Dark Lagers: The New Possibility
There are few countries where a lager is not the best selling beer. Despite this, ales were the foundation for both American homebrewing and craft brewing. For many brewers the decision to brew ales is dictated by flavor. Where ale yeasts generate more pointed character in the form of fruity esters and spicy phenols, lager yeasts produce round and polished flavors when properly managed. Ale yeasts are also popular because they ferment beers more rapidly than lager yeast, and require less demanding fermentation temperature control. However, the clean character of lager yeasts allow more expressive malt and hop characters in finished beers, and are well worth the added time, effort, and equipment.
When many people think about lager, they picture a brilliantly clear pale-yellow beer. While this describes the vast majority of the lagers brewed around the world, lagers come in just as many hues as ales. Some dark lager styles like Baltic porter and doppelbock can be as potent as imperial stouts and age just as well, while others like schwarzbier and tmavé are daily drinkers.
In this article we will delve into three examples of dark lagers, and perhaps shed some light on this neglected tradition. We tracked down some highly-regarded experts to help us document the journey of dark lagers from their historical birthplace in Eastern and Northern Europe to the New World of craft brewing, where these traditions have been rediscovered.
Baltic Porter
Baltic porter dates back as far as the 1700s when British breweries began exporting strong dark beer to the Baltics. In America there has been a growing interest in Baltic porter for the past decade that seems to have started when the now shuttered Heavyweight Brewing of Ocean Township, New Jersey revived the tradition with its Perkuno’s Hammer in the early 2000s. It has been said that the beer writer Lew Bryson suggested the style to brewer Tom Baker while scrounging for ideas for his next brew. The recipe has since been resurrected by Victory Brewing, of Downington, Pennsylvania, as Baltic Thunder.
For further illumination into the tradition we turned to Anders Kissmeyer, a leading Scandinavian brewing authority and founder of Kissmeyer Beer. He reported, “Like elsewhere in continental Europe, the countries around the Baltic Sea were during the 1800s swept by the lager tide, but the demand for strong, black beers was still significant, and many of the breweries in this area discovered that they could brew very palatable and popular versions of the porter/stout beer styles using the same bottom fermenting yeasts that they used for their normal lager beers. These traditions have survived to this day, meaning that porters — now in the form of Baltic porters — are still brewed by breweries in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.”
As with many beer styles, there is plenty of room for interpretation. Kissmeyer adds, “Although the strong, dark, bottom fermented beers produced in the different countries around the Baltic Sea now are all formally categorized under the common name Baltic porter, they are actually very different in character. Ranging from slightly sweetish beers, dark brown in color and with ABVs down to about 6% to pitch black, highly roasted, quite bitter beers up to over 8% ABV.”
Think of Baltic porter as the smoother, less roasty, less fruity cousin of the modern American imperial porter. Without the harshness of black patent malt, aggressive bitterness, or an estery yeast profile, the general impression is one
of sweet cocoa, dried fruits and dense maltiness.
Tmavé
Tmavé (tah-ma-vy) is the term for moderate strength dark lagers from the Czech Republic. There is very little literature in English on the subject, so to learn a bit about its history we contacted leading Czech brewing historian Evan Rail. He told us, “Tmavé is the beer that most people know the least about here: exactly what it is remains somewhat nebulous, and the ‘style’ varies quite a bit from brewery to brewery, from region to region in the Czech lands. But I can tell you what I know about it now — it’s definitely not the same as a dunkles or a schwarzbier.” Rail further concurred that although many breweries use the term erné to describe their dark lagers, tmavé is the correct term.
Rail’s research has led him to conclude that, “The old type of tmavé pivo was full and sweet, with a lot of coffee and cola flavors in the mouth. But in the past 10 to 15 years, the taste has changed towards more bitter beers and less sugary beers in general. It’s fair to say a traditional tmavé is usually deep amber or even darker in color, but it’s far short of something like a stout. It’s often perfectly clear, and it usually shows bright ruby glints if you hold it up to the light.”
A few guiding principles to brewing a traditional tmavé would be a decoction mash de rigueur in the Czech Republic, the use of Saaz hops or other Czech varietals, and color from an addition of debittered black malt. Czech brewers often use local barevný slad (color malt), a roasted malt similar to Weyermann Carafa® Special II, that is not available outside of the Czech Republic.
Trippelbock
Lagers don’t have to be static, historic affairs. While many brewers thrive on recreating traditional European dark lagers, others tread new paths to create unique and dynamic fusions. Steve Berthel, owner and brewer of The Livery in Benton Harbor, Michigan, brews one such example. His Trippel Weizenbock (a.k.a. Wheat Trippelbock) was conceived as a higher-alcohol lager inspired by the rich maltiness of Schneider Aventinus, which is fermented with a traditional hefe weizen ale strain.
Trippelbock is a maligned term. While Boston Beer Company’s Triple Bock began the extreme brewing arms race in 1994 with 17.5% ABV, its flavor was most reminiscent of soy sauce. Thankfully this project evolved into Utopias, which is currently the highest alcohol non-distilled beer in the world, not to mention deliciously complex.
At 6.7% ABV, people think of a German doppelbock like Ayinger Celebrator as a strong lager, but Samichlaus Bier from Austria’s Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg is more than twice as strong at 14% ABV. Samichlaus was first brewed in 1980, so extreme brewing clearly wasn’t an American invention.
While barleywines and imperial stouts dominate high-gravity brewing in America, they aren’t the only option. Strong lagers provide smoother flavors, highlighting the intense maltiness imparted to strong beers by the excessive quantity of malt.High alcohol ales require long-term aging to condition and mellow, and strong lagers are no different. Barrel-aging, as the Livery does for a special version of their Trippel Weizenbock, is an unusual twist rarely seen in Europe since the rise of stainless steel fermenters.
Grain/Mashing
Traditionally dark lagers lack the sharply roasted, burnt, or charred flavors of the darkest ales (i.e., porters and stouts). There is no reason this has to be the case, but the cleaner yeast character tends to meld better with a mellow roast. This is usually accomplished with an addition of dehusked roasted malt like Carafa® Special, debittered black malt, or chocolate versions of huskless grains like rye and wheat. Another option to achieve a dark colored beer that lacks roasted flavors is to add Weyermann SINAMAR®, made from Carafa® malt, to the boil or fermenter.
If you cannot acquire any of the above mentioned products, a final option is to make an extraction of a standard dark grain (e.g. chocolate, roasted barley, or black patent) in cold water. This is easiest to do in a French press with three parts of water (by volume) to the finely crushed grain. After sitting overnight, press down the plunger and pour the extraction through a coffee filter to remove any small pieces of grain.
There are some dark lagers, like Baltic porter, that regularly include standard dark malts in the mash. However, these recipes tend to call for amounts considerably lower than those commonly used in American and English brewing. Treating your water with chalk or baking soda if it is low in carbonates (< 100 ppm) is especially valuable for these beers because residual alkalinity softens the harsh acrid notes that accompany excessive additions of dark malts. Ensuring your mash pH is in the ideal range will guarantee both proper conversion and a smooth rounded roastiness.
Decocting
While decoction mashes are the most traditional method to produce lagers, few American brewers execute them. Most of the malt available for brewing today is highly modified and as a result does not require the punishment of multiple rounds of boiling to achieve good extraction or breakdown excess protein content. If you choose to decoct, here are a few tips. Always pull a slightly larger decoction than the mash calculator suggests to ensure that you have enough hot grain to raise the temperature of the main mash to the next rest temperature. Pull mostly grain, and add a small amount of water if required to prevent scorching. The liquid in the mash contains most of the enzymes, so leaving as much of it behind as you can ensures good conversion. When you finish boiling the decoction, add it back to the main mash slowly, stir, and take temperature readings to avoid overshooting the target temperature. The safest stage to do a decoction with highly modified malts is bringing the temperature from the saccharification rest to mash out.
Jason Oliver, brewer at Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., winner of eight medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), has this to say about decoction: “I take pride in the fact that I give certain special beers that extra effort. I don’t have to decoct, but I choose to for authenticity and tradition sake. When you are boiling a quarter to a third of your mash and are smelling it, you can’t tell me that it makes no flavor addition. Also, if you tell me that specialty malts can create the same flavors, please give me the formula. There are a lot of good reasons not to decoct. Decoction uses more energy, the malts don’t need decoction to convert, it makes the day longer, the equipment is more expensive, and not all beers benefit from decoction (most probably don’t). In actuality there are far more good reasons not to decoct than to. That said, I am generally a contrarian so all those reasons make me want to decoct even more!! What you can’t substitute is the romance of decoction! Even if you do not notice any difference in a beer’s taste, the fact you did one is not made any less valid. Craft brewing is a craft, and using a traditional method to brew a traditional beer is something to be celebrated not denigrated. My advice is if you can decoct it then do it on special brews, it makes it extra special, extra traditional, and extra authentic.”
Yeast/Fermentation
Lager yeast strains do not have the wide range of characters displayed by ale yeasts as diverse as the nearly neutral American ale strain pitched at Sierra Nevada and the fruity and phenolic Weihenstephan hefeweizen strain. However, lager strains are not identical. Some strains boost the perception of malt flavors, like White Labs WLP833 (Bock Lager) or Wyeast 2487 (Hella Bock), while others provide a mild fruitiness, like White Labs WLP800 (Pilsen Lager) or Wyeast 2001 (Urquell Lager). We suggest fermenting several different recipes with a workhorse lager strain like White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) to dial in your fermentation process (i.e., pitching rate, aeration, fermentation/pitching temperature, and diacetyl rest).
When brewing a lager you will need to prepare a large amount of yeast because most brewers recommend pitching twice as many cells as you would for an ale starting at the same specific gravity. Making a starter is always a good idea. Use a pitching rate calculator to determine how big a starter you will need. Some brewers prefer to propagate lager yeast at their desired fermentation temperature, but we have never had an issue growing lager yeast at ale temperatures. Dried lager yeasts are highly effective as well when an adequate amount is pitched, and are a good option if you do not want to make a starter.
When Steve Berthel brews his massive Trippel Weizenbock at The Livery, he prefers to harvest yeast from a batch of maibock or doppelbock. Repitching yeast slurry from a previous batch is a useful technique if you want to brew a strong lager, but requires careful attention to sanitation.
Some homebrewers pitch their yeast when their wort is chilled to an ale fermentation temperature, and then allow the beer to slowly cool to the ideal lager fermentation temperature as the yeast begins to ferment. We find this method to be less than ideal as it can spur the creation of additional fruity and buttery flavors. If your ground water is not cold enough to chill the wort into the high 40s °F (8–9 °C), you have several options. The most basic is to chill the wort as cold as you can, and then rack it to a sanitized fermenter, attach an airlock, place it at the desired fermentation temperature, and wait to pitch until the wort is fully cooled. This is slightly risky as the longer the wort sits without brewer’s yeast, the higher the chances of wild yeast or bacteria gaining a foothold, but with good sanitation we have produced great lagers in this way.
More advanced wort chillers (e.g., counter-flow, plate) are more efficient than immersion chillers, but are still unable to cool the wort below the temperature of the ground water. We have found pre-chillers that first run the ground water through a copper coil submerged in an ice bath to be inefficient. As a homebrewer without the refrigerated glycol that many commercial breweries rely on to reach their desired pitching temperature, the easiest method is to purchase a submersible pump. After using ground water to chill the wort as low as you can, connect the pump to the chiller and submerge it in a bucket with a little water and a lot of ice. The near-freezing water circulates through the chiller before returning to the bucket, quickly cooling the wort. It takes about 16 lbs (8 kg) of ice to chill five gallons (20 L) of lager in this way. This rig is also valuable for chilling ales in the summer when tap water temperatures can exceed 80 °F (27 °C) in some areas.
Holding the fermentation temperature in the desired range, and later cooling it even further for lagering (cold storage) is one of the biggest challenges for most home-lager-brewers. Inspired by the original European lager brewers you might choose to brew seasonally, when a basement, or garage has a constant temperature in the high 40s °F (8-9 °C). Brewing lagers when the weather is hot, and without the temperature-controlled conical fermenters that are used by most craft brewers and some well-heeled homebrewers, requires controlling the ambient temperature where the fermenter is located. Many home- brewers have a refrigerator or freezer with an external temperature controller they use to dial in a precise temperature. This is a good option because the temperature can be adjusted at the push of a button and does not require frequent intervention.
If you are unable to get temperatures cold enough for a true lager, you could use steam lager yeast — Wyeast 2112 (California Lager) or White Labs WLP810 (San Francisco Lager) — or a clean ale yeast to achieve a similar, although not identical, result.
A high pitching rate and cool fermentation temperature around 60 °F (16 °C) will help to produce a more lager-like finished beer, as will cold conditioning of the keg or carbonated bottles in a refrigerator.
Pseudo-lager fermentations are more effective for flavorful dark beers than pale low-hopped lagers where there is no place to hide the fruitier flavors these yeast strains produce.
Depending on the yeast strain you select, a diacetyl rest may be required. As primary fermentation slows, pull a sample of the beer. If you taste butter or butterscotch this is diacetyl that the yeast have produced, but have not yet converted to neutral flavored compounds. To encourage them to absorb the diacetyl, raise the temperature by about 10 °F (6 °C). Taste the beer again after a couple days to ensure the flavor is gone before lagering. If fermentation is complete, and the yeast have reduced the diacetyl the temperature can be dropped quickly. (It does not need to be stepped down a few degrees each day as some brewers advocate.)
Lagering
One of the advantages of dark lagers is that clarity is not a major concern, however these beers still benefit from some time spent in cold storage. Lagering helps to clean up the flavor of the beer, to drop yeast, and allow sulfur and other compounds that were generated during fermentation to dissipate. For lower gravity lagers three to five weeks at a temperature in the low 30s °F (around 0 °C) is usually adequate, but strong lagers will continue improving for months.
If you are bottle conditioning after lagering, it is usually a good idea to repitch the same yeast you used for primary fermentation. 10% of the initial pitching rate is a good rule of thumb. Traditionally breweries used a small amount of young, actively fermenting beer to provide both fermentable sugars and active yeast, but this technique is beyond the scope of this article.
Conclusion
Lagers will probably always take a backseat to ales for most homebrewers. Tmavé will never be as popular as Guinness in most of the world, but that doesn’t mean that dark lagers aren’t some of the most unique and interesting beers in the world. Take your pick of anything from an ultra-traditional re-creation of Baltic porter to save on the airfare to Latvia, or a unique inspiration that draws on the malts and techniques of disparate regions to create something no one else has tasted.
Kissmeyer Beer & Brewing Baltic Porter clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.012
IBU = 45 SRM = 27 ABV = 8%
“Medium bodied, dry, with a crisp lager background. Medium bitterness, aroma and flavor dominated by roasted malts, noble hops, and a noticeable but not overpowering smokiness. The taste is rather long, crispy dry with intense roast maltiness, subtly enhanced by the addition of a little bit of raw licorice. Think: Your favorite Baltic porter with some extra layers of smoke, complexity and depth!” — Anders Kissmeyer
Ingredients
9 lbs. 14 oz. (4.5 kg) Pilsner malt
1.3 lbs. (0.58 kg) dark Munich malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) hand smoked lager malt (using alder as the wood, maximum smoke intensity)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) dark crystal malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) pale wheat malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) chocolate malt
4 oz. (0.11 kg) black malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) local honey (0 min.)
0.035 oz. (1 g) raw licorice root (0 min.)
12 AAU Perle hops (60 min.) (1.7 oz./49 g at 7% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Golding hops (30 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Golding hops (15 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g at 5% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) East Kent Golding hops (0 min.)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) Styrian Golding hops (0 min.)
White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast (12 qt./11 L yeast starter)
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step by Step
Adjust your water to 60 ppm of calcium using calcium chloride (CaCl2). Mash in at 122 °F (50 °C), before raising to a saccharification rest at 147 °F (64 °C) for 45 minutes, then 158 °F (70 °C) for 15 minutes, before mashing out at 172 °F (78 °C). Alternatively, a single infusion mash at 151 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes is sufficient. Boil 60 minutes with hop additions as specified. Add the honey and raw licorice at the end of the boil. Cool wort to 57 °F (14 °C), aerate, pitch yeast, and then ferment at 57 °F (14 °C) until fermentation is complete (7 to 10 days). Cool beer to 41–46 °F (5–8 °C), leave at this temperature until all traces of sulfur and diacetyl are eliminated (5 to 10 days), then cool to just under 32 °F (0 °C) and cold lager for as long as possible (4 weeks will do, 8 weeks is better, 12 weeks is nice, 16 weeks near optimal). Aim for a carbonation level close to 2.5 volumes of CO2.
Kissmeyer Beer & Brewing Baltic Porter clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.012
IBU = 45 SRM = 27 ABV = 8.0%
Ingredients
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Pilsner dried malt extract
4.5 lbs. (2.0 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract (late addition)
0.2 lbs. (91 g) Pilsner Malt
1.3 lbs. (0.58 kg) dark Munich malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) hand smoked lager malt (using alder as the wood, maximum smoke intensity)
0.50 lbs. (0.23 kg) dark crystal malt
6.0 oz. (0.17 kg) pale wheat malt
6.0 oz. (0.17 kg) chocolate malt
4.0 oz. (0.11 kg) black malt
1.0 lb. local honey (0 min)
0.035 oz. (1 g) raw licorice root (0 min.)
12 AAU Perle hops (60 min.) (1.7 oz./49 g of 7% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (30 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g of 5% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Goldings hops (15 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g of 5% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) East Kent Goldings hops (0 min.)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) Styrian Goldings hops (0 min.)
White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step By Step
Place the crushed grains in a large steeping bag and mash the crushed grains in 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of water at 151 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate (if possible) until wort runs clear, then begin running off wort. Rinse grain bed with hot water (around 180–190 °F/82–88 °C, but don’t let the grain bed exceed 170 °F/77 °C) until you have collected roughly 9.0 qts. (8.5 L) of wort. Add dried malt extract and water to make at least 3 gallons (11 L) of wort and bring to a boil.
Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times specified in the ingredient list. Stir in liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add the honey and raw licorice at the end of the boil. Cool the wort to 57 °F (14 °C) and transfer to a fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons (19 L), aerate wort thoroughly and pitch yeast. Ferment at 57 °F (14 °C) until fermentation is complete (7 to 10 days). Cool beer to 41–46 °F (5–8 °C), leave at this temperature until all traces of sulfur and diacetyl are eliminated (5 to 10 days), then cool to lowest possible temperature just under 32 °F (0 °C) and cold lager for as long as possible. Carbonate to 2.5 volumes of CO2.
Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co.’s Morana clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.016
IBU = 24 SRM = 26 ABV = 5.3%
In December 2010, head brewer Jason Oliver of Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co. of Roseland, Virginia collaborated with Alistair Reece, homebrewer and beer blogger (http://www.fuggled.net/), on a traditional double-decocted tmavé. Reece penned the recipe and named the beer for the Slavic goddess of death and renewal. Oliver has won an astonishing amount of brewing medals and is a staunch proponent of decoction mashing (see inset), and Weyermann floor malted Bohemian Pilsner malt.
Ingredients
8.75 lbs. (4.0 kg) German or Czech Pilsner malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) CaraBohemian® (CaraMunich® I) malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) German Munich malt
0.45 lbs. (0.20 kg) Carafa® Special II malt
5.3 AAU Saaz hops (60 min) (1.3 oz./38 g of 4% alpha acids)
2.2 AAU Saaz hops (20 min) (0.55 oz./16 g of 4% alpha acids)
0.375 oz. (11 g) Saaz hops (5 min)
Wyeast 2782 (Staro Prague Lager) yeast (7.0 qt./6.5 L yeast starter)
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step By Step
Ideally you should employ a step infusion or decoction mash with rests at
126 °F (52 °C), 144 °F (62 °C), 154 °F (68 °C) and 162 °F (72 °C). If your equipment (or social demands) limit you to a single infusion, mashing 60 minutes at 152 °F (67 °C) is adequate. Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated. Chill to 46 °F (8 °C). Oxygenate with pure oxygen for 60 seconds. Pitch a large starter of the yeast, or multiple vials to reach at least 350 billion cells. Ferment for 10 days keeping the temperature of the wort at 50 °F
(10 °C). As fermentation slows, raise the temperature for a diacetyl rest to 60 °F (16 °C). When the final gravity is reached, and there is no perception of diacetyl, chill the wort to 32 °F (0 °C) for two months of lagering. If you want to barrel age the beer, do so before lagering. Carbonate to 2.4 volumes of CO2.
Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co.’s Morana clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.016
IBU = 24 SRM = 26 ABV = 5.3%
Ingredients
3.6 lbs. (1.6 kg) Pilsner dried malt extract
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) Munich liquid malt extract (late addition)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) CaraBohemian® (CaraMunich® I) malt
0.45 lbs. (0.20 kg) Carafa® Special II malt
5.3 AAU Saaz hops (60 min.) (1.3 oz./38 g of 4% alpha acids)
2.2 AAU Saaz hops (20 min.) (0.55 oz./16 g of 4% alpha acids)
0.375 oz. (11 g) Saaz hops (5 min)
Wyeast 2782 (Staro Prague Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step By Step
Place crushed grains in a large steeping bag and steep for 60 minutes at 152 °F (67 °C). Add dried malt extract and enough water to make at least 3.0 gallons (11 L) and bring wort to a boil. Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated. Add liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in the boil.
Chill to 46 °F (8 °C) and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons (19 L) with cool water. Oxygenate with pure oxygen for 60 seconds. Pitch a large starter of the yeast, or multiple vials to reach at least 350 billion cells. Ferment for 10 days keeping the temperature of the wort at 50 °F (10 °C). As fermentation slows, raise the temperature for a diacetyl rest to 60 °F (16 °C). When the final gravity is reached, and there is no perception of diacetyl, chill the wort to 32 °F (0 °C) for two months of lagering. If you want to barrel age the beer, do so before lagering. Carbonate to 2.4 volumes of CO2.
Weizen Trippelbock
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.108 FG = 1.026
IBU = 35 SRM = 24 ABV = 10.8%
Inspired by The Livery’s Trippel Weizenbock. Steve Berthel told us that, “Most lagers do not use black patent, chocolate, or roast barley in the recipes. I favor a two-hour boil with dark crystal malts to achieve the raisiny, toffee flavors.” He combines extra dark 155–165 °L English crystal malt with bready German base malts (malted wheat, Pilsner, Vienna, and dark Munich). Moderate hopping with Perle and Tettnang provide the balance. Mike’s second attempt to dial in this recipe is currently resting in a 5-gallon (19-L) malt whisky barrel from Balcones Distillery in Texas.
Ingredients
7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) German wheat malt
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) German dark Munich malt
5 lb. 2 oz. (2.3 kg) German Pilsner malt
4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) German Vienna malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Simpsons extra dark crystal malt (160 °L)
8 AAU Perle hops (75 min.) (1.1 oz./32 g of 7% alpha acids)
4 AAU Perle hops (20 min.) (0.57 oz./16 g of 7% alpha acids)
3 AAU Tettnang hops (10 min.) (0.86 oz./24 g of 3.5% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP833 (German Bock) or Wyeast 2487 (Hella Bock) yeast (18 qt./ 17 L yeast starter)
2/3 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step By Step
Mash grain at 154 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Boil wort for 120 minutes, adding hops as indicated.
Chill to 46 °F (8 °C). Oxygenate with pure oxygen for 90 seconds. Pitch a large starter of the yeast, or multiple vials to reach at least 600 billion cells. Ferment for 10 days keeping the temperature of the wort at 52 °F (11 °C). As fermentation slows, raise the temperature for a diacetyl rest to 66 °F (19 °C). When the final gravity is reached, and there is no perception of diacetyl, chill the wort to 32 °F (0 °C) for at least two months of lagering. If you want to barrel age the beer, do so before lagering. Carbonate to 2.2 volumes of CO2.
Weizen Trippelbock
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.108 FG = 1.026
IBU = 35 SRM = 24 ABV = 10.8%
Ingredients
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg) German wheat dried malt extract
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) Munich liquid malt extract (late addition)
4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) German Vienna malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Simpsons extra dark crystal malt (160 °L)
8 AAU Perle hops (75 min.) (1.1 oz./32 g of 7% alpha acids)
4 AAU Perle hops (20 min.) (0.57 oz./16 g of 7% alpha acids)
3 AAU Tettnang hops (10 min.) (0.86 oz./24 g of 3.5% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP833 (German Bock) or Wyeast 2487 (Hella Bock) yeast
2/3 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step By Step
Mash Vienna malt at 154 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Steep dark crystal malt in a separate pot for same time and temperature. Colect about 2.25 gallons (8.5 L) of wort from partial mash and combine with “grain tea” from crystal malt. Add dried malt extract and water to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L). Boil wort for 120 minutes, adding hops as indicated. Keep some boiling water handy to keep boil topped up to at least 3.0 gallons (11 L). Stir in liquid malt extract in final 15 minutes of boil. Chill to 46 °F (8 °C) and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons (19 L) with cold water and oxygenate with pure oxygen for 90 seconds. Pitch yeast, ferment and condition beer following the instructions in the all-grain recipe.
Tips for Success:
Your biggest key to success is pitching enough yeast. The all-grain recipes give an optimal yeast starter size for a yeast starter that is heavily aerated. (Consider brewing 5.0 gallons (19 L) of helles or other light lager as a yeast starter for the Weizen Trippelbock.) See the pitching rate calculator at www.mrmalty.com for other options to raise the appropriate amount of healthy cells. Without an adequate pitch, these beers will not ferment properly.
Barrel aging, usually reserved for high-gravity ales, can be employed for strong dark lagers as well. This Weizen Trippelbock (recipe on page 41) is being aged in whiskey barrels from Balcones Distillery of Waco, Texas. 
Chilling wort to lager fermentation temperature can be difficult, especially if your tap water is not very cold. Using a pump to recirculate ice water through an immersion chiller is one practical solution to this common problem.
