If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Traditional Bock, 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 | Traditional Bock |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.064-1.080 |
| Final Gravity | 1.014-1.020 |
| ABV | 6.3-7.5% |
| IBU | 20-35 |
| SRM | 14-30 (copper to dark brown) |
| Difficulty | Advanced (lager patience required) |
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 White Labs WLP820 Oktoberfest 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 · 4 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. Briess BJ-5U8M-8RRM Chocolate Malt 1 lb., Brown)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Magnum Hop Pellets 1 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. Safbrew T-58 (3 Count 11.5 g Packs))
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. FASTFERMENT Floor Stand for FastFerment 7.9 Gallon Conical Fermenter)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Mr Beer Homebrewing Carbonation Drops)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Monster Brew Home Brewing Supplies Home Brew Ohio Complete Beer Equi)
- 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 Traditional Bock is best served in a mug or goblet, 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 Regular 5/16″ Auto Siphon 24″ Length with 8 feet of Tubing, clear |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Traditional Bock
Equipment
- 1 Mash tun
- 1 Brew kettle
- 1 Fermentation vessel (e.g. carboy or plastic fermenter)
- 1 Airlock and stopper
- 1 Hydrometer and test jar
- 1 Thermometer (preferably with a range of at least 0-100°C/32-212°F)
- 1 Immersion chiller or other means of cooling the wort
- 1 Auto-siphon or racking cane with tubing
- 1 Bottling bucket
- 1 Bottles (preferably amber or brown glass)
- 1 Bottle capper
- 1 Sanitizer (e.g. Star San or iodophor)
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 19 Litres (33 Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 65°C (149°F)
- 6 lb Pale malt Quantity 2.75 kg
- 6 lb Munich malt Quantity 2.75 kg
- 1 lb Carapils malt Quantity 550 g
- 12 oz Special B malt Quantity 350 g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47 1/2 Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 15 mins
- 3/4 oz Northern Brewer 8% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 18.9)
- 1/3 oz Tettnang 4.5% When to add – For last 30 mins of boil (IBU 3.2)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 12°C (54°F) Conditioning 4 weeks at 3°C (37°F)
- 1 White Labs WLP820 Oktoberfest Yeast
Instructions
- Heat the liquor for the mash to 65°C (149°F).
- Add the Pale malt, Munich malt, Carapils malt, and Special B malt to the mash tun.
- Pour the heated liquor over the grains in the mash tun, and stir well to combine.
- Mash the grains for 1 hour at 65°C (149°F).
- After the mash, sparge the grains with hot water at 75°C (167°F) to extract as much sugar as possible from the grains.
- Collect the wort in a brew kettle, and bring it to a boil.
- Add 3/4 oz of Northern Brewer 8% hops to the kettle at the start of the boil, and boil for 1 hour.
- Add 1/3 oz of Tettnang 4.5% hops to the kettle for the last 30 minutes of the boil.
- Add 1 tsp of Protofloc to the kettle for the last 15 minutes of the boil.
- After the boil, chill the wort to 12°C (54°F).
- Transfer the cooled wort to a fermentation vessel, and pitch the White Labs WLP820 Oktoberfest Yeast.
- Ferment the beer at 12°C (54°F) for approximately 28 days.
- After fermentation, transfer the beer to a conditioning vessel, and condition it for 4 weeks at 3°C (37°F).
- After conditioning, the beer is ready to drink. Enjoy your Traditional Bock!
Get the fermentation temperature right on Traditional Bock and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Traditional Bock the Style It Is
Traditional Bock 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. White Labs WLP820 Oktoberfest is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 6.3-7.5%
- Bitterness: 20-35 IBU
- Color: 14-30 (copper to dark brown)
- Serving temp: 45-50F (7-10C)
- Glassware: a mug or goblet
- Food pairings: roast game, dark bread, aged cheese
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.
