German-Style Doppelbock

« View all styles

Location:European
Category:Lager
BJCP Comparable Category:9A - Dopplebock

Beer Style Description

This is the description of how the German-Style Doppelbock style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the German-Style Doppelbock beer style.

  • Color: Copper to dark brown
  • Body: Full
  • Malt Flavors & Aromas: Pronounced aromas and flavors of toasted malted barley. Some caramel and toffee character can contribute to complexity in a secondary role. Dark fruit flavors such as prune and raisin may be present. Malty sweetness is pronounced but should not be cloying. There should be no astringency from roasted malts.
  • Hop Flavors & Aromas: Hop aroma is absent. Hop flavor is low.
  • IBUs/Bitterness: Low
  • Fermentation Characteristics: Alcoholic strength is high. Fruity esters are commonly perceived at low to moderate levels. Diacetyl should not be present.
  • Common Ingredients: Pils and/or Vienna malt for pale versions (with some Munich), Munich and Vienna malts for darker ones and occasionally a tiny bit of darker color malts (such as Carafa). Saazer-type hops. Clean lager yeast. Decoction mashing is traditional.
  • Commercial Examples: Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel, Ayinger Celebrator, Paulaner Salvator, Plank Bavarian Heller Doppelbock, Spaten Optimator, Tröegs Troegenator

Brewing Properties of German-Style Doppelbock

These are the functional brewing properties of German-Style Doppelbock beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.

ABV
The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have.
6.6 - 7.9%
Bitterness
The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer.
17 - 27 IBUs
SRM
SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more »
–
12 - 30 SRM
(24 - 59 EBC)
Original Gravity
Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer.
1.074 - 1.080
Final Gravity
The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete.
1.014 - 1.020

If you see an error in our data, please let us know!

Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.