Josh Weikert

Great to brew or drink at any time of year, the too-often-overlooked Bavarian-style dark wheat beer offers crowd-pleasing flavors and looks impressive in the glass.

• Beer Recipe
• Dunkelweizen
• Weissbier

This recipe includes guidelines on fermenting a lager under pressure—and you can apply the same guidelines to your own favorite lager recipe.

• Beer Recipe
• Pilsner

Fermenting under pressure to make beer faster is an old industrial trick—and it works just as well on a small scale. Here’s what to know about a method that can help you brew more lagers in less time, honing your technique along the way.

• Lager
• Pressure
• Spunding

Fresh and malty with plenty of English hop character, this is a great one to enjoy on those long winter evenings to come.

• Make Your Best
• British Ale
• Strong Ale

Eisbock uses a fractional freezing process to concentrate the beer’s strength, and it does so without requiring your yeast to work overtime. The result is a smooth, rich, and intense lager—perfectly suited to sipping on a cold winter night.

• Make Your Best
• Eisbock
• Bock

This seasonal ale is a bright enough red to match your Santa hat, and it goes well with just about anything on your holiday table.

• Beer Recipe
• Irish Red Ale
• Fruit Beer

Stefan Zehendner at Brauerei Zehendner shares a recipe for this strong, seasonal bock that he releases every December. As with his Maibock, the target is a full-flavored yet addictively drinkable strong lager with deep, bready malt flavor and surprising bitterness, complemented by herbal-minty Perle hop flavors.

• Beer Recipe
• Bock
• Heller Bock

In looking for tips on what makes for a great pale bock, Josh Weikert reaches out to owner-brewer Stefan Zehendner of the highly regarded Brauerei Zehendner, makers of the Mönchsambacher beers.

• Bock
• Heller Bock
• Franconia

Somewhere between hefty doppelbock and pale heller bock, the traditional dunkles bock is like the family’s middle child—it doesn’t get as much attention, but you’ll want it in your fridge year-round.

• Make Your Best
• Bock
• Dunkles Bock

In looking for insights on brewing a great porter in the modern American style, Josh Weikert talks to Cleveland’s Great Lakes about the inner workings of the beloved and enduring Edmund Fitzgerald.

• American Porter
• Porter
• Robust Porter

“Smooth and dangerous” and great for winter sipping, these are some of the most enjoyable beers you’ll ever drink—and they can be surprisingly easy to make if you build a good recipe and adhere to some basic brewing practices.

• Belgian Dark Strong Ale
• Make Your Best
• Homebrewing

We know: It’s time to drink it, not brew it. Yet while you’re hoisting a few at the season’s festivities, it’s never too early to start thinking about your spring brewing schedule...

• Make Your Best
• Oktoberfest
• Amber Lager