March Madness

It's that time of year again - March Madness! I write this on Easter afternoon just before the tip of the NC State - Duke Elite 8 game! Nothing like college basketball here on Tobacco Road in NC (...go Duke, by the way!).

This year I have been all in on "Maibock Madness" throughout the month. As March comes to a close, I thought I would share my homebrew recipe along with a side-by-side comparison of two classic Bavarian maibocks.

First, my recipe (https://share.brewfather.app/KZxmxMSbhEfQxN). This one is mostly Pilsner and Maris Otter malt plus a bit of Munich. Not sure if the Maris Otter is traditional but I like the nuttiness that I think this added to the beer. Very simple hop profile and fermentation with my current favorite Novalager yeast. I really like the way this one turned out. Had all of the right characteristics for the style - bready, a bit nutty, and just the right amount of hop bitterness to balance it out.

Now for the comparisons. The picture at left compares my version against what is probably the world's best version of the style from Ayinger. Can you tell which is which? I'm sure you can! (yes, mine is at right). Anyway, I think I nailed the color and did pretty well on the carbonation. I took this picture after just a week or so of lagering - it cleared up quite a bit more after another week or two. The taste? Well, you could pick out that mine was the same style but otherwise no comparison. I won't feel too bad though as I haven't been doing this for hundreds of years with decoction methods, advanced equipment, or excruciating quality control!

Lastly, I did a side by side comparison between Ayinger and Andechs. Really excited to see both of these in bottles this year! I would say that they were both very similar in taste and quality. I would give a slight edge to Ayinger though. Not sure if theirs was fresher, but it definitely had more carbonation, head retention, hop bitterness (in a good way), and that "crispy" freshness that is hard to describe. You can really see the difference in carbonation and head retention in the picture at right (yes, the Ayinger is on the left).

Anyway, hope you enjoy the end of March/Maibock Madness as much as I will! Prost!