Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Starkbier - Dopplebock Lager

I decided over the winter to give a try at my second lager. I'm pretty inexperienced with them, but have slowly been learning how to properly lager. I decided on a dopplebock, partially due to the ingredients I had on hand back in January when I brewed this. I am not even sure where I got the recipe, I know I fudged a lot of it.. I thought the 1/2 lb. of chocolate grains was too much after brewing - it actually turned out to be pretty damn good.
I thought I would call this Starkbier, based on the post lent happenings in Germany right now (that I only learned about this year). After the long winter, Germans will make Starkbier (strong beer). This Starkbier is a stronger bock (Dopplebock) and is served at the Starkbierzeit events in Munich. This is becoming one of Germany's bigger festivals, as it's not over run by tourists like the Oktoberfest has become.

Stakrbier - Dopplebock Lager (I'll probably rename it once it goes on tap)

Fermentables
6.00 lb German Munich Malt
4.00 lb German Pilsner Malt
4.00 lb US Caramel Munich 60L Malt
0.50 lb US Chocolate Malt
0.25 lb US Caramel 120L Malt

Hops
1.00 oz US Willamette 4.5 % - 60 mins.
1.00 oz US Willamette 4.5 % - 30 Min

Yeast
DCL W-34/70 Saflager

OG: 1.076 SG
FG: 1.023 SG
ABV: 7.1%

I fermented this for over a month, and did a 2 day diasetyl rest at around 64 degrees. I kegged it and will be lagering at 34 degrees for 30 days, maybe longer. They say the higher the ABV the longer to lager. I did taste it between transitions and it came out pretty awesome. I grabbed some commercial examples this weekend, and I may have hit mine a bit richer with more chocolate and caramel tones, but I came pretty close. Can't wait to try this one when it's finished!

No comments: