Mardi Gras Helles Bock

Mardi Gras is February 17th!

Now that the New Year has begun, it's time to start planning for a Mardi Gras beer. Apparently, the carnival season begins on January 6th this year (wow early) and culminates on Feb. 17th, Fat Tuesday - the day before Lent starts.

So if we want to brew a hearty bock style lager, we need to get moving! Ideally, this style of beer should lager for 4-6 weeks. This article was posted on 1/4/26 which give us around 6 weeks until Fat Tuesday - not a lot of time left for a true lager!

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While there are several types of "Bock" beer, I tend to prefer the lighter color of the Helles Bock (MaiBock) for the spring. This would typically be brewed for the month of May but can also be brewed earlier.

Helles Bock, according to the BJCP:

• A relatively pale, strong, malty German lager with a nicely attenuated finish that enhances drinkability. The hop character is generally more apparent and the malt character less deeply rich than in other Bocks.

• Around 25 IBU

• SRM 6-9

• OG around 1.065-1.070 (16-17 Plato)

• FG around 1.015 (3.8-4 Plato)

• ABV around 6.5 - 7 %

• Soft Water Profile

• Aim for higher attenuation

With that in mind we can put together our Recipe:

• Malts: Typically adjuncts are not used. A mix of pilsner (40%), Vienna (40%) and Munich Light (20%) works well. However, some authors (Josh Weikart article) prefer to swap out the Vienna with Maris Otter to push a "doughy-bready character without being heavy". I've brewed it this way and was happy with results.

• Hops: Typically traditional German Noble hops like Hallertau Mittelfruh are used for bittering and aroma to get around 25IBU. Mt. Hood would also be a suitable American hop substitution. Certainly a higher alpha acid hop could be used for bittering.

• Yeast: Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager or White Labs WLP830 German Lager will give a clean and well attenuated beer. NovaLager yeast or 34-70 could also be used with the caveat of not letting it get too dry..

• Mash: Since we are looking for a well attenuated beer, mashing lower (148-152F) will likely be best although this style is traditionally decocted. Another option would be a step mash. The specific yeast selected may also necessitate changing the mash temp based on expected attenuation.

• Ferment & Lagering: Traditional lager fermentation is employed, although if there isn't enough time to allow it to lager for at least 4 weeks, it may be OK to increase the fermentation temperature (especially with 34-70 yeast) to speed up the process and allow for more lagering time before Febuary 17th Mardi Gras.

Hopefully that will help you plan your own Mardi Gras beer for this year. Even if it won't be ready for Mardi Gras, this is still a fantastic spring style to have on tap. Better get moving!

For a different perspective on Bock beer styles, I recommend reading this excellent article on "American Bock" here

Here's my recipe for 2026

Cheers ;)