If you've brewed a Weizenbock, please respond

[cuttsjp]

Hey all,

I've got a great AG Weizenbock recipe ready to go with an abv of around 7%, and in planning my brewing schedule, I can't find anywhere that says what an appropriate aging time would be for the style. I assume that it's longer than your average Hefeweizen or Dunkelweizen so that the alcohol can mellow out, but I would love to know so that I can plan my other brewing accordingly. Any information would be really helpful.

Prost

 

[LexusChris]

After brewing my weizenbock back in May, I started drinking it 10 days after kegging, and it was okay. For a few weeks, I thought I was going to have that keg in the fridge for a long time... then it got really tasty (perhaps 8 weeks in).

Next thing I knew, "woooshhhh......." .. tapped out.

I kinda think most my homebrew tastes better after 4-8 weeks.... so perhaps it is not really longer than other beers. If I did it again, I wouldn't touch the keg for about 6 weeks..

But that's just me...
--LexusChris

 

[Gristulin]

alot of breweries release 7-9% beers right when they are done fermenting and clearing. total of like 4-6 weeks before we consume them.

 

[14thstreet]

I feared that my weizenbock wouldn't last long despite its alcohol content given it is a wheat beer, which you always hear to drink young. I tried a bottle of mine a year after brew day and it was still very good - I wish I had more! It all comes down to fermentation and storage.

 

[Vance71975]

Hey all,

I've got a great AG Weizenbock recipe ready to go with an abv of around 7%, and in planning my brewing schedule, I can't find anywhere that says what an appropriate aging time would be for the style. I assume that it's longer than your average Hefeweizen or Dunkelweizen so that the alcohol can mellow out, but I would love to know so that I can plan my other brewing accordingly. Any information would be really helpful.

Prost

Here is the General Guideline i follow, it has worked very well for me. This is just my Personal Guideline, and by all means isn't definitive.

2.0-4% ABV Age Two weeks to 1 month.
4-6% ABV Age 1 to 3 months.
6-8% ABV Age 3 to 6 months
Over 8% but less that 12% ABV Age 6 months to 1 year Minimum.
Over 12% ABV Age 1 to 3 Years, 1 year being the minimum.
Sours, Lambic, and any Ale treated with Bacteria or wild yeast Culture, 1-3 years aging.

 

[Vance71975]

I feared that my weizenbock wouldn't last long despite its alcohol content given it is a wheat beer, which you always hear to drink young. I tried a bottle of mine a year after brew day and it was still very good - I wish I had more! It all comes down to fermentation and storage.

Drinking a wheat beer young depends on what yeast you use to make it, If you use a standard wheat yeast, then yes drink young, but if you brew a 7-10%ABV wheat with say an Irish ale yeast, then age it as you would a normal ale made with that yeast.

 

[GetLooseontheGoose]

I am in the same boat as the rest of these guys. I started drinking mine young around 6weeks after brew day. I thought it tasted good. I bottled some, and kegged the rest. I think they got better as time went by. I still have about 12 bottles left and its been about 6 months now. I may bring a few to my brew club meeting next week.

 

[bknifefight]

Here is the General Guideline i follow, it has worked very well for me. This is just my Personal Guideline, and by all means isn't definitive.

2.0-4% ABV Age Two weeks to 1 month.
4-6% ABV Age 1 to 3 months.
6-8% ABV Age 3 to 6 months
Over 8% but less that 12% ABV Age 6 months to 1 year Minimum.
Over 12% ABV Age 1 to 3 Years, 1 year being the minimum.
Sours, Lambic, and any Ale treated with Bacteria or wild yeast Culture, 1-3 years aging.

That is a pretty good chart. I have a weizenbock that I bottled after a 6 week primary. I've drank a few of them after they were bottled a month and they are good, but not great. At ~9% I expect them to be just right in another couple months.

 

[14thstreet]

Drinking a wheat beer young depends on what yeast you use to make it, If you use a standard wheat yeast, then yes drink young, but if you brew a 7-10%ABV wheat with say an Irish ale yeast, then age it as you would a normal ale made with that yeast.

I brewed mine with 3068 and felt it stood up very well for a year. It cleared up after that time but even resuspending the yeast did not prove fatal. Maybe it is just me.

 

[schristian619]

I brewed my last weizenbock over the summer. I won second at a comp in september and the only negatives, were to let it age more. I haven't tasted it for a few months, but I expect its pretty good now, but I'm saving it for some competitions later this year. I would say it depends on the yeast strain and ABV. For mine, i used the WL bavarian weizen platinum strain and ended with just over 9% alc. Doesn't taste a hair over 6% IMO.