Oktoberfest

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a good Oktoberfest recipe. Yes, I know it's already October so by the time it's brewed fermented and aged it'll be winter, but that's my point. It's great beer, and once it's off the shelf I'm out of luck for quite some time. Anyone have a good one to share? I've only done 5 home brews so far; all from kits (Brewers Best) but want to start increasing complexity a bit. Let me know what I might be able to try, Thanks!

Cheers!

Are you doing a lager? If you are, I have a couple of decent recipes. Some people can't lager, so they do ales and do a mock-toberfest. I've done, though, too, and can probably dig up a recipe for that, too.

I can do either. My house has a cooler basement that I can use for the lower temperatures for lagering, but I'm game to try anything. Thanks!

If you want to step up the complexity of your extract brews, add some steeping grain to the recipe. And in an Oktobefest, I'd definitely go with some Munich and Vienna malts. I know these are base malts, but they add that extra flavor an Oktobefest needs. If you can get Munich extract, that's a good thing to go with also.

Other then that, use Hallertauer hops and possibly Saaz if you like them. I use all Hallertauer though, as I keep this type beer on tap at my house most months of the year.

Lagering properly does improve the flavor of this style, however, I've also had good results using the German lager yeasts at room temp to brew this style beer. In my opinion, it just turns out with a little more body.

cheers

~r~