Doppelbock with Ale Yeast?

[ericd]

I want to brew a doppelbock but I don't have any sort of way to get the temperatures down to lager yest temperatures, and I'm too busy to deal with changing an ice bath everyday or anything like that.

Is there an ale yeast I can substitute?

 

[Evan!]

Not if you want a doppelbock, no. The clean, crisp, low-ester profile of lager yeast is a huge part of the character of bocks and doppelbocks. You can try using a kolsch yeast or something like papazian's cry havoc, but if you want a doppelbock and you can't lager, I'd say your best bet would be to buy commercial bottles from the store.

 

[Saccharomyces]

It won't be quite the same but the Kolsch yeast will yield good results if you ferment cool (60-62*F).