KidLightning
Well-Known Member
Long-time reader, first-time poster, with a super-long post
I know that traditionally an Oktoberfest is brewed around the end of Winter/beginning of Spring to be ready for the end of Summer/beginning of Fall, however, I recently realized I had the ingredients (except the yeast) on hand to brew something along the lines of an Oktoberfest so I went for it this past weekend.
The yeast I am using is Wyeast 2366 Oktoberfest Lager Blend and I will have the beer ready by October 1st, after brewing it on July 15th.
I was recently given a copy of the Brooklyn Brew Shop recipe book (some delicious looking stuff in there by the by) and noticed that their suggested schedule for lagers is 3 weeks in primary at 54ºF followed by a 3 week lagering period at normal fridge temps. They also suggest 2 weeks in the bottle to condition/carb and I also like to give the beer at least a week in the fridge after bottling.
This is 9 weeks total and based on my October 1st target date, so I have some extra time to play with and originally developed this schedule, based on some other brews I have done
Primary: 3 weeks
Diacetyl Rest: 3 days
Secondary/Lager: 3 weeks
Bottle Condition: 3 weeks
Chill: 10 days
Then after some reading about lagers on these forums, in How To Brew, etc. I developed an alternate schedule that looks something like this
Primary: 2 weeks
Diacetyl Rest: 3 days
Secondary/Lager: 40 days
Bottle Condition: 2 weeks
Chill: 1 week
So my question to y'all is which would you follow? Or would you do something entirely different? It mainly boils down to more time in the primary/bottle or more time lagering. Which one, in your opinion/experience, gives the most benefit, and why?
Thanks,
Chris
I know that traditionally an Oktoberfest is brewed around the end of Winter/beginning of Spring to be ready for the end of Summer/beginning of Fall, however, I recently realized I had the ingredients (except the yeast) on hand to brew something along the lines of an Oktoberfest so I went for it this past weekend.
The yeast I am using is Wyeast 2366 Oktoberfest Lager Blend and I will have the beer ready by October 1st, after brewing it on July 15th.
I was recently given a copy of the Brooklyn Brew Shop recipe book (some delicious looking stuff in there by the by) and noticed that their suggested schedule for lagers is 3 weeks in primary at 54ºF followed by a 3 week lagering period at normal fridge temps. They also suggest 2 weeks in the bottle to condition/carb and I also like to give the beer at least a week in the fridge after bottling.
This is 9 weeks total and based on my October 1st target date, so I have some extra time to play with and originally developed this schedule, based on some other brews I have done
Primary: 3 weeks
Diacetyl Rest: 3 days
Secondary/Lager: 3 weeks
Bottle Condition: 3 weeks
Chill: 10 days
Then after some reading about lagers on these forums, in How To Brew, etc. I developed an alternate schedule that looks something like this
Primary: 2 weeks
Diacetyl Rest: 3 days
Secondary/Lager: 40 days
Bottle Condition: 2 weeks
Chill: 1 week
So my question to y'all is which would you follow? Or would you do something entirely different? It mainly boils down to more time in the primary/bottle or more time lagering. Which one, in your opinion/experience, gives the most benefit, and why?
Thanks,
Chris