Doppelbock Brew

[Cloud Surfer]

Anyone got and tips for making a Doppelbock? I’m about to have my first go at one.

I like brewing with simple/minimalist recipes and letting the process influence the beer. Malt wise, I’m thinking one third each of Munich I, Munich II and Pilsner. I see a lot of the US brewers use Caramunich along with all sorts of other speciality malts, but I’m just not sure if they’re really warranted.

I don’t mind doing decoctions, and it would seem they are a core part of making great Doppelbocks.

What about the Mash profile? I’m wary of mashing too hot, which suits the style, but might leave it under attenuated. How does a 63C/70C/77C schedule look? Would that give me good attenuation while also producing a full bodied beer?

I’m planning a 120 minute boil for some extra colour and flavour.

Going to use Wyeast 2206.

 

[Half-baked]

Hey mate, that all looks pretty good to me. I have my first coming up too, and mine looks pretty similar.
Differences are that I will do a 40/40/20 malt bill (20% pils), and a 70c mash with a single decoction.
I’m basing my mash schedule on the numbers for Celebrator, which has a 73 OG and 22 FG. Brewfather predicts a 70c mash will get me to 24, but I find I’m always a few points lower with a decoction.
(No idea about the Celebrator malt bill though.)
I’ll be using wlp833 (the Ayinger strain) with a massive starter and shooing for 20 IBUs

 

[Cloud Surfer]

Your brew looks great.

I don’t have any recipe clones here, I’m just making one up myself. I’m trying to show some restraint, as I love big beers, but I think Doppelbocks have a sweet spot in the mid range. I’m aiming for around 1.085 OG, but I really want to hit 1.020 FG and no higher. That’s why I’m having a close look at the mash schedule. I was going to do the one single step at 68C, but I don’t think that will get me down to 1.020. That’s why I’m thinking a 63C step first.

I’m aiming for 22 IBU’s as well. This is actually my first lager, which I’m looking forward to. I’ve got the fermentation schedule worked out for the Grainfather, then I’ve got a lagering fridge for it to sit in for 3 to 6 months. Probably more like 3 months as I’ll be keen to see how it turned out.

Actually the other thing I’m on to is adding CBC-1 yeast at bottling. I’m doing that now for all the beers I condition long term and really like the results.

 

[Half-baked]

With yours having a higher OG, makes sense to use a higher proportion of pilsner and have a lower mash temp.

The hochkurz mash schedule always does well for me in getting a dry beer.

As I’m sure you know, make sure you pitch a huge amount of yeast. The recommendation is 2mil cells/ml/degree plato, but I aim for at least 25% more.

I’ve been using the Narziss fermentation schedule this winter (have a fridge ‘glycol’ setup, so can’t properly maintain lager temps during the summer). It supposedly reduces the lagering time needed. My first lager this season is yet to finish properly lagering but the Narziss schedule seems to be working well, they taste pretty clean so far.