Brewing a Maibock German Style Lager with Abbie

In time for spring, I decided to take the Mr. Beer kit out of hibernation to brew a Maibock German Style Lager that is described by Mr. Beer as complex, bready, and having a slightly honey-like malt sweetness.  This is probably the first time I've brewed since moving to Peoria.  I mention this as the Lake Michigan water via the DuPage Water Commission used in my earlier endeavors didn't cause any problems.  Let's see what the water tables of Peoria gives us.  (That said, the water in Peoria has a much higher magnesium and calcium content compared against Lake Michigan water.  However those ions are mitigated by the water softer.)  

My complaint with my earlier trials was that the alcohol by volume wasn't as high as I'd like it to be.  This Maibock has a ABV of 6.5% which is pretty high by stand-alone fermention.  My other complaint with my earlier endeavors was the end product had the same tasting range of being light, wheaty, and yeasty as I used a weizenbier refill kit.  Certainly drinkable, and better than any macro-brew, but I wish to deviate from this taste range.  Hence the Maibock.

OK, so here we go.  We get the fermentor out along with the malted two row barley maibock with hops added already.
 

I deviate from the instructions by adding an extra helping of hops that was leftover from the last batch.   

 Here is Abbie staring at the wort as it cools after she adds the extra, no long fresh, pelleted Tettnanger hops.

Next, we pour the wort into the fermentor and move the whole operation from the kitchen to the man-cave basement where it is cooler and the temperature is in the optimal range for fermentation for this yeast strain.

 
Abbie adds the most important ingredient to the concoction, Saflager S-23 Yeast.  Most likely this is a dried Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.  I've previously used a liquid yeast, but it ultimately didn't change the taste of the brewed end product.  Let the fermentation begin!

We put the lid back on the 2.5-gallon fermentor, shake, and play the waiting game.  I place a tent tarp over the fermentor to keep it dark.  

 

To be continued in ~21 days with the bottling process...