How to make a double bock?

Hey there,

I have bottled one beer so far, and have another on the way (in the secondary that is) and I was wondering the process/recipes for a double bock. I had a beer called the Celebrator, I believe that's what it was called, and thought it was very good. Anyways, any suggestions/comments?

BerkeleyBrew

Well, a doppelbock is a German/Bavarian style lager, typically very malty, dark, full bodied, and somewhat alchoholic. Most doppelbocks end in "-ator" which has become a hallmark of the style. Some bocks require long lagering times, and if you are planning on trying this style, you will need to have a place to lager, and will need to use an appropriate lager style yeast. A lagering time of 3-8 weeks will typically be necessary.

good luck!

Hmm, darn, because I don't have a fridgeto lager anything. Are lagering style yeasts easy to find? thanks for your help biermann

Don't know particularly. . .I just got a fridge to lager with myself, and have never attempted to lager yet. (I've been doing the preliminary research--my next batch is going to be a lager, and I'm also considering a doppelbock). I do believe there are some lager yeasts (california common) that ferment cooler than typical ale yeasts, but not like lager yeasts. You could try something like that, rig up some sort of cooling device (wet t-shirt over your carboy sitting in a bath of ice water with a fan in front of it). Even so, you could still produce an ale version of a doppelbock. It wouldn't be a true doppelbock, but nevertheless would still probably turn out ok. White Lab's San Fransisco Lager Yeast WLP810 is listed as fermenting 58-65 degrees, but probably isn't as attenuative as you would like, and would probably not impart the true desired flavors.

It would be an interesting experiment, however. Keep us informed what you end up doing, and how it turns out (I'm curious myself).

I did something simlar to that. My CA Doppelbock was made with a CA Common yeast. I just did a regular infusion mash and fermented around 55 degrees (which was ambient temperature at the time in Feb.) The OG was around 1.095 and it took a while to do. The boil took something like 3.5 hours. I scaled the brew down to 3 gallons, but I still had 12 or so pounds of grain. I collected about 7.5 gallons of wort that had to get boiled down to 3. It also fermented for about 3 weeks. If you wanted to be authentic, you would need to do some kind of decoction mash, use a lager yeast, ferment it cold, and lager it for a while. Whatever method you choose, the beer will 1. take a long time to make on brew day, and 2. take a long time to mellow out (months).

It would defintely be interesting project, which would require some research beforehand. I guess back in the day brewers used the ambient temp to lager, so obviously it can be done. There doesn't seem to be as much info out there on doppelbocks as there is on other styles, which suprises me because I think the taste is very good. Anyways, eventually I will makes this a project. Thanks guys.

There's lots of recipes available on the web- have you checked?

berkeleybrew said:

I guess back in the day brewers used the ambient temp to lager, so obviously it can be done.

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Just remember that's ambient temperature of a cellar in northern Europe, not ambient temperature of a garage in Phoenix...

Well it might be the ambient temperature in Phoenix about once every couple of years. haha. But I haven't looked around too much on the web for a recipe, I figured some of you more experienced people might have some info on a good recipe.

Biermann said:

It would be an interesting experiment, however. Keep us informed what you end up doing, and how it turns out (I'm curious myself).

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I'm actually making a "Double Bock" as we speak, substituting in some S-05 to essentially make the Ale Double bock that you referenced. I talked to a few buddies about it, and they all agreed that it would turn out fine but obviously not a "true" double bock. When it comes around to maturity, I'll update and let you guys know how it is. I LIVE for Salvator, and would love to clone it but have yet to find a proper clone recipe. I'm sure I'll be extremely harsh in judgement on this bock, cause I'll unconsciously be comparing it to Salv, which it more than likely won't come close to touching. haha.

Update: This beer.is.DELICIOUS. I slightly over-carbed, that will be corrected next batch.

It's alive!!!!!