German-Style Eisbock

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Location:European
Category:Lager
BJCP Comparable Category:9B - Eisbock

Beer Style Description

This is the description of how the German-Style Eisbock 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 Eisbock beer style.

This is a stronger version of Doppelbock. Traditionally, these beers were created by freezing a Doppelbock and removing the ice, thus concentrating the alcohol.

  • Color: Light brown to black
  • Body: Very full
  • Malt Flavors & Aromas: Sweet malt character is very high. Dark fruit flavors such as prune and raisin may be present
  • Hop Flavors & Aromas: Hop aroma and flavor is absent
  • IBUs/Bitterness: Very low to low
  • Fermentation Characteristics: Alcohol may be present in aroma. Fruity esters may be evident, but not overpowering. Diacetyl should not be present. Alcoholic strength is very high.
  • Common Ingredients: Eisbocks are not simply stronger doppelbocks; the name refers to the process of freezing and concentrating the beer and is not a statement on alcohol; some doppelbocks are stronger than Eisbocks. Not as thick, rich, or sweet as a Wheatwine.
  • Commercial Examples: Kulmbacher Eisbock

Brewing Properties of German-Style Eisbock

These are the functional brewing properties of German-Style Eisbock 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.
8.6 - 14.3%
Bitterness
The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer.
26 - 33 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 »
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15 - 50 SRM
(30 - 99 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 - 1.116
Final Gravity
The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete.
N/A

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.