In the Fermentor: Prohibition Bock

The Pre-Prohibition American Lager (a.k.a. Classic American Pilsner) has made a comeback. However, back before Prohibition, many American breweries were also producing Bock beers in addition to their pale offerings. With that in mind, I'm attempting to make a Pre-Prohibition Bock. I have no idea how true to form my beer will be, but I think the outcome should be pretty tasty.

Although corn is now used as a cheap adjunct that lightens a beer's body and flavor, it was originally brewed with out of necessity. This is because the six-row barley native to America is harder to work with than European two-row. Unlike two-row, six-row barley is too high in protein to make stable beer. Using 20-30% Corn in the mash dilutes the protein and solves the stability problem.

Unlike my Classic American Pils, I'm doing a multi-step mash for this beer. The flaked corn is added after the Protein Rest. The Saccharification Rest is done at a fairly high temp to help give the beer greater body.

If you read my Bohemian Kölsch blog, you'll know that I'm not equipped to lager. To that end, I've pressed a German Ale yeast into service yet again. It's worked brilliantly in my first pseudo-lagers, so I hope it works well here too. Like I did with my Oktoberfest, I'm doing a cold bottle conditioning for a month before I pop one open. If the yeast behaves like it did before, the beer should have a bit of lager-like smoothness and clarity.

Here's the recipe for five gallons:

Grains:
9 lbs Rahr Six-Row
2.5 lbs Briess Flaked Corn
8 oz Weyermann CaraMunich III
4 oz Weyermann Dehusked Carafa II

Hops:
0.5 oz Cluster (6.8% a.a.): 90 min
1 oz Spalt Select (5.3% a.a.): 5 min

Total Boil Time:
90 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1007 - German Ale

Mash Schedule:
Protein Rest: 126F for 20 min (Barley only)
Saccharification Rest: 155F for 60 min (Barley and Flaked Corn)
Mashout: 168F for 15 min

Original Gravity:
1.062
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.012

IBU: 19
SRM Color: 14

Fermentation Schedule:
2 Weeks Primary
4 Weeks Secondary
4 Weeks Cold Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $15 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Shiner Bock: $25
Savings: $10

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