding to and taking from the thick mash in the decoction vessel as needed? Then just add it all back at mashout?

If anyone has any advice and can chime in in the next 10 mins I’d appreciate it.

Well now that I read it back that doesn’t make sense haha…so I pulled about 5 quarts and am boiling it now. If that doesn’t get me to the next step temp I can always apply direct heat since I’m BIABing this.

OK so my first decoction mash is complete and I’m not sure I’ll do that again unless this beer is just outrageously good. I’ll have to do my single infusion BIAB mash with sparge to compare. This was a lot of work and I had to apply direct heat under the MT every time to get my temp. Maybe I decocted too thick/dry? Scorched a little in the last decoction.

Mash pH was a lttle low in the first rest but came up after the decoction. Pre-boil kettle gravity 1.047 was 7 points higher than designed but it’s OK because for some reason BS2 estimates a really low ABV for the OG. Kettle pH 5.2.

Be interested in the comparison myself