National Homebrew Competition 2017: Doppelbock entry

For my fourth entry in the National Homebrew Competition for 2017 I brewed a Doppelbock (BJCP category 9A).

Recipe

This was the first time I had brewed this style so I decided to use Jamil’s Mr Maltinator recipe from Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew (see page 89).

Here is the tweaked recipe I used together with a yeast starter:

• Borlander Munich malt – 16 Lbs
• German Pilsner malt – 6 Lbs
• Caramel Munich 60L malt – 2 Lbs
• Rice Hulls – 1 lb
• Hallertauer Millefreuh hops – 2.0 oz @ 60 mins for bittering
• German Hallertauer hops – 0.5 oz @ 30 mins for flavoring
• Irish Moss @ 15 mins
• Bavarian Lager yeast (Wyeast 2206)

Brewing

The brewing schedule included the following steps:

• Mashing @ 152 deg F for 75 mins (pH 4.9)
• Mash out @ 168 deg F for 10 mins
• Bring to the boil then add bittering hops
• Boil for 30 mins then add flavoring hops
• Boil for 15 mins then add Irish Moss for clarifying
• Boil for 15 mins then chill wort
• Cool wort to 52 deg F then pitch the yeast starter
• Ferment @ 52 deg F until complete (6 weeks), allow to settle then keg, carbonate and bottle

During the brew day I made a slight mistake which may have inadvertently contributed to the finished beer having the effect of a decoction mash. I use a BIAB (Brew In A Bag) system whereby after the water has reached strike temperature I need to insert a nylon mash back into the crab basket which has large holes within the Mash Tun and then add the milled grain.

For an inexplicable reason I forgot to do this and only realized having poured in about a pound of grain. I immediately stopped and used a sieve to scoop out as much as I could then added the bulk of the grist once the grain bag was in place. The result being some grain was near the heating element in the bottom of the Mash Tun and probably got slightly scorched thereby simulating a decoction mash as traditionally used by German brewers.

The finished beer had the following characteristics (with BJCP standards):

• Starting Gravity: 1.090 (1.072 – 1.112)
• Finishing Gravity: 1.029 (1.016 – 1.024)
• ABV: 8.01% (7.0 – 10.0%)
• SRM: 20.3 (6 – 25)
• IBUs: 22.5 (16 – 26)

Everything was within the relevant ranges apart from the Finishing Gravity which was a bit high, perhaps due to the yeast giving up on fermentation or too many complex sugars for the yeast to consume.

Results

Each beer is assessed by two judges with marks and attributes assigned under 5 sections.

Judge #1:

• Aroma = 10/12
  • Malt: medium-high and bready, rich & toasty
  • Hops: none
  • Esters: none
  • Phenols: none
  • Alcohol: none
  • Sweetness: none
  • Acidity: none
  • Melanoidin: medium-high
  • Comments: Nice melanoidin (maillard) aroma – perfect for this style.
• Appearance = 2/3
  • Clarity: medium-high
  • Head Size: medium
  • Head Retention: low-medium
  • Beer Color: amber, copper
  • Head Color: cream
  • Comments: Ruby highlights
• Flavor = 17/20
  • Malt: medium-high and bready, rich & toasty
  • Hops: none
  • Esters: none
  • Phenols: none
  • Sweetness: none
  • Bitterness: low-medium
  • Alcohol: none
  • Acidity: none
  • Harshness: none
  • Balance: malty
  • Comments: Melanoidin to perfection.
• Mouthfeel = 4/5
  • Body: medium-high
  • Carbonation: medium
  • Warmth: low
  • Creaminess: none
  • Atsringency: none
  • Finish: medium & dry
• Overall Impression = 9/10
  • Stylistic Accuracy: high
  • Technical Merit: high
  • Intangibles: medium-high
  • Drinkability: I would pay money for this beer.
• TOTAL = 42/50

Judge #2:

• Aroma = 10/12
  • Malt: caramel, bready, rich & toasty
• Appearance = 3/3
  • Clarity: medium-high
  • Head Size: medium-high
  • Head Retention: medium
  • Beer Color: amber & copper
  • Head Color: cream
• Flavor = 15/20
  • Malt: medium and caramel, bready & rich
  • Esters: fruity
  • Sweetness: medium
  • Bitterness: low
  • Alcohol: medium
• Mouthfeel = 3/5
  • Body: medium
  • Carbonation: medium-high
  • Warmth: medium
• Overall Impression = 7/10
  • Stylistic Accuracy: medium-high
  • Technical Merit: medium-high
  • Intangibles: medium-high
• TOTAL = 38/50

Assigned consensus score was 40/50.

This result is very good with the only improvement being to put the grain bag in place before adding the grain! How can I complain about a score of 40 and a Gold certificate…

Tasting notes:

Amber in color with a thin cream head and slight haze. A fruit & caramel aroma. Favor is syrupy caramel with a hint of dark fruits plus some hoppiness. Low-medium carbonation with a full body and linger caramel in the finish.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions then please feel free to add them below.