Maple Maibock

13 March, 2014 

I have had the plan all winter to brew a bock using maple sap for the mash water. But due to the long, cold winter here in the Northeast, the sap was very late to flow, and we were getting pretty late in the season for a traditional bock. So, here I am going for a light colored Maibock to lead us into Bealtaine and the summer months. In order to preserve the lightness and not add much caramel color or flavor, I opted out of the decoction, and used a step infusion mash instead. 

OG: 1.070

Grain Bill

• 6 lbs Belgian Pilsner malt
• 4 pounds light Munich malt

Hop Bill

• 1 oz Mt Hood pellets (6.1% alpha) 120 minutes
• 1 ounce Hallertau leaf (4.1% alpha) added half each for 60 and 30 minutes

Yeast

• White labs German Bock

Mash Schedule-

• 12 qts maple sap. Mash pH was a little high, so added a tsp of gypsum to bring it down a bit
• Mash in: Strike temp = 105 F
• Glucanase rest: Temp = 105 F hold for 20’ (will also lower pH of mash). This was a little higher than I would like. I broke my floating thermometer on the last brew (see Hunger Game Marzen) and my new one sucks monkey balls. Very slow to register
• Protein rest: Raise to 127 F (122-127); hold 30‘. Again it got away from me (monkey balls), and temperature got to almost 140F. Too high really for a protein rest. After this I chucked this thermometer and went back to using my old metal one.
• Beta amylase rest: Raise to 150F (145- 153F) & hold for 30’
• Alpha amylase Rest: Raise temp to 160 (158-162)F; hold for 2 hour
• Mash out: Raise to 170 F (168-171) and hold for 10’

Sparge

• used a solid 5 gallons. About 1 gallon of this was maple sap, and the rest well water

 

Boil

• starting gravity= 1.050

Two hour boil. Added the Mt. Hood pellets at the break of the boil. At one hour, added half the Hallertau (about 2 AAUs), then added another 2 AAUs at 1.5 hrs.

O.G. for fermentation: 1.070