There’s only one thing that’s better than a crisp, cold Maibock: a crip, cold Maibock beer you’ve brewed yourself. Brewing beer at home doesn’t have to be a difficult experience, either. When you’re prepared with high-quality brewing equipment and a yummy recipe, making your own beer is easier than you’d ever imagine.
Today, we’re talking all about the light, refreshing brew of a Maibock. Maibocks are a German-style beer that is known for their bitter yet sweet flavors and pale colors. To experience some of these delicious beers for yourself, we’ve listed five of our favorite Maibock beer recipes to brew at home.
5. Sterling Pounder Maibock
The first maibock beer recipe is the Sterling Pounder Maibock. If you’re looking for a deliciously hoppy Maibock to brew right at home, the Sterling Pounder Maibock from Growler Mag is the perfect one for you. This specific brew has notes of citrusy orange peels and plenty of spice, making this an ideal beer for both the fall and spring. Here’s how to make it.
Ingredients:
- 11 lb. Pils or Vienna Malt
- 1 lb. German Munich Malt
- 1 lb. Weyermann CaraHell Malt
- 2 oz. Sterling Hops
- Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
To make this German-style beer, go ahead and start by adding your grains to water that’s between 151 and 153°F. Mix well. Then, let the rest mash at this same temperature for between an hour and an hour and a half. As you’re letting it rest, you can collect and heat the sparge water.
After the mash has rested for 60-90 minutes, heat it up to 170°F and prepare for the mashout. Collect and sparge the wort, and place it in the kettle. Then, bring the wort up to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, add 1 oz. of your Sterling hops and let it boil for an hour. 45 minutes into the boil, add the other oz of Sterling. Then, take your wort off heat.
Place your wort into a sanitized fermenter and pitch your yeast. Make sure you aerate well. Store your wort around 50°F at first, and then slowly raise temperatures when activity starts to slow down a bit. Let it get up to around 60°F for two to three days. Finally, switch to a secondary rack and cool the beer down to proper lager temperature. (Trust us on this.) Lager for between 21 and 30 days, and add a fining like gelatin. Once this is done, you’re ready to enjoy your home-brewed Maibock.
4. Jabberwocky Maibock
Take a ride through the mystical world of Maibocks through Home Brewer Association’s Jabberwocky Maibock recipe. This delicious and bright recipe tastes unlike any Maibock you’ve had yet, and we promise, you’ll absolutely love it.
Ingredients:
- 9 lb. Light Malt Extract Syrup
- 1 lb. Belgian Aromatic Malt
- 0.5 lb. Pilsner Malt
- 2.0 oz. 4.4% alpha German Hallertauer whole hops
- 2.0 oz. 5.5% alpha German Hersbuck-Hallertauer whole hops
- 0.6 oz. 5.5% alpha Crystal pellet hops
- 0.25 tsp. Powdered Irish Moss
- 0.75 cup Corn Sugar
- German-type lager yeast
To make this brew, start by heating 1.5 quarts of water at 172°F. Next, add the crushed Pilsner and other aromatic hops. Make sure you stir the mix well; the temperature should stay stable around 155°F. Next, take a towel and wrap it around your pot and leave it be for about 45 minutes. After that, bring the temperature back up to 167°F.
Pass your wort through a strainer and rinse your grains with water that’s about 170°F. Then, discard the grains entirely. Add more water to your mix, raising it to 3.5 gallons total. Bring the wort back up to a boil, and once you do, add the German Hallertaur. After 45 minutes, add the German Hersbuck-Hallertauer, and then five minutes later, add the Irish Moss. With only one minute left, add the Crystal pellet hops.
Finally, take your wort off of heat and place it in a cold water bath for 15 minutes. Strain and sparge the hops into a sanitized fermenter and add two gallons of water. Now, you’re all set.
3. Gordon Strong’s Maibock
Another of our favorite maibock beer recipes is Gordon Strong’s Maibock. This super tasty Maibock recipe comes from the famous Gordon Strong, a man known for his incredible brewing recipes. Here’s how to make this mouth-watering brew.
Ingredients:
- 7.2 lbs. (3.3 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract
- 1.5 lbs. (680 g) Munich liquid malt extract
- 1.6 AAU Hallertauer hops (first wort hop) (0.5 oz./14 g at 3.2% alpha acids)
- 5.5 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 11% alpha acids)
- 1.6 AAU Hallertauer hops (15 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 3.2% alpha acids)
- 0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertauer hops (0 min.)
- White Labs WLP833 (German Bock) or Saflager W34/70 yeast
- 3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
To craft this brew, add 6.5 gallons of water into your brew kettle and heat up to 158°F. Once it reaches this temperature, remove from heat and add the malt extracts. Mix well, until everything has dissolved completely. Then, add in the first wort hop and turn the heat back on. Let the wort heat back up to a boil and let it boil for 60 minutes. As it boils, add the hops in at the indicated times in the above ingredients.
After the hour-boil, let the wort cool down to 48°F. Pitch your yeast and mix until temperature raises back up to 50 or 52°F. Now, it’s time for fermentation. Rack and lager your brew for about 16 weeks, keeping it at 32°F. Fine with gelatin, rack, prime, and bottle. Then, you’re ready for drinking.
2. Heilige Helles
This next recipe hails from Salem, Oregon. The Strange Brew Homebrew Club actually won an award for this incredible Maibock recipe. It is traditional with a few unique twists that you will absolutely love. For a great Maibock to brew at home, check out this recipe for Heilige Helles.
Ingredients:
- 26 lb. Briess Pilsner Malt
- 1.0 lb. Ashburne Mild malt
- 1.0 lb. Victory malt
- 1.0 lb. Melanoidin malt
- 0.5 oz. Golding whole hops, 5% AA
- 1.5 oz. Hersbrucker whole hops, 2.9% AA
- 2.0 oz. Zatek whole hops, 3% AA
- 1.0 oz. Hersbrucker whole hops, 2.9% AA
- 0.5 oz. Mt. Hood whole hops, 6% AA
- Wyeast No. 2278 Czech Pilsner lager yeast
To make this Maibock, start by mashing your grains at 145°F for exactly an hour. Then, boil your wort for another hour, adding hops as time passes. As soon as the boil starts add the 1.5 oz. of Hersbrucker whole hops. 15 minutes after that, go ahead and mix in the Zatek. When there is only 15 minutes left in your boil–after 45 minutes have passed–add the other Hersbrucker hops. Right at the 60 minute mark, add in the Mt. Hood hops.
Now, it’s time for fermentation! Go through the first fermentation in a sanitized fermenter at 50°F for three weeks. After that, you’re going to have to be a bit patient: your secondary rack needs to be for 365 days at 35°F. Then, add CO2 for carbonation and you’re all set.
1. Rogue Dead Guy Ale Clone
One of the most popular American Maibock beer recipes comes from the Rogue Brewery in Oregon. But, instead of looking for this brew at your local grocery store, you can make some yourself. This mouth-water recipe is the perfect Rogue Dead Guy Ale clone.
Ingredients:
- 8.0 lb. Great Western 2-row pale malt
- 2.0 lb. Munich Malt
- 1.0 lb. 15° L Crystal Malt
- 1.0 oz. Perle pellet hops, 8% AA (90 min)
- 0.5 oz. Saaz pellet hops, 4.3% AA (10 min)
- 1.0 tsp. Irish Moss (20 min)
- BrewTek California Pub Ale yeast
Start your mash at 150°F for 60 minutes straight. After the hour, sparge your wort at 175°F. You should collect about 6.5 gallons from your sparge. Now, take this mixture and boil it for 90 minutes. As soon as it starts boiling, add your Perle pellet hops immediately. When there’s 20 minutes left in your boil, go ahead and add your Irish Moss. Ten minutes after that, mix in the Saaz pellet hops. After 90 minutes, remove your wort from heat.
Cool your wort down to 60°F until it is done with fermentation. After fermentation, rack to secondary and keep it at 50-60°F. After two to four weeks, your Rogue Dead Ale is ready for drinking.
Brewing Your Perfect Maibock
Now that you have five delicious Maibock beer recipes in front of you, it’s time to make some for yourself. Gather your home-brewing equipment and get that water boiling; soon, you’ll have an incredible brew of light and refreshing Maibock straight from your own home.
For more home-brewing recipes, Home Brewing Blog is here to help. While some days you want a Maibock, other days you might want an American Lager. No matter what it is, our blog is here to teach you all you need to know.
