Maltose Falcons
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Brew Style of the Month: Weizenbock

by L. Grand Hydro

(Published in the September 1996 Brews and News)

THE STRONG, SILENT TYPE

Don't ask me how I came up with this one--alright, I'll tell you. It's September, and we need a brew style that we can ferment while we're still experiencing warm weather that most yeasts wouldn't like very much; we want to get some stronger beers started on their ferment so they can age enough to be drinkable when the winter holidays come around in 3 or 4 months; and I have located no less than 4 commercial examples of this obscure but deserving style that we can taste at our September club meeting, a feat that would have been impossible just 2 years ago. Perhaps this is a beer whose time has finally come.

In a nutshell, Weizenbock is the crossroads where weizenbier meets bock--it's a strong wheat beer. It's fermented as a ale with the spicy Bavarian wheat beer yeast that likes warmer temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees F., and, being a bock beer, by German law must have an original gravity of no less than 16 degrees Plato, or about 1.064. Since wheat beers of all kinds are the hottest seasonal brew style right now, there's no reason we should ignore the strong wheat beer style. When December rolls around, you'll be glad you brewed one of these now. Let's see if we can get a couple to show up at our December club meeting...

Here's the Falcons competition style description for Weizenbock:

Weizenbock: A strong Bavarian wheat beer, featuring many of the same characteristics of the normal-strength Weizen style but with greater intensity of malt flavor, fuller body and a higher alcohol level. Some versions may be called Doppelweizen. Color is slightly darker as well. O.G. 1.064-1.080, IBU 15-25, alcohol 6.6-7.5% v/v. Commercial examples: Erdinger Pikantus Weizenbock (Germany), Schneider Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock (Germany).

I would add that since I wrote that description, I've had even more experience with the style. Look for fruity aromas and flavors in abundance, and a unique rich malt character (flavor and body) from the wheat that is less solid-tasting than an all-barley beer would be. Most are rather dark in color, and some develop smoky, raisin-like essences that complement the fruity malt very well.

Keys to brewing Weizenbock:

1. Use an authentic Weizen ale yeast, such as Wyeast #3056, and make a sizable starter for it of at least 1 1/2 pints per 5 gallons--a quart of yeast starter would be even better. Ferment it warm, above 65 degrees, to develop the fruity esters and spicy phenolic flavors this yeast is known for.

2. Use a high proportion of wheat malt, 50% or more. In most all-grain beers, you can use up to about 70% wheat if you are careful in mashing and lautering. Keep the mash thick, not only to help in enzymatic conversion but to keep the gravity of the runoff high, since you're making a high-gravity wort.

3. If you really want an authentic German-tasting beer, aside from using German malt sources you should also consider doing a decoction mash. An excellent reference on this method and on the Weizen or Weisse beers in general is "German Wheat Beer," by Eric Warner (Brewers Publications Classic Beer Style Series #7, 1992).

4. Give this one some age before bottling or kegging. Even Eric Warner recommends brewing it in late September so it will be ready in time for the holiday season. This is a general rule for all beers above 1.065 starting gravity or so.

Time to brew some gruesome beer. I plan to brew some on the shop's Pilot Brewery on Sunday, September 22, for those who are interested in serving on the brew crew, the hope being that we'll have a keg of it for our December club meeting.

Victory Beer Recipes (Brewers Publications, 1994), here is Sonoma Beerocrat Paddy Giffen's second place Weizenbock recipe from the AHA National Competition in 1991:

"Pale Moon Rizen Weizen," by Paddy Giffen, Cotati, California:

For 5 gallons:

Grains:

6 pounds wheat malt

3 pounds Klages (2-row American pale) malt

1 1/2 pounds 60 Lovibond crystal malt

1 1/2 pounds CaraPils malt

Extracts:

3 1/2 pounds amber dry malt extract

Hops:

1/2 ounce Perle (boiled 60 minutes)

1 1/4 ounce Saaz (boiled 30 minutes)

3/4 ounce Hallertauer (dry-hopped)

Yeast: Wyeast #3056

Priming: 2/3 cup corn sugar

Procedure: Mash: Protein rest 30 minutes at 120 degrees F. Raise to 152 d.F. for 30 minutes, then raise to 157 d.F. for 30 minutes. Ferment: Primary 5 days at 65 d.F., secondary 6 weeks at 50 d.F. Aged 7 1/2 months in bottle when judged.

Here's an idea I got for an extract-based Weizenbock:

"Sweet Wheatness Weizenbock," by Bruce L. Brode

Grains (mini-mash):

1 pound wheat malt.

1 pound Durst German Pilsner malt.

1/2 pound Gambrinus Honey Malt.

1/2 pound Gambrinus 100 d.C. Munich malt.

1/4 pound DeWolf-Cosyns Belgian Aromatic malt.

1/4 pound Briess 120 L. caramel malt.

Extracts:

8 pounds Wheat 65%/Barley35% Dry Malt Extract (use the remaining 1 pound

for making your yeast starter).

Hops:

22 IBU total, split as 15 IBU Perle pellets and 7 IBU Tettnanger pellets

(all boiling hops for 60 minutes).

Yeast: Wyeast #3056 Weizen beer yeast, in 1-quart starter.

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, keep floatin' and go show those Hefeweizen freaks a thing or two--brew some gruesome Weizenbock!

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