Ale yeast for Oktoberfest

I somehow forgot to make my seasonal oktoberfest and am strapped on time now. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good ale yeast that would have a clean malty finish similar to the helles finish.

I would go with a 2112 to go for lager qualities. If that does not work for you, try 1007.

Dave

EDIT: Another recommendation would be 2124 to try for both lager characteristics and malt profile...

I just brewed one up this weekend with WLP036 - Dusseldorf Alt Yeast. White labs says it creates clean slightly sweet alt beers. I also picked because it has the same attenuation range as the bavarian lager strain.

A lot of people recommended Kolsch or Nottingham yeast, but I didn't want my Aletoberfest to over attenuate and be left too dry.

I have read on here people have a lot of success with S-04, Nottingham, and Kolsch yeast keeping the temps on the low end.

how well can you control your fermentation temperatures?

Pacman or wlp090 or us-05 if properly temp controlled can produce very clean beers - use a higher mash temp to help keep some body and maltiness

2112 is more fruity and has more esters than the above IMO

2124 is a lager strain

1007 is very clean as well if you can keep the temps low but seems to work slower than other ale yeasts IME

I just pitched a mix of 1007 and 1098 into the Brewhouse kit. It's my Anglo-German Rocktoberfest.

I can only ferment at 66 to 75 degrees, or 50 and below in my cooler. I am going to go with 1007. Thanks for the help guys. Rocktoberfest sounds pretty kickass.

i personally would use something other than 1007 if that's your temp range, its right on the edge of the upper limits

i brewed an oktoberfest ale last year using 1007 and my temps were around 68-70 at some points and it had all sorts of fruitiness to it that took a long time to begin to mellow out.

i figured german yeast was better since it was a german style at the time, but without being able to ferment in the low 60's it's not an ideal choice IMHO

I just did an Oktoberfest with Wyeast kolsch that turned out great. Keep your temp under 70 and it should work pretty well if you change your mind and decide to go that route.

Its usually a steady 68 degrees in the closet that I ferment room temp ales in. so I should go with the kolsch. Ill rock the same recipe for my next batch in a month with the kolsch yeast and see which one turns out better.

I just tapped my "Kolschtoberfest" on Monday. Used WLP029. I am very happy with the results. Fermentation was 58 ambient with a 1.25L starter I left it on the cake for 3 weeks and did a two week cold crash. You could tighten up those times if you want it on tap sooner.

wkellett1 said:

Its usually a steady 68 degrees in the closet that I ferment room temp ales in. so I should go with the kolsch. Ill rock the same recipe for my next batch in a month with the kolsch yeast and see which one turns out better.

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If that's your temps I would go with US-05. It was my only yeast I used before I got temp controls and it was still pretty clean at warmer temps.

Just remembered that I am a huge rush fan. Going to use wyeast 2112. Tom sawyer not soberfest 2112

Just cracked my first mocktoberfest today. Did it with WLP029 at 62F for 4 days then ramped to 68F for 10. It's been in the bottle for 2 weeks. Already very tasty.

terrapinj said:

how well can you control your fermentation temperatures?

Pacman or wlp090 or us-05 if properly temp controlled can produce very clean beers - use a higher mash temp to help keep some body and maltiness

2112 is more fruity and has more esters than the above IMO

2124 is a lager strain

1007 is very clean as well if you can keep the temps low but seems to work slower than other ale yeasts IME

Click to expand...

FYI-2124 is a lager strain that ferments well at 65-68 like 2112. It's a little less fruity and has a better malt backbone. Since an ale yeast is being considered, you will have more ale characteristics anyway. Just another option and one that will keep lager characteristics at the higher temperature....

Zacher said:

FYI-2124 is a lager strain that ferments well at 65-68 like 2112. It's a little less fruity and has a better malt backbone. Since an ale yeast is being considered, you will have more ale characteristics anyway. Just another option and one that will keep lager characteristics at the higher temperature....

Click to expand...

i was unaware of that for that strain, thanks for the info

I have had great success with WLP 036. As stated early in this thread, it is a clean, malty strain and I was looking to replicate a great Alt I had at Urige in Dusseldorf, it matched perfectly!

terrapinj said:

i was unaware of that for that strain, thanks for the info

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Found out myself only a few months ago on another forum!

Dave