Doppelbock

Malty sweetness is dominant but should not be cloying. Malt character is more is reminiscent of fresh and lightly toasted Munich-style malt; more so than caramel or toffee malt character. Some elements of caramel and toffee can be evident and contribute to complexity, but the predominant malt character is an expression of toasted barley malt. Doppelbocks are full-bodied and deep amber to dark brown in color. Astringency from roast malts is absent. Alcoholic strength is high and hop rates increase with gravity. Hop bitterness and flavor should be low and hop aroma absent. Fruity esters are commonly perceived but at low to moderate levels.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound crystal malt

• 1/2 pound pale malt

• 1/2 pound chocolate malt

• 6 pounds dark malt extract

• 2 pounds light malt extract

• 5-1/2 ounces Hallertau hops

• 1 teaspoon Irish moss

• Wyeast 2308 Munich lager yeast

• 1 cup corn sugar

Instructions:

1. Place the crushed specialty grains in a nylon hop bag and steep them in 1 gallon of preheated 150º water for 30 minutes.

2. Drain and discard the spent grains.

3. Bring at least 3 gallons of liquor to a boil, remove the brew kettle from the heat source then stir in the extract and 4 ounces of the Hallertau hops.

4. Return the brew kettle to the heat source and boil for 45 minutes, then add the Irish moss and the rest of the hops.

5. Boil for an additional 15 minutes, then remove the brew kettle from the heat source, cover it and drop the temperature of the wort as quickly as possible to 77º F.

6. Once the wort has cooled to below 77º F, take an original gravity reading, pour the wort into a primary fermenter through a funnel with a strainer and add enough cool water to create 5 gallons.

7. Once the wort has been transferred to the primary fermenter, pitch the yeast, stir the wort vigorously, seal the fermenter with an airlock and ferment at 47º-52º F for the first 2 weeks then at 57º-62º F for the remainder of the fermentation - the longer you allow this beer to ferment, the better it will be.

8. Rack the beer to a secondary fermenter and allow the beer to finish fermentation.

9. Once fermentation is complete, rack the beer to a bottling bucket, prime with the corn sugar and bottle and condition as usual - again, the longer you allow this beer to condition, the better it will be.