If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Eisbock, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Pale malt, with the hop schedule doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Eisbock |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.090-1.116 |
| Final Gravity | 1.023-1.033 |
| ABV | 9.0-14.0% |
| IBU | 25-35 |
| SRM | 18-30 (dark copper to brown) |
| Difficulty | Advanced (freeze-distillation) |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pale malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with the hop schedule. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 12C (54F) Pitch Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 6 weeks at 3C (37F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt 1 Lb)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Chinook Hop Pellets 8 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. LalBrew Nottingham Brewing Yeast (2 Pack) – Make Beer at Home)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. 3 Gallon Clear Glass Italian Carboy)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Corn Sugar Dextrose Bottling Priming Sugar 1 lb Highly Fermentable N)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Deluxe Bottling Kit Craft a Brew Homebrew Bottler Equipment Home Bre)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Eisbock is best served in a snifter, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment GasOne 10 Gallon Stainless Steel Home Brew Kettle Pot Pre Drilled 4 |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Eisbock
Equipment
- 1 Large stockpot
- 1 Mash tun
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Spoon or paddle for stirring
- 1 Strainer or colander
- 1 Fermentation vessel
- 1 Airlock
- 1 Bottling equipment
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 27 Litres (47 1/2 Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 65°C (149°F)
- 10 lb Pale malt Quantity 4.75 kg
- 12 1/2 lb Munich malt Quantity 5.7 kg
- 13 1/2 oz Flaked barley Quantity 380 g
- 3 1/2 oz Chocolate malt Quantity 100 g
- 3 1/3 oz Carafa special I malt Quantity 95 g
For the Boil – 27Litres (47 1/2 Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 15 mins
- 1 oz Northern Brewer 8% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 17.4 )
- 1 oz Perle 8% When to add – For last 30 mins of boil ( IBU 13.0)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment -12°C (54°F) – Conditioning 6 weeks at 3°C (37°F)
- 1 Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager yeast
Instructions
- Heat 27 liters (47 1/2 pints) of water in a large stockpot to 65°C (149°F).
- Add the Pale malt, Munich malt, Flaked barley, Chocolate malt, and Carafa special I malt to the mash tun.
- Pour the heated water over the grains in the mash tun, and stir well.
- Allow the mixture to mash for 1 hour at 65°C (149°F).
- After 1 hour, use a strainer or colander to remove the spent grains from the mash tun.
- Heat the resulting wort in the stockpot to a boil.
- Add 1 oz of Northern Brewer 8% at the start of the boil and 1 oz of Perle 8% for the last 30 minutes of the boil.
- Add 1 tsp of Protofloc in the last 15 minutes of the boil.
- After 1 hour and 15 minutes of boiling, turn off the heat and allow the wort to cool.
- Once the wort has cooled to 12°C (54°F), pitch the Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager yeast into the fermentation vessel.
- Ferment the beer for 28 days at 12°C (54°F).
- After 28 days, transfer the beer to a secondary fermentation vessel and condition it for 6 weeks at 3°C (37°F).
- Once the beer is conditioned, bottle it and store it at room temperature for 7 weeks before drinking.
Get the fermentation temperature right on Eisbock and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Eisbock the Style It Is
Eisbock sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on pale malt and the hop schedule once it is finished conditioning. Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 9.0-14.0%
- Bitterness: 25-35 IBU
- Color: 18-30 (dark copper to brown)
- Serving temp: 50-55F (10-13C)
- Glassware: a snifter
- Food pairings: dark chocolate, dried fruit, cigars
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
