Oktoberfest and lagering

I've done my research, so i'm not trying to make people answer twice, but i've only done 1 lager...ever...and it was a pretty primitive way of temp control and fermentation. It turned out great...but this time I want to be prepared!

My Starter...

I made a 2000 ml starter, pitched my yeast...fermented out, crashed, decanted.
Pitched into ANOTHER 2000 ml starter....fermented out, crashed, decanted
Pitched into YET ANOTHER 2000 ml starter...fermented out, crashed and its now waiting

I should have MORE than enough yeast for a 10 gallon batch

So...i'm going to brew 10 gallons of oktoberfest

My 5 gallon batch, being brewed twice is...

5 lbs Munich
5 lbs Pilsner
2 lbs Vienna
1 oz Spalter @ 60
1 oz Tettnang @ 30
WLP820 with huge starter

I was planning on fermenting at 53 for 3 weeks, letting it rise for diacityl rest (if needed)

This is where I have my question...Should I.....

1) rack to secondary for 8 weeks of lagering
2) just put the carboys back into the chest freezer still on top of the cake

Cheers!

I'm a huge believer in racking after the diactyl rest and before lagering. Lagers are very "clean" tasting and a yeast flavor is out of style for an Oktoberfest.

I love Oktoberfest/Marzen...malty and smooth all at the same time. I want to make sure I get this one right!

Can I lager in corny's? I have like 10 of them sitting around unused...might as well put them to good use if i can!

1971hemicuda said:

I love Oktoberfest/Marzen...malty and smooth all at the same time. I want to make sure I get this one right!

Can I lager in corny's? I have like 10 of them sitting around unused...might as well put them to good use if i can!

Click to expand...

Sure- they work great! A small headspace, purge with co2, and you're all set- probably better than a carboy.

i haven't seen anyone touch on this, but I've always noticed that no matter how long i lager a lager in a carboy, when i package it it always needs to be lagered again until it tastes right. I've recently started just racking into a keg right after the d-rest (a technique I've seen some other seasoned brewers on here do). I feel like I've been wasting time racking to a carboy, lagering, kegging/bottling, then having to lager again. i dunno, my 2 cents.

PS. those grains... that looks like a 5-gallon recipe right?

Thanks for all the advice!

markg388 said:

PS. those grains... that looks like a 5-gallon recipe right?

Click to expand...

Yep, that's for 5 gallons. I'm just going to brew it twice, use 2 fermenters and split the yeast between the two.

Yooper said:

Sure- they work great! A small headspace, purge with co2, and you're all set- probably better than a carboy.

Click to expand...

+1 corny's work great for lagering. I'm curentyl lagering an Oktoberfest in one. Come serving time I plan on using my CO2 to push it to a serving keg and then let it carb for 2 weeks.