Will this make a good Bock?

[leedsbrew]

A mate of mine has just put brewing on hold for a while (still can't figure out why!). He has given me an unopened packet of Whole Flower Pacific Gem 13.7% AA, and Hallertau Mittlefrueh Pellets 4.6% AA, 90g of each he purchased from Craftbrewer.com.au. I told him I would come up with a recipe to utallise these hops and give him a few bottles as a thankyou. I've been wanting to make a bock for some time and after having a poke around the tinternet I've come up with this:


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
German Munich Malt 3.291 kg 80.0 % 13.7 In Mash/Steeped
UK Light Crystal 0.411 kg 10.0 % 13.3 In Mash/Steeped
German Pilsner Malt 0.308 kg 7.5 % 0.3 In Mash/Steeped
UK Chocolate Malt 0.103 kg 2.5 % 35.1 In Mash/Steeped


Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
NZ Pacific Gem 13.7 % 6 g 14.9 Loose Whole Hops All Of Boil
German Hallertauer Mittlefruh 4.6 % 5 g 2.1 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End


Yeast
White Labs WLP833-German Bock Lager


OG = 1.087
ABV = 8.7%

Just wondered what everyone thought of it, suggestions, alterations etc!?!?!

ta

[oblivious]

For the grist I would just go with 100% Munich or 50:50 Pilsner and maybe some cara special if you have any

[Invalid Stout]

It seems very strong. Most Bocks I've drunk have been more like 7%.

[leedsbrew]

Yeah, I based it on a dopplebock. prob should have mentioned that! lol. I might drop the ABV a touch? or brew on at 7% ish as well and compare!

[mysterio]

How are you planning on handling the yeast, how big a starter and fermentation temps ?

[leedsbrew]

I plan on going with the White labs recommendation for temp. They recommend between 48-55°F. So i reckon somewhere bang in the middle at 53 ish (11 deg C). As for starter size I was going to try tapping into the wealth of knowledge that it JBKF! LOL

[mysterio]

For that big a beer you're going to need a huge load of yeast, according to Mr Malty you will need something like 15L of starter

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

I would be looking at re-pitching from a previous, smaller lager or just using dried lager yeast.

[leedsbrew]

Maybe I'm using Mr Malty wrong but when I put the info in it tells me I need two vials in a 2.26L starter!?!?!


Can someone tell me if i've got this wrong?

[mysterio]

Oh, I didn't realise you were only brewing 2.6 US gallons. My mistake. You can use the slider so you only need to use 1 vial. Also, you can use the drop down box to select intermittent shaking to create more growth in the starter.

[leedsbrew]

Ah, no worries. This will be my 1st step into this style so I was gonna play it safe and brew a small one first! Prob should have mentioned that! oops Cheers Mysterio

[leedsbrew]

I've just had a play with the slider. For one vial it recommends 3.79 (with int shaking). Would you recomend starting smaller and stepping up or can the yeast take 3.79L in one go?

[mysterio]

It will take it one go, just remember to let it ferment out and decant off the starter beer, only pitching the yeast sediment

[simple one]

I would air on the side of pitching massive, especially as your going to be down at lagering temps.