Spring came early this year in NC (...already hit 80F during the last week of Feb in Durham!), so I started to crave a nice Helles Bock. Trouble was, I didn't want to wait the usual time it takes to ferment and condition a traditional lager. I posted earlier about how it took a full 8 weeks for my fest lager to clean up in the fall. The way things are going this year, it will be way too hot in 8 weeks to want to drink a Helles Bock! So...I decided to brew up a "Faux Bock." Nothing fancy other than to ferment quickly with an ale yeast and see what happens. I used pretty much the same recipe posted by Brulosophy (https://brulosophy.com/2020/04/30/short-shoddy-helles-bock/ ) with the exception of the change to Fermentis S04 ale yeast and whatever grains were available at my local homebrew store since they didn't have the Mecca Estate malts. By the way, I'm a big fan of the Brulosophy "short and shoddy" methods as they make for a quick brew day - I did a 45 min mash on this one followed by a 30 min boil. Fermentation was finished in around 3-4 days, but I let it go a full week before cold crashing. A couple days later and it was time for a taste test - this just 10 days after brew day! OG of 1.067 and FG of 1.010 for an ABV of around 7.4%. So...what about the results? I think this turned out really well! It has most of the characteristics of a true Helles Bock. Grainy with moderate sweetness and a bit of alcohol warmth on the finish given the final ABV. Recipe called for a final gravity of around 1.016, and I attribute the overshoot there to the much more attenuating S04 yeast than the traditional lager yeast. Would it have been more true to style had I stuck with the traditional methods? Undoubtedly. Is it still a delicious beer that captures most of the characteristics of the intended style? I think so! Anyway, let me know if you try a similar method. A proper "exBeeriment" would have been to split the batch in two and ferment half with the ale yeast and half with the lager yeast, but who has time for that? Actually...I do know, and its Martin Keen of the Brulosophy You Tube channel! (https://www.youtube.com/@TheBrulosophyShow) - sounds like a suggestion for a future episode! Cheers!

Came across this book on Amazon and, for $3, decided it was worth downloading! I haven't gotten through the whole thing yet, but the first chapter on lager's Bavarian origins is both informative and entertaining. I like how the author weaves in his own personal stories amidst the historical descriptions. For example, when talking about the origins of Oktoberfest, he described his own personal experience as follows: "There's a chance you won't remember the end of the third beer, though, because that one has a way of just disappearing into the music and talking and fun of the festival, but somehow it leaves you thirsty. It's a magic trick how that happens; how you can have had three litres of beer and still want more." Have you been to Munich Oktoberfest? Would you agree with the author's experience? From Amazon: Beer has been brewed and drunk for 10,000 years, but those earliest beers (think dark, soupy and sour) would've been unrecognizable to modern lager drinkers expecting something bright, effervescent and golden. Despite beer's history, which is as old as civilization, lager is a relative newcomer, ostensibly first brewed around 500 years ago, while those pale, lively lagers that we know so well today didn't arrive until the middle of the 19th century and weren't widespread until over a hundred years later. In this fascinating book, beer expert Mark Dredge dives into the history of this well-loved drink. Discover: what, exactly, a lager is; how it was first brewed and how it would have tasted; what beer was like before the birth of lager; and what role was played by German monks and kings in the creation of the drink we know so well today. From the importance of 500-year-old purity laws to a scrupulously researched exploration of modern beer gardens, Mark has delved deep into the story of the world's favorite beer. From 16th Century Bavaria to the recent popularity of specialist craft lagers, A Brief History of Lager is an engaging and informative exploration of a classic drink.