Weizenbock is still a fairly rare style to find, particularly in Bavaria, where it was created and is still brewed by a few daring breweries. It is difficult to brew, but satisfying to drink.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.076
FG: 1.011
IBUs: 20
ABV: 8.5%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
4.1 lb (1.9 kg) dark wheat malt
4.1 lb (1.9 kg) light wheat malt
2.25 lb (1 kg) Vienna malt
1.83 lb 830 g) dark Munich malt
1.13 lb (513 g) Pilsner malt
9 oz (254 g) med. caramel malt
2.4 oz (68 g) dark caramel malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.67 oz (19 g) Tettnang [3% AA] at boil start
0.33 oz (9 g) Spalt Select [6% AA] at boil start
0.67 oz (19 g) Tettnang [3% AA] at 30 minutes
0.33 oz (9 g) Spalt Select [6% AA] at 30 minutes
YEAST
Your favorite hefeweizen strain; most typical is Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen.
DIRECTIONS
Multistep mash: Mash in at 112°F (44°C) and hold for 10 minutes. Raise temperature to 144°F (62°C) and hold for 45 minutes. Raise temperature to 158°F (70°C) and hold for 15 minutes. Raise temperature to 172°F (78°C) for mash out.
Lauter slowly, but not too slowly. The problem can be that with this combination of malts, the bed will want to set if you pull too hard. If you go too slowly, the temperature will decrease, increasing the viscosity and slowing things down further. You will probably need to manually lift the bed at some point.
Boil as usual, following the hops schedule. You should evaporate 5–8 percent of your kettle full volume, however long that takes, usually 45–90 minutes.
Cool, aerate, and pitch the yeast at 61°F (16°C). Ferment at 65°F (18°C). After checking for diacetyl and verifying it is sufficiently low, cool to 40°F (4°C).
BREWER’S NOTES
The malt bill is the most complex I have used in our brewery. Typically, simple is better, but the reason for this combination is the complexity it brings to the malt character. More important is the way the yeast transforms the different proteins in the different malts into the complex aromas that are characteristic of this style of beer. If you are having trouble sourcing any of these ingredients, there are suitable substitutions for the malts that I have specified. For example, if you cannot source dark wheat malt, increase the light wheat and dark Munich malts to achieve similar color.
Lautering can take a long time and require interventions to keep it going. If it takes longer than 3 hours, heat the collected wort to at least 160°F (71°C) to keep it from spoiling as you collect the remaining wort from lautering.
Editor's note: Corrected to fix hop addition amounts.