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Late Spring Lager


Malty And Refreshing
Malty And Refreshing

Since MaiBock is typically enjoyed in May, I decided to brew a late spring lager before the summer really sets in. This beer was intended to be a hoppy lager with a dry crisp finish. Perhaps not traditional but I wanted to use some Mandarina Bavaria and Citra hops as a whirlpool addition to see what happens. On this one we used Mecca Estate Grade malts from OR, which always seem to deliver a fantastic bready, malty finish. This beer was no exception, and I enjoyed it thoroughly!


STATS

  • OG 1.053

  • FG 1.012

  • ABV 5.3%

  • MALTS Mostly Pale and Pilsner, with a touch of Munich

  • HOPS A whole bunch, with a hop stand of Citra Cryo and Mandarina Bavaria

  • YEAST White Labs WLP833 German Bock Lager (Ayinger Strain)




I must admit that I expected this one to be much hoppier, kinda like an IPL. However, the Ayinger strain is known to leave a beer more malty despite the nice finish of 1.012 (3 Plato). Also, as mentioned, the Mecca Estate malts always give a bready graham cracker profile which I love.


I also took this beer to my friend Nick at Hundred Mile Brewing (Head Brewer) to get his opinion and/or tips. He enjoyed the malty finish with a slight tangerine aroma and flavor. He tested the beer for Diacetyl which was really interesting to learn about. Here's the basic method:


  • Take a sample: Carefully collect a small sample of your beer from the fermenter.

  • Split the sample: Divide the sample into two containers.

  • Heat one sample: Place one container in a hot water bath (140-160°F or 60-71°C) for 10-30 minutes, according to White Labs.

  • Keep the other at room temperature: Leave the other sample at room temperature as a control.

  • Cool the heated sample: After heating, cool the sample back down to room temperature, matching the control sample.

  • Smell and taste: Compare the smell and taste of both samples.


Thankfully there was no butterscotch aroma or flavor in either sample, which means the yeast finished up properly and removed the diacetyl. Nick also said there are 4 or 5 other esters that this test can pickup and sure enough, the heated sample had a weird medicinal taste compared to the control. This taste was not discernable to either one of us prior to testing the samples.


MY TASTING NOTES

Really nice malt character from the mecca grade and bock yeast, tastes more like a maibock (rather than IPL) which is ok by me, taking a long time to clear, slight orange character and aroma from the mandarina bavaria hops. delicious





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