S4 Ziecenbocks Recipe

Heat strike water

Heat approximately 18 L of water to about 75°C (170°F). This will give you a target mash-in temperature of ~66°C (151°F) once the grains are added.

Mash in

Stir in the crushed malts (Pilsner, Munich, Caramunich, Melanoidin, and acidulated if using) to reach a mash thickness of roughly 2.5–3 L/kg (about 3.5–4.0 L/kg yields as used above). Aim for a mash temperature of 65.5–66.5°C (150–152°F). Hold for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally to maintain an even temperature.

Mash out

Raise the mash temperature to 76°C (169°F) by adding 2–3 L of near-boiling water or direct heating. Hold for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort run-off.

Sparge / Collect wort

Sparge with enough 75–78°C (167–172°F) water to collect about 23–25 L of pre-boil wort in the kettle (accounting for boil evaporation). Target pre-boil gravity around 1.075–1.080 for a strong Ziegenbock-style bock.

Bring to a vigorous boil

Bring the collected wort to a rolling boil. Begin timing a 90 minute boil (traditional bocks benefit from a longer boil for greater caramelization and wort concentration).

Bittering addition

Add the bittering hops (Perle or Hallertau) at 90 minutes remaining (start of boil).

Middle additions

With 20 minutes left in the boil add Irish moss or Whirlfloc and the middle hops (Saaz/Hallertau flavor addition).

Late aroma addition

At 5–10 minutes left add the late/aroma hops (Saaz/Hallertau) to preserve delicate aroma.

End of boil and chilling

At the end of the boil cool the wort quickly to around 10–12°C (50–54°F) using a wort chiller or ice bath. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter while minimizing oxygen pickup.

Oxygenation and pitching

Aerate or oxygenate the cooled wort thoroughly to support healthy lager yeast fermentation (shake, pour between sanitized buckets, or add oxygen for ~8–10 ppm). Rehydrate dry yeast if required by manufacturer, or pitch a healthy starter of liquid lager yeast to achieve a pitching rate suitable for high gravity wort (~1.5–2.0 million cells/mL/°P). Add yeast nutrient if used.

Primary fermentation

Ferment at a controlled temperature of 10–12°C (50–54°F) for 7–12 days until vigorous fermentation subsides and specific gravity has fallen steadily.

Diacetyl rest

Raise the temperature by 2–3°C (to ~14–15°C / 57–59°F) for 2–3 days after primary fermentation to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

Lagering (cold conditioning)

Gradually drop the temperature to 1–3°C (34–37°F) over 3–5 days and lager (cold condition) for 4–8 weeks. Longer lagering (8–12 weeks) will smooth the flavor and improve clarity for a classic bock character.

Prepare priming sugar

If bottling, dissolve the 100 g corn sugar in about 200 ml boiling water, cool to room temperature and add to a sanitized bottling bucket. If kegging, carbonate to ~2.4–2.6 vols CO2 in the keg.

Transfer and bottle

Rack the lager from the conditioning vessel to the bottling bucket on top of the priming solution to ensure even mixing, avoiding excessive oxygen pickup. Bottle and cap bottles. Allow bottles to carbonate at ~18–20°C for 1–2 weeks, then condition cold for another 1–2 weeks.

Serve

Chill bottles to 4–7°C (40–45°F). Pour gently into a glass, leaving sediment behind. Enjoy a malt-forward, clean, slightly toasty Ziegenbock-style bock.