Weizenbock: Big German wheat beer
One of my favorite “Dad” activities when my kids were little was taking them out for trick-or-treat on Halloween. I got such a thrill seeing how excited they were as we approached each house and their excitement at getting any sort of candy, good or bad. When they were really young we would just walk around our block. As they got older, we would go farther and farther afield and I would have to carry more and more candy, coats, hats, gloves, water bottles, flashlights — and sometimes even an exhausted child. It didn’t take long for me to start hauling along our little red wagon. The wagon made it so much easier to drag along the expedition supplies, and I found out there was even room for a bottle of weizenbock, which made wagon pulling a little more enjoyable. Weizenbock is the perfect Halloween beer. The rich, malty character, the gently warming alcohol and the spicy and fruity notes make it seem like an adult candy, perfect for the cooler weather of fall.
Weizenbock has the same spicy/fruity character of a hefeweizen, but it also has a rich, bock-like malt character. Weizenbock is often hazy, ranging in color from dark amber to a dark, ruby brown, and topped with a large, dense, creamy off-white head. Like a good hefeweizen, the aroma includes moderate spicy notes and some banana-like esters, but it also has these dark fruit flavors and aromas. There should be notes of figs, plums, raisins and more. This fruit character blends in with the overall harmony of the beer, creating complex, rich, bready, bock-like melanoidins and a fruitcake-like character.
Hop aroma or flavor is not part of this beer style, but I still like to use German hops for German beers. In this case Hallertau, Spalt, Tettnang, Perle, Magnum or Tradition are fine choices.
Like most weizen-style beers, weizenbock has a grainy, bready flavor underlying the beer. Slight, soft caramel notes and toasty, bread crust-like melanoidin character from Munich malt should be present in moderate levels. While it has a rich color, roasted flavors and aromas are limited to subtle dark toast or chocolate notes. Hop character is non-existent and hop bittering is subtle. The balance between bittering and sweetness is even or balanced slightly sweet. I think the BJCP style guide captures this style’s overall impression well with, “A strong, malty, fruity, wheat-based ale combining the best flavors of a dunkelweizen and the rich strength and body of a bock.” That malty richness balanced with the spicy/fruity character is what it is all about. The one thing I disagree with in the BJCP description is the “faintly tart character.” I think tartness is a flaw in this style and more indicative of beer spoiled through long travel times and low levels of bacteria than it is a well made wheat beer.
A traditional weizenbock would be 50 to 70% wheat malt and the rest dark Munich malt. What I have found is that a blend of dark wheat, Munich and Pilsner malt, along with some caramel and roasted malt, seems to do well in competition. Although there are lots of quality malts out there, I always prefer to use continental malts in my German-style beers. I find the flavors of those malts consistent with the beers I drink when visiting Germany. I use a ratio of 4-2-1 (dark wheat, Pilsner, Munich) and a small amount (< 10%) specialty malts for my weizenbock. The use of specialty malts makes it easier to develop a rich color and flavor, but make sure what you are planning is balanced.
While you want to develop color without adding lots of roast malt flavors, a touch of dark toasted or even slightly chocolate notes is a nice touch. My preference is to use at least some dark caramel malt along with a small amount (1 to 2 %) of pale chocolate malt. If you use something darker than pale chocolate, make sure you do not over do it. Caramel malt can range from 5 to 10% of the grist. I like to make sure that at least some of the caramel malt is in the darker color range (>80 °L). The darker caramel malts adds color and helps enhance the dark fruit character that is critical to this beer.
The ideal extract for this style does not exist. The ideal extract would be at least 50% dark wheat malt and the rest Pilsner and Munich malt. Most wheat extracts are made with a lighter kilned wheat malt and most Munich extracts are approximately half Pilsner or two-row malt, which is more Pilsner malt than desired. If you are interested in giving all-grain a try, the brew in a bag method is an easy way to get started, as it is very similar to steeping grain in a bag. You can find lots of good information on this technique by searching for “brew in a bag method” on the Internet. If you would rather stick with extract, use any high quality wheat extract and Munich extract.
Historically, like most weizen-type beers, weizenbock would have been decoction mashed. While a decoction mash might induce more Maillard reactions, the rich malt flavors provided by today’s Munich and Pilsner malts is more than adequate and a single infusion or step mash works well. Weizenbock has a medium-full to full body. Target a mash temperature range of 150 to 156 °F (66 to 69 °C). If you are making a lower gravity beer, use the higher end of this temperature range to leave the beer with a bit more body. If you are making a bigger beer, use the lower end of the range to avoid too full of a body, which can become syrupy when extreme. Keep in mind wheat malt is huskless, so if your equipment is prone to stuck mashes, you might want to add a volume of rice hulls equal to the volume of wheat malt.
My favorite yeasts for all weizen-type beers is White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale and Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen. You can try other weizen-type yeasts and might prefer one over the other, so feel free to experiment.
Hop aroma or flavor is not part of this beer style, but I still like to use German hops for German beers. In this case Hallertau, Spalt, Tettnang, Perle, Magnum or Tradition are fine choices. Liberty or Mount Hood can be acceptable substitutes if you cannot source one of the others. Balance the beer with enough hop bitterness to firm up the beer, but not enough to overcome the malt sweetness of the beer. The balance should be even or maybe slightly sweet, but not more. Target a bitterness-to-starting gravity ratio (IBU divided by OG) between 0.2 and 0.4.
While the traditional weizen fermentation esters and phenols should be obvious in weizenbock, keep in mind that the fermentation character — the clove and banana — should blend well with the rest of the beer character. While some brewers like to pitch a reduced cell count to increase weizen fermentation characteristics, I’m not a big fan of that technique. Instead, pitching rates should be the same as other ales. My favorite yeasts for all weizen-type beers is White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale and Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen. You can try other weizen-type yeasts and might prefer one over the other, so feel free to experiment. A restrained fermentation temperature of 62 °F (17 °C) creates a beautiful balance of fermentation flavors and helps keep some unpleasant flavors in check. It is very important to follow the recommended fermentation temperature for this beer.
WEIZENBOCK
by the numbers
OG: 1.064–1.090 (15.7–21.5 °P)
FG: 1.015–1.022 (3.8–5.6 °P)
SRM: 12–25
IBU: 15–30
ABV: 6.5–8.0%
Weizenbock
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.082 (19.7 °P)
FG = 1.021 (5.3 °P)
IBU = 23 SRM = 19 ABV = 8.1%
Ingredients
8.8 lb. (4 kg) Best Malz dark wheat malt (8 °L)
4.4 lb. (2 kg) Best Malz Pilsner malt (2 °L)
2.2 lb. (1 kg) Best Malz Munich malt (8 °L)
7.1 oz. (200 g) Franco-Belges caramel Munich malt (40 °L)
7.1 oz. (200 g) Castle Special B malt (120 °L)
3.5 oz. (200 g) Thomas Fawcett pale chocolate malt (200 °L)
5.36 AAU Hallertau pellet hops (60 min.) (1.34 oz./38 g at 4% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) or White Labs WLP300 (Hefeweizen Ale) yeast
Step by step
Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.5 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight) and a temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold the mash at 152 °F (67 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete. Infuse the mash with near boiling water while stirring or with a recirculating mash system raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C).
Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (24.4 L) and the gravity is 1.062 (15.3 °P).
The total wort boil time is 90 minutes, which helps reduce DMS in the finished beer and increases melanoidin formation. Add the bittering hops with 60 minutes remaining in the boil. I skip using kettle finings in this beer. Chill the wort rapidly to 62 °F (17 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter, pitch the yeast and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is three packages of liquid yeast or one package of liquid yeast in an appropriate starter.
Ferment at 62 °F (17 °C) until the beer attenuates fully. With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in a week, but don’t rush it. The cooler than average ale fermentation temperature can extend the time it takes for complete attenuation. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 2.5 to 3 volumes.
Weizenbock
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.082 (19.7 °P)
FG = 1.021 (5.3 °P)
IBU = 23 SRM = 17 ABV = 8.1%
Ingredients
8.3 lb. (3.75 kg) wheat liquid malt extract (4 °L)
2.2 lb. (1 kg) Munich liquid malt extract (8 °L)
7.1 oz. (200 g) Franco-Belges caramel Munich malt (40 °L)
7.1 oz. (200 g) Castle Special B malt (120 °L)
3.5 oz. (200 g) Thomas Fawcett pale chocolate malt (200 °L)
5.36 AAU Hallertau pellet hops (60 min.) (1.34 oz./38 g at 4% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) or White Labs WLP300 (Hefeweizen Ale) yeast
Step by step
I have used a number of wheat and Munich malt extracts with good results. Feel free to use whatever your shop recommends. If you can’t get Munich extract, you can do a partial mash with Munich malt instead. If you can’t get fresh liquid malt extract, it is better to use an appropriate amount of dry malt extract (DME) instead. I use Best Malz Pilsen, dark wheat, and Munich malt. The Caramel Munich 40 is from Franco-Belges, the Special B from Castle, and the pale chocolate from Thomas Fawcett. Feel free to substitute any high quality malt of a similar flavor and color from a different supplier. My hops are in pellet form and come from Hopunion.
Mill or coarsely crack the specialty malt and place loosely in a grain bag. Avoid packing the grains too tightly in the bag, using more bags if needed. Steep the bag in about 0.5 gallon (~2 liters) of water at roughly 170 °F (77 °C) for about 30 minutes. Lift the grain bag out of the steeping liquid and rinse with warm water. Allow the bags to drip into the kettle for a few minutes while you add the malt extract. Do not squeeze the bags. Add enough water to the steeping liquor and malt extract to make a pre-boil volume of 5.9 gallons (22.3 liters) and a gravity of 1.069 (16.7 °P). Stir thoroughly to help dissolve the extract and bring to a boil.
The total wort boil time is 60 minutes. Add the bittering hops with 60 minutes remaining in the boil. I skip kettle finings for this beer. Chill the wort rapidly to 62 °F (17 °C), let the break material settle, rack to the fermenter, pitch the yeast and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is three packages of liquid yeast or one package of liquid yeast in an appropriate starter. Ferment at 62 °F (17 °C) until the beer attenuates fully. With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in a week, but don’t rush it. The cooler than average ale fermentation temperature can extend the time it takes for complete attenuation. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 2.5 to 3 volumes.
Weizenbock Commercial Examples
AleSmith Weizenbock
AleSmith Brewing Company
San Diego, California
www.alesmith.com
Eisenbahn Vigorosa
Cervejaria Sudbrack Ltda
Blumenau, Brazil
www.eisenbahn.com.br
Erdinger Weissbier Pikantus
Erdinger Weissbräu
Erding, Germany
www.erdinger.de
Glockenspiel Weizenbock
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland, Ohio
www.greatlakesbrewing.com
Moonglow Weizenbock
Victory Brewing Company
Downington, Pennsylvania
www.victorybeer.com
Plank Bavarian Dunkler Weizenbock
Brauerei Michael Plank
Laaber, Germany
www.brauerei-plank.de
Plank Bavarian Heller Weizenbock
Brauerei Michael Plank
Laaber, Germany
www.brauerei-plank.de
Ramstein Winter Wheat
High Point Brewing Company
Butler, New Jersey
www.ramsteinbeer.com
Schneider Aventinus
G. Schneider & Sohn
Kelheim, Germany
www.schneider-weisse.de
Schneider Aventinus Eisbock
G. Schneider & Sohn
Kelheim, Germany
www.schneider-weisse.de
