Oktoberfest

Hey guys -

So Ive been brewing for a few years, but have never made a lager before. I was thinking about doing an Oktoberfest (I know its supposed to be March -- but I am close enough). Some quick questions for you guys:

1. I have a large chest freezer that I use for temp control for my ales
2. Ideally, I could brew and lager the Oktober fest; but at some point (June) I would need the freezer back for ales
3. Can I "lager" through June and then store it at ale temps (60-65) until October?

Thanks!

The brewing of Oktoberfests/Marzens in March and lagering until September is just old tradition. Lagering times depend on OG and how dextrinous the wort is. On a typical Oktoberfest, you could primary ferment for ~2 weeks at 50°F, lager for 6-8 weeks at 33-34°F, then bottle or keg, at which point you could keep it at 60-65°F no problem (unless priming with a malt-based sugar, in which case it needs to carb at primary fermentation temps for about 3 weeks, then move it to room temp).

There's no problem at all with this plan. If you were going to store it at 85F, it might be worth thinking about whether that's OK, but 3 months storage at 65F should be no problem for any well made homebrew.

Perfect! Ive got 15 gallons drinkable right now (ipa / irish red) so I can tie up my freezer for 10 weeks with still keeping beer on tap. My concern was always if I could let it go back to 65 after it is done lagering ... so you guys answered that!

Now off to find a good recipe and get a monster starter ready for a 20 gallon batch ....