Festbier Bee Cave Brewery Oktoberfest Ale

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Hey everybody, Im brewing this recipe this weekend! Like hopalotamus, I cut the grains back just a tad. (Im using 5lbs each of Pils/Vienna instead of 5.5) Even 13lbs will be pusing my mash tun to its limit.

I am also using Wyeast Kolsh 2565 instead of the WLP029 just because thats what was available.

The rest of it I am going to try to follow to a "T"!

Im really looking forward to this one! Octoberfest is some of my all time favorite beer!
 
So who has actually used this recipe and had good results by using a traditional Oktoberfest Lager yeast? We have plenty of time to brew a 10 gallon split batch and one of us will be using an Oktoberfest lager yeast and one will be using an ale yeast. Figured a recipe close to this might be a good choice.
 
I have used this recipe multiple times with different yeasts and every yeast variety has worked out great. The American Ale yeast was very good and the Okto-lager yeast was very smooth. My favorite has been Ommegang brewery yeast.
 
Brewed this a few months back and just tapped it a week or so ago...I've probably brewed 50 batches of beer give or take and this is THE BEST! Both SWMBO and I agree.

This goes on the regular rotation for sure
 
Assistance Please!
I do not have the space nor the time to do a lager. What is a great Ale yeast for this recipe? Would America or East Coast work?
 
wlp029 is an Ale yeast. if you can hold the beer at 65 deg During fermentation you'll be just fine. and have a more traditional taste than using american 1056 Or wlp008 East coast.
 
iparks81 said:
wlp029 is an Ale yeast. if you can hold the beer at 65 deg During fermentation you'll be just fine. and have a more traditional taste than using american 1056 Or wlp008 East coast.

Thanks! I think I will try it.
 
I am brewing this tomorrow. I will put this on yeast cake from Kolsch that was Ed Worts recipe as well. I anticipate that its as good as his Kolsch. Thanks Ed for sharing your awesome recipes with us.
 
any thoughts out there about using a yeast cake from Wyeast 1450 for this beer? I really like the beer, and I happen to have this yeast going right now, don't really know what I can and cannot use it for.

description says " It is unique in that it produces a big mouthfeel and accentuates the malt, caramel, or fruit character of a beer without being sweet or under-attenuated.. "

sounds to me like it should work.

cz
 
Went to buy ingrediants for this beer at lunch but they were out of some grains. Bought the yeast and hops for now. Cant wait to get this beer started. Cannot wait to tap it in October.
 
My friend and I just brewed this as our first AG batch. It is in the primary bubbling away. Will let everyone know the results in mid-Sept!
 
I love Denny's Favorite yeast too and I happen to have an amber fermenting now but the Kolsh yeast works so nicely on this the first time I put a few vials in my frozen yeast bank sop will be doing a yeast starter.
I just placed a pretty big order from Brewmasters Warehouse and I re-ordered this recipe two times.
 
It's getting to be that time soon. As soon as the Hefe is finished in the Fermenteezer, I'll be brewing up my Kolsch so to have a nice yeast cake for Oktoberfest Ale so it has time to age for my neighborhood Oktoberfest.
 
I've been thinking about doing this for a while. I've got some Kolsch yeast I washed; I need to see if it's viable.

Ed, have you made any changes to your original recipe?

-peabody304
 
I'm going to brew it on Saturday. It will be third BCB brew as well (unless you count Apfelwein which would make it number 4).

I made the BCB Kolsch recipe back in March (wife loved it), and tried washing the yeast for the first time. I made a starter on Monday out of the washed yeast and it's going very well. I'll step it up to about 1.5L tomorrow.

I think I'll to run to AHS at lunch to pick up the ingredients.

-peabody304
 
Is there any substitution for caravienne? I can't seem to find it locally. Also, which caramunich for this recipe, i.e. I, II, or III?
 
In this months Zymurgy (page 9) it says not to stir the mash. Even though it gives a slightly higher efficiency it can cause oxidation. Do you stir the mash on this at all during the 90 minutes? You obviously have this brew down to an artform so I'll just follow what you do.

Thanks!
 
In this months Zymurgy (page 9) it says not to stir the mash. Even though it gives a slightly higher efficiency it can cause oxidation. Do you stir the mash on this at all during the 90 minutes? You obviously have this brew down to an artform so I'll just follow what you do.

Thanks!

Really? That's interesting since commercial brewers stir mash all the time. I stir the mash to ensure even temps throughout the steeping period. When I drain into my brew kettle, my hose goes to the bottom to reduce splashing.

I guess it's all how you stir. I don't have any oxidation problems with my beers, so it works for me.
 
Well just finished the batch. It's in my swamp cooler now. Hit 1.0614 OG which isn't bad considering I'm using a mix of extract and AG equipment.
 
Mine's been fermenting at 60 degrees for about 11 days.

I plan to let it go for at least three weeks, but I was wondering if it would hurt (or change anything) to let the temp come up to 63 or 64 degrees for the last week.

I want to stick something else in the fermentation freezer, but I think I should raise the temp a few degrees. Or maybe the question is, how would S-04 do at 60 degrees? But then it's not a "Bee Cave Brewery Oktoberfest Ale" question anymore.

-peabody304
 
HBT & Ed--you never fail to deliver. Just ten minutes ago I thought, Man, it'd be nice to do an Oktoberfest. Too bad I'm not lagering.
 
Has anyone made this using WY2112 or WLP810 (the Anchor Steam strain)? It's basically a lager yeast that works at ale temps - any reason it wouldn't be suitable for an Oktoberfest?
 
Thanks for the recipe, Ed, it turned out great for me. I can't do AG, so I just brought the Pilsner down to 2 lbs. and susbtituted in 3 lbs. of Amber DME. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a T and it tastes fantastic after a month in the bottle. Can't wait to let a bunch of bottles sit in the fridge for a few weeks, I think they will taste even better after a touch of cold conditioning. Thanks again!

:mug:
 
do you bulk age it for months, or bottle carb it and then age it in fridge?
thx
 
do you bulk age it for months, or bottle carb it and then age it in fridge?
thx
Beernewb, I have bottled this, but have not yet tried it, but the advice I give you should be pretty sound.

You can bottle this. Follow the fermentation directions up to the point of carbonating it. At that point, you will want to bottle carb it and let it sit at about 60F for another 2 weeks to bottle condition before putting it in the fridge. If you put the beer in the fridge right away, you will put your yeast to sleep and your beer will be flat and sweet. Gotta give the yeast some time to convert the priming sugar into carbonation before putting it in the fridge. After it has bottle conditioned for about 2 weeks, you should be able put it in the fridge safely.

Hope this helps.
 
Made the EW Kolsch on Sunday, its voilently fermenting away. I plan on using the Yeast cake from it to make EW O-fest in about 10 days. Since this WLP029 puts off such a odor and did read that it might have skunked up a O-fest brew for someone who bottles like I do.. Would I be better off to wash the yeast first before pitching or just pitch right on top of the old cake. Thought being that washing may get rid of some of the trapped sulfur odor that the dead yeasties may be holding.
 
So after a month or so in the primary I moved it over to the keg so it can condition under pressure for a few months. As required by brewing law, I drank the gravity sample. Aside from being flat is pretty damn good already. It's a little sweet still and finished higher then I was expecting, but tasted pretty good and cleared out real well after 2 days of cold crashing before kegging.

Now I'm wondering if I didn't use a big enough starter. As long as the sweetness mellows out a bit before Oct 16th I think it's going to be an awesome beer.
 
This will definitely be my next brew. I really wanted to do an Oktoberfest style beer this year but i don't have a way to lager, so this will be great. I'm just pissed my busy ass schedule (and this damned Texas heat) have kept me from brewing much this summer.
 
Well, I followed the recipe exactly except I used a packet of US-04. I think I had a OG much higher, however I failed to take a reading. After three weeks in primary, I bottled. I was worried when I tried a sample and found it extremely sweet. I took a reading and it was 1.028! Unfortunately I already bottled. I guess I'll have to wait and see if this is drinkable. Maybe the alcohol content is high enough to counter the sweetness. I'm worried that I didn't pitch enough yeast and that's why it ended up so high. Hopefully I won't have any bottle bombs.
 
If you have/had the ability to take a SG reading, it would have been prudent to do so prior to bottling. What's done is done and I almost admire such a cavalier attitude towards brewing, but it just might behoove you to put those bottles in a safe location in the event you discover what the term "bottle bomb" means firsthand.
 
Anyone tell me the benifit the 90 min. mash has on this recipe? Has anybody done the 90 min. mash? I have been hittin high 70' low 80's with my last two 60 minute mashes. I usually mash a 1.5 gals/lb with a fine crush. So I dont want to get the OG to far out of range. Was thinking also going to 156-158 to keep a bit more Malty full flavored brew. Any thoughts?
 
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