Full of flavor and full of history, Doppelbock beers are some of the richest, smoothest out there. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to find a good Doppelbock brew at your local brewery or even at your closest wine and liquor shop. But, that’s why we’re here.
Below, you can find four doppelbock beer recipes that you easily brew right at home. As long as you’re even somewhat experienced, these should be a walk in the park.
4. Dunkelweizen Doppelbock
This first recipe comes from the Home Brewers Association. It’s an extra dark, crisp beer that has strong hoppy flavors you’ll love any time of the year.
Ingredients:
- 9.28 lb. (4.21 kg.) Weyermann Barke Pilsner Malt (46.5%)
- 5.39 lb. (2.44 kg.) Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt (27%)
- 3.0 lb. (1.36 kg.) Weyermann Dark Wheat Malt (15%)
- 1.5 lb. (680 g.) Weyermann Acidulated Malt (3%)
- 0.2 lb. (90g.) Weyermann Roasted Chocolate Wheat Malt (1%)
- 1.6 lb. (723 g.) rice hulls
- 0.5 oz. (14 g.) Herkules, 14.5% AA, 60 min
- 0.3 oz. (7 g.) Saphir, 3.25% AA, 10 min
- 0.8 oz. (21 g.) Saphir, 3.25% AA, 5 min
- Fermentis WB-06 or Fermentis Safbrew Abbaye
First, start by doughing in your yeast at about 113℉ for 30 minutes. While this is happening, add in close to 10% of the dry malt weight as well as the rice hulls. After you’ve finished letting it rest, take your mash and infuse it with some sort of hot brewing liquor to raise the temperature up to 122℉. Then, let it rest again for 30 minutes.
After this, heat the mash back up to 150℉ and let it rest, once again, for 30 minutes. Repeat this step one more time to reach the peak temperature of 162℉. This time, let the mash rest for only 15 minutes. Once this is done, recirculate the wort for another half an hour. Then, both sparge and lauter the wort, using hot sparge liquor to raise the temperature back up to 170℉. Stop sparging after about 90 minutes.
Start boiling your mash for at least 90 minutes, and then add the hops an hour before you decide to turn the heat off. Add the flavored hops when there is only 10 minutes left on the boil, and then add the aroma hops five minutes after that. Whirlpool and then let the mixture cool.
Now, pitch twice as much yeast as you normally would and let it aerate. Ferment your brew initially for 3 weeks, and then put the brew in a new tank for an extra week. Now, you’re ready for drinking.
3. Maltonator Doppelbock
This is yet another recipe from the American Homebrewers Association. This extra-dark home brew is full of aromatic hops and layers of flavors that are hard to replicate anywhere else.
Ingredients:
- 9.5 lb. (4.32 kg.) Weyermann Munich Type I (60%)
- 5.5 lb. (2.5 kg.) Weyermann Munich Type II (35%)
- 0.75 lb. (0.34 kg.) Weyermann Caramunich I (5%)
- 1.5 oz. (42 g.) Hallertauer Mittelfruh or Tettnanger, 4.5% AA
- Bavarian lager yeast (White Labs 833 German Bock or Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager)
- 1 cup corn sugar
Start this Doppelbock recipe with a dough-in with 4 gallons of water at 100℉. Then, let it rest for about an hour. After this, infuse one gallon of your mix with nearly boiling water every 15 minutes until you’ve infused all water. Every time you add water, stirr in it as thoroughly as possible. Then, mash it out at 172℉.
Run off all of the sweet wort, sparging whenever is needed. You’ll eventually collect eight gallons. Boil this wort for two hours and then let it rest for about 30 minutes. After half an hour, chill the wort down to 50℉, oxygenate, and then pitch your yeast. Finally, ferment your mixture for about two weeks, and then chill all the way down to 28℉ before racking again. Let it lager at 35℉ for 18 weeks and then you’re ready to enjoy.
2. The Grommator
This Doppelbock homebrew recipe is a wonderfully delicious brew with a slightly carbonated body. The exact recipe can be found on BeerRecipes.org.
Ingredients:
- ½ lb. pale malt
- ½ lb. crystal malt
- ½ lb. chocolate malt
- 9.9 lbs. dark malt extract syrup
- 1 lb. dry amber malt extract
- 3-½ oz. Saaz hops (boiled)
- ½ oz Hallertauer hops (finish)
- Lager yeast
- ¾ cup corn sugar
To make this Doppelbock beer recipe, start by roasting this pale malt in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the malt is golden brown. Then, crack grains and add about 1.5 gallons of cold water and then bring it to a boil. Before the boil actual stars, remove the grains and add the extract and Saaz hops. Then, boil for 60 minutes.
After this, add the Hallertauer hops and boil for another five minutes. After this, take it off the heat and then cover. Let the hops steep for a good minute, and then strain the mixture into 3 and ½ gallons of cold water. Pitch your yeast and then ferment your mixture for at least one week at about 65℉. Then, rack it to secondary and ferment for about 3 weeks at 50℉.
1. Baumerator
Our last Doppelbock beer recipe also comes from BeerRecipes.org. This one is best enjoyed ice cold and aged for just a little.
Ingredients:
- 10 lbs. 2-Row malt
- 3 lbs. Munich malt
- ½ lb. toasted malt
- ½ lb. chocolate malt
- ¼ lb. roasted barley
- ¼ lb. black patent malt
- ½ crystal malt 90L
- 4 oz. Tettenger boiling hops (60 min)
- ½ oz. Tettenger finishing hops (10 min)
- Yeast Labs Bavarian Lager Yeast
This recipe is as easy as it gets. Let the protein rest at 125℉ for 30 minutes. Then, mash at 154℉ for 90 minutes. Let it rest, and then mash it out at 168℉ for ten minutes. After this, you can leave it to ferment at 50℉ for 18 days straight, and then reduce it down by raising the temperature up to 64℉ for two days. For best results, leave this brew fermenting cold lagered for 90 days at 35℉.
