Winterbock

5 gallons, extract and specialty grain

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. dark Munich malt, 10° Lovibond 1 lb. cara-pils malt
• 0.5 lb. chocolate malt
• 0.5 lb. medium crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
• 3 lbs. light unhopped dry malt extract
• 3 lbs. amber unhopped dry malt extract
• 4 oz. malto-dextrin powder
• 1.5 oz. Hallertauer hops (4% alpha acid), 0.25 oz. for 60 min., 0.5 oz. for 30 min., 0.75 oz. dry hopped for 30 min.
• 2 oz. dried wintergreen leaves
• Lager yeast slurry (Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager or the like)
• 1 oz. baker's wintergreen extract (optional)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Heat 7 qt. of water to 169° F. Crack grains and mix into water. Mash should settle to 157° F. Hold 75 min., run off, and sparge with 3 gal. of water at 168° F. To kettle add extracts and malto-dextrin powder. Bring to boil, add 0.25 oz. of hops. Boil 30 min. Add 0.5 oz. of hops and boil another 30 min. Add remaining hops and wintergreen leaves and remove from heat. Total boil is 60 min. Steep for 30 min., then chill and add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled cold water to make 5.25 gal. At 65° F, pitch yeast (pitch big; this needs a clean taste, no DMS or similar off-flavors are allowed).

Ferment at 65° F for two days. Gradually cool to 55° F for 10 to 12 days. Rack to secondary and lager at 38° to 40° F for six to eight weeks. Prime with corn sugar, and add wintergreen extract if desired. Age in bottles (or keg) at least six weeks, then select a cold, miserable winter night and pop one open. It'll make you think of a late spring or early summer evening.

Brewing Notes:

All-grain brewers:

Substitute for the dry malt extract 8 lbs. lager malt, increase the crystal malt to 1 lb. Mash at the same temperature and for the same time but use 3.75 gal. mash water and sparge with 4.5 gal. Your boil should be timed to reduce the wort down to 5.25 gal. Use the same hop schedule as above.

All-extract brewers:

Steep the cara-pils, crystal, and chocolate (amounts as above) in 3 gal. of cold water, heat gradually to 170° F, then remove grains. Increase the dry malt extract to 5 lbs. light and 4 lbs. amber.

One interesting variation I tried a couple years ago was to add a jar of root beer soda extract at bottling. It might work with sarsaparilla or birch beer extract as well.

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