I recently brewed up my Maibock for the year to usher in spring with a wonderful beverage. To prepare for this run, I decided on two simple points. 1) This was going to be a traditional German lager, down to the ingredients; 2) The finished product will undergo as much of a true lagering as I can muster.
The first part of that was easier to do than I anticipated, as it just required me to adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, or the German Purity Law of 1516 that stated beer can only be made with barley, hops, yeast, and water. To that end, I tried to collect only German ingredients for my malt and hops, which was not hard to do, with one small exception that I was able to get around: Munich LME is a pain to find, but still available.
The latter of this was what required research and careful purchasing. To lager this beer, or even ferment it at the proper temps, I had a couple of choices, but I opted to go big or go home. I got a digital temperature controller, a fermentation heater, a digital thermometer, and a refractometer. During the brewing process, the thermometer made things vastly easier and faster compared to the old analog thermometer I was using. The refractometer, a tool designed for testing specific gravity, only requires a couple of drops instead of nearly a pint of liquid, so I get to save more beer for the final product (huzzah!).
The temperature controller combined with the heater allows me to set a fixed point for the beer to be at and keep it within 1 or 2 degrees at all times. Considering this was my second lager, and I didn't feel like doing the swamp cooler thing again (way too much effort), I am totally pumped! The carboy is sitting in the garage, and the controller is keeping it between 48 and 50 degrees F, right in the wheelhouse for this Bohemian lager yeast. Check out the set up below in the attached picture.
With the fermentation having no issues temperature-wise thus far, I'm very optimistic that the lagering it will experience in the garage will go just as well (after a brief period for a diacetyl rest to clean up some off-flavors).
So, that is my lager update. I suspect this will be available for consumption sometime in late April as I want to give this a solid 2 months of lagering, but only time will tell. More to come as the brew develops!
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
UPDATE 1: The fermentation on this is taking forever! I couldn't believe how fast it started and how consistently it was creating CO2, but I'm going to let it ride as long as it wants. I am aware of the lower temps bringing down the metabolic rate of the yeast, but still, it is fun to see it go this long. Plus, the blow off tube makes the hops aroma super strong in the bucket.
UPDATE 2: The lagering is upon us, and I am happy to say that the winter weather in Northern IL is not a hurdle to overcome this year. I am seeing consistent temps of around 30 in the garage, which is totally where I wanted it to be. Plus, a sample I took had a great color, insane clarity, and a nice subtle hoppy bite with malt undertones. I'm looking forward to this one!
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