Winter Lager Recipe

I have found myself drinking alot of Sam Adams Winter Lager while waiting for my last batch to condition. Does anybody have a recipe for something along this line, or perhaps some other commercial brew in this same vein??? TIA......Phil

I haven't tried it, but looking on their website they give you a lot of clues such as the malts used, OG (which has an error, should be ~1.060), hops used, and mentions some spices. They say they use a decoction mash, perhaps due to the wheat. It also uses a lager yeast (obvious, I suppose).

It also says this is a Weizenbock - I couldn't disagree more although nobody died and made me king of the style. To me a Weizenbock is a doublestrength wheat beer fermented with a Hefeweizen yeast and no spices are added. I guess they're calling it that because it's darkish, high OG, and has some wheat in it.

Again, I haven't tried it and I'm not aware of any other beers like this, although Schneider Aventinus is the original Weizenbock and should be readily available if you're interested. I do have a recipe for that, but it's nothing at all like this SA Winter Lager.

I agree with you BvB ...just because it's dark doesn't make it a Bock either...damned advertisers and lawyers...

Baron von BeeGee said:

Again, I haven't tried it and I'm not aware of any other beers like this, although Schneider Aventinus is the original Weizenbock and should be readily available if you're interested. I do have a recipe for that, but it's nothing at all like this SA Winter Lager.

Click to expand...

Ooh, ooh, Aventinus is one of my all-time favorite beers! Could you post that recipe? Also, is it possible to come close to the flavor using ale yeast? I lack the space and technology for lagers at this time.

Torchiest said:

Ooh, ooh, Aventinus is one of my all-time favorite beers! Could you post that recipe? Also, is it possible to come close to the flavor using ale yeast? I lack the space and technology for lagers at this time.

Click to expand...

Weizenbocks are brewed using ale yeasts so you're in luck.

Schneider Aventinus Clone

A ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 15.38
Anticipated OG: 1.074 Plato: 18.06
Anticipated SRM: 11.1
Anticipated IBU: 15.8
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
58.5 9.00 lbs. Wheat Malt Germany 1.039 2
14.6 2.25 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
16.3 2.50 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
10.6 1.63 lbs. CaraMunich 40 France 1.034 40

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
32.00 g. Hallertau Hersbrucker Whole 4.75 15.8 60 min.


Yeast
-----

WYeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat (or 3068 Weihenstephan)

There is a clone recipe of this in the BYO clone brews book. Do you want it in all grain or extract . . . .? Let me know, and I will copy it down from the book.

Sonvolt... If you wanted to copy the extract verision of the SA Winter Lager clone, that would be great. Id like to do all grain, but am still working on perfecting extract/steeping brews before moving in to AG. Thanks

Baron.... Thanks for the info, I never thought to look on their website. I might give the Aventinus a try a little later down the road.

Here is the extract recipe. If you have any questions about, let me know. I listed the hops as AAU, since that is how the BYO clone book lists them. If you don't know how to convert that # into actual hop amounts, let me know.

Good luck, and let me know how it turns out.

5 Gallons
OG - 1.069
FG - 1.016
IBU - 29
SRM - 19
ABV - 6.9%

2.75 lbs. light dried malt extract
4.0 lbs. Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
1.0 lb. wheat malt
1.5 lbs. munich malt
1.5 lbs. crystal malt 60L
1.0 oz. Curacao Orange Peel (bitter orange peel)
0.5 oz. ginger root (freshly grated)
0.5 tsp. Cinnamon (powdered)
9.5 AAU East Kent Golding hops (60 mni)
4AAU Tettnanger hops (2 min)
4AAU Hallertau Hersbrucker hops
White Labs WLP830 (German Lager)

Thanks Sonvolt!! I believe I have a book around where I can get the equation for the hops conversion. What book did this recipe come from. Is it still available?

ScoutMan said:

Thanks Sonvolt!! I believe I have a book around where I can get the equation for the hops conversion. What book did this recipe come from. Is it still available?

Click to expand...

First, converting AAUs into hop weight is really easy. One alpha acid unit is equal to the weight times the alpha acid percentage. In other words -

1 oz. of a 5% alpha acid hop would be 5 AAUs. 1 X 5 = 5.

As for the book - click here. The cost is $5.00 + shipping for 150 really solid recipes. Great purchase, IMO.

Baron von BeeGee said:

Weizenbocks are brewed using ale yeasts so you're in luck.

Schneider Aventinus Clone

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
58.5 9.00 lbs. Wheat Malt Germany 1.039 2
14.6 2.25 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
16.3 2.50 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
10.6 1.63 lbs. CaraMunich 40 France 1.034 40

Click to expand...

I'm still brewing with extracts and specialty grains. I tried to convert this using BeerSmith, but it came out really strangely:

Amount Item Type %
11.18 lb Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 65.8 %
2.90 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 17.1 %
2.61 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 15.4 %
0.29 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 1.7 %

Maybe I just don't understand the conversion process. I tried to come up with my own version, based on the original, for a 5 gallon batch, and this is what I've got:

Amount Item Type %
8.00 lb Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 59.3 %
2.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 14.8 %
2.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 14.8 %
1.50 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 11.1 %

Baron von BeeGee said:

Yeast
-----

WYeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat (or 3068 Weihenstephan)

Click to expand...

As for the yeast, my LHBS only carries White Labs liquid. I've been looking at the possibilities, and I think the Belgian Wit II WLP410 would be best, or perhaps Hefeweizen WLP300 or Hefeweizen IV WLP380. Anyone have any experience with or suggestions for any of those?

HBT Gods....

I plan to brew the extract version of this recipe early next week. Can someone tell me when to add the ginger, orange peel and cinnamon? Is it intended to go in the primary or secondary? My Dad is a big fan of SAWL and I want to have a big batch of something he likes. I'm more of a pale ale/belgian guy and his favorite beer is SAWL.

Thanks in advance for your divine wisdom!

EDIT: Aaargh! I spelled "resurrecting" incorrectly! Bah!

jacketsfans said:

HBT Gods....

I plan to brew the extract version of this recipe early next week. Can someone tell me when to add the ginger, orange peel and cinnamon? Is it intended to go in the primary or secondary? My Dad is a big fan of SAWL and I want to have a big batch of something he likes. I'm more of a pale ale/belgian guy and his favorite beer is SAWL.

Thanks in advance for your divine wisdom!

EDIT: Aaargh! I spelled "resurrecting" incorrectly! Bah!

Click to expand...

Old bump, but I was curious too, did some internet searching, found the answer, and thought I'd reply for posterity:

You add the spices 15 minutes before flameout:
Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Recipes - Sam Adams' Winter Brew Clone: The Replicator

Thank you, sir. That's in fact what I ended up doing. It's been in the bottles for three weeks now and I'm giving her more time to age. We'll actually "officially" open it just before my dad's birthday in late October.