Hi all. I’m looking to brew a Weizenbock recipe in the next couple of weeks and having never brewed one I immediately planned on doing Jamil’s recipe from BCS. However, when I looked at it seemed like it would end up too sweet with its reliance on Special B and C-40, cloying sweetness being a common flaw in Weizenbocks. Quite a while back the Jamil Show had on Rodney who won the Longshot Competition with his Weizenbock and I was surprised at how much more simple his recipe was. He was sayin that age brings out the plum/raisin flavors in his beer, not specialty malts. Does anyone have any experience with either of these recipes?
no experience with either other than having also listened to that podcast, but I would say go with Rodneys. The only weizenbock I’ve had (that I LOVED) is Vitus by Weihenstephaner, and I would say in that one the fruit esters (plum/raisin) are almost more of the oxidized alcohol (like you would get in a well-aged BW or Old Ale), and that the yeast phenols (bubblegum/banana) are the star of the show.
Maybe find a clone of Vitus and see how it compares to Jamil’s/Rodney’s recipes. IMHO that beer has a great upfront malty sweetness, followed by esters/phenols, followed by a bit of warmth with a underlying dryness (read: not sweet) that made me want another sip.
It also made me say aloud to myself “$#@! pumpkin beers, I am brewing one of these for next Halloween!”
Let me know how it turns out!
