Freeze Condensing an Eisbock (Pics and Vids)
 

Hey Folks,

Whenever my brother and I happen to be in the same town, we invariably strive to brew a collaborative beer together - something with shelf life that will last a few years. For our most recent collaborative beer, we decided to brew an Eisbock. Not only did we have to brew a doppelbock base-beer, but it also meant we had to do the freeze condensing too.


Given this was the first time I've ever tried freeze condensing a beer, I decided to take several pictures to photo-document how I implemented the process. Additionally, I took a few videos with sound in the hopes of capturing when the beer was "slushy" enough to call the freezing complete.

The full step-by-step of what we did can be found here:

http://www.lugwrenchbrewing.com/2012/06/freeze-condensing-eisbock-photos-and.html

Please let me know your thoughts or comments on the process as I enjoy the feedback (preferrable as a comment on the blog post, as its easier to track than there). Thanks!

Slainte!

-Okt

Very nice writeup, thanks a lot!
I've got a doppel lagering right now that I plan on turning into an eisbock. I've got it lagering in two 3 gallon kegs, plan on "eising" one of the small kegs. I, like you, have found very little information on the process. I've been torn on how I should do it, leave it in the keg like you've done, or using a bucket lined with a paint strainer bag and essentially pulling the ice out. Seems like the bucket method might oxidize the crap out of it though. I'm surprised at the color of your melted ice, I would've expected quite a bit of color loss, did you take a gravity reading on the melted ice?
I'll post this on your blog too

Thanks for the feedback StoneHands. So I am not writting the responses twice, I'll respond to your comment on the blog.

Best Regards,

-Okt

Great writeup!

Few weeks ago I made my Eisbock.
I condensed a 5 gallon aged and filtered 8.25 %/V Doppelbock down to 2 gallons.
My process does not freeze the beer in a Cornie keg, I use individual 1 gallon plastic containers to watch and control the freezing progress.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

ClaudiusB, do you do anything special to the beer to protect it from oxidation? If not, do you notice any oxidation over time? Can you give a rundown of how you do it? Nice setup in the background of your pic by the way, that's more stainless than a Delorean factory.

No
The beer is only around for two or three weeks after freezing.

The base beer is always a 5 gallon Doppelbock beer, 8-9 %/V.
The beer is fully fermented, aged/conditioned and filtered before the freezing process begins.
The beer is divided into 1 gallon plastic containers and frozen 40-60% depending what I like it to be.
The freezing process is done over night and the remaining liquid is drained into a 2.5 gallon Cornie.
The Eisbock will be force carbonated for a few days and enjoyed with home brewing friends and neighbors.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB

Thanks for the follow up. It seems, as usual in this hobby, you find something that works for you and go with it.