Learning Bock

This was among the first beers I brewed without Irish Mike.

December 12, 1996

Grain bill-

• 11 pounds German Munich
• 5 pounds German Pils
• 1 pound Belgian Chocolate malt
• 1 pound Belgian Carapils (for body)

Hops- 9.4 AAU’s Hallertau

Yeast- Munich Lager yeast

Mash Notes-

• 130 F 30 minutes
• 2 hour saccrification
• Mashout at 168F

Sparge- 4 gallon at 168 F. Scheise! Stuck mash! Had to stir grain bed.

Brew Notes-

• Almost 7 gallons wort
• Boiled down to about 5 g
• 45 minute hop
• Starting Gravity = 1.075

Cooled overnight in the kettle. Racked on 12/15 and pitched yeast. Good clarity but seems very dark for a bock. Sweet to the taste, but a hint of something I don’t like, perhaps the hops. Almost a stale hoppy taste.

January 21, 1997-

Racked. Should have racked earlier but was busy getting married. Gravity = 1.020. More body than the last two beers, which is good. Still kind of a bitterness to the finish and early on the tongue, but thus far it seems the best beer I’ve made.