Schloss Eggenberg: Samichlaus

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.139 FG = 1.034
IBU = 28 SRM = 15 ABV = 14%

Once the world’s strongest beer, Samichlaus is a doppelbock that continues to develop the longer it is aged.

Ingredients

21 lbs. (9.5 kg) Pilsner malt (2 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Vienna malt (3 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Carabohemian malt (65 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) cane sugar (60 min.)
12.8 AAU Northern Brewer hops (60 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 8.5% alpha acids)
2.3 AAU Tettnang hops (15 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Hallertau Mittelfruh hops (2 min.)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 min.)
White Labs WLP885 (Zurich Lager) yeast (7 qt./~7 L yeast starter)
1/2 cup (100 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step

Mash the grains with 8.3 gallons (31 L) of water at 113 °F (45 °C). Step mash with rests at 104 °F (40 °C), 122 °F (50 °C), 140 °F (60 °C) and 158 °F (70 °C). Collect 13 gallons (49 L) of wort. Boil to reduce to 5 gallons (19 L), at least 5 hours, adding hops as indicated. Cool wort, aerate well and pitch yeast sediment from starter. Ferment for 30–45 days at 52 °F (11 °C). Rack to secondary, add fresh yeast and let temperature rise to 60 °F (16 °C), then lager for about 180 days at 38 °F (3.3 °C). Bottle or keg, shooting for 2.20 volumes CO2.

Extract with grains option:
Substitute the Pilsner malt and Vienna malt in the all-grain recipe with 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) extra light dried malt extract and 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Munich liquid malt extract. Steep grains at 148 °F (64 °C) for 30 minutes in 5 gallons (19 L) of water. Boil wort for 60 minutes, stirring in malt extracts at the beginning of the boil off heat. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

Tips For Success:
The best approach to making a beer of this strength while using a lager yeast is to brew a smaller lager beer and re-use the yeast collected from that batch for pitching into this wort. If you do not have time to brew a full batch, then even a small batch beer would work well. If you end up making a 7 qt. (7 L) yeast starter, be sure to refrigerate the yeast once it has grown up so you can decant the beer off the yeast cake prior to pitching.