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blefferd

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any one brewing oktoberfest/marzen style lagers this month?? i think im going to brew one, i just found a recipe and altered it to fit my needs and i think im going to give it a try!
 
i'm going to do it i think. my problem is going to be keeping temperature low enough for the fermentation with proper lager yeast. got to get it rolling soon while it's still cool in the basement!
 
cd2448 said:
i'm going to do it i think. my problem is going to be keeping temperature low enough for the fermentation with proper lager yeast. got to get it rolling soon while it's still cool in the basement!

I wish I could! I lagerator and a basement that stays about 63-64 this time of year. I think that's a bit too warm to lager.
 
I'll be brewing one in three weeks-- my second attempt at an Oktoberfest. The first one was good, but not as malty as I was hoping for, so I'm retooling the recipe and will have a go at it again.

I bought a freezer and temperature controller last fall, so I'm all geared up for lagers now. Been strictly an ale man for a long time, so I'm excited about being able to do lagers now!
 
im going to give it a try, last lager i tired didnt come out to well, armed with the knowledge i have know it shouldnt be a problem! only bad thing is im going to have to purchase more equipment, so i dont have my fermenters locked up till october! lol
 
I can only do an ale...... Either ferment at 68-78 depending on time of year in basement... or max 45 in the fridge and I think that would be too low. But if that would work Id be willing to do it. (btw air temp = 45 approx so fermentation would be a few higher). Just have to find a place to store all the beer then as I have a few cases in the fridge and more to bottle... heh

I made a Marzen (extract ale) beg of august last year and didnt really peak until December after being in the fridge since beg of October.... :( It seemed a little on the sweet side though
 
blefferd said:
any one brewing oktoberfest/marzen style lagers this month?? i think im going to brew one, i just found a recipe and altered it to fit my needs and i think im going to give it a try!
so what is it????
 
I already brewd a So German Lager for lagering all summer, and will be picking up an O'fest yeast tomorrow which I'll brew this weekend.

I brewed one last year and tapped the keg in Sep and it was good enough. It was really clear and malty, but I thought it had too much hops (for my tastes).

I've been to at least 12 O'fests in Munich and have sampled many of each tent offering. Not all O'fest brews taste the same, but they're just brewed in March so I feel safe with the flavors. ;)
 
I've got the grain, hops, yeast, and water. Just need to find the time to put them all together.
 
Looking back at my impeccable notes (not), here's the schedule as I can remember it:

- Pitched the yeast into the wort at ~45 deg. F., then let it warm up to 50 deg. F. for fermentation.

- Fermentation proceeded for about two weeks. When the S.G. was around 1.018, I let it warm up to about 65 deg. F. for three or four days for a diacetyl rest.

- After the diacetyl rest, the S.G. was at my target S.G. of 1.013, so I crash cooled it to about 40 deg. F., racked into a keg, then cooled it to 34 deg. F.

- Lagered in the keg at 34 deg. F. for about 4 weeks. It tasted good at this point, but it tasted even better as it lagered more-- about 12 more weeks and it tasted fantastic.

My next Oktoberfest will be "bigger" than my first one, so I'm going to let it lager all summer.

-steve
 
No lagering for me. I WAS gooing to use my Commercial Freezer that sits in the Basement and was beckoning to me. Well, I hooked up my Johnson Control to it, and when I went to take the shelves out to be able to fit a carboy in it, I found out that the shelves are an integral part of the cooling device. Each Shelf is hardwired into the Cooling Wires. So, I can not take the shelves out. Looks like I need to buy a Cheap fridge for lagering and temperature control for my fermetaion.:(
 
RLinNH said:
No lagering for me. I WAS gooing to use my Commercial Freezer that sits in the Basement and was beckoning to me. Well, I hooked up my Johnson Control to it, and when I went to take the shelves out to be able to fit a carboy in it, I found out that the shelves are an integral part of the cooling device. Each Shelf is hardwired into the Cooling Wires. So, I can not take the shelves out. Looks like I need to buy a Cheap fridge for lagering and temperature control for my fermetaion.:(


Can you carefully cut the "shelf parts" off leaving the tubing and bend them out of the way?
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
Can you carefully cut the "shelf parts" off leaving the tubing and bend them out of the way?


What worries me about cutting anything is the possiblity of Freon being in those lines. It is a Big Commercial type freezer, and the Lines feed directly from the Coils in the Back of the Freezer. I don't want to make a cut into the Lines to have Freon spilling all over my basement. That Would not be a good night.:cross:
 
RLinNH said:
What worries me about cutting anything is the possiblity of Freon being in those lines. It is a Big Commercial type freezer, and the Lines feed directly from the Coils in the Back of the Freezer. I don't want to make a cut into the Lines to have Freon spilling all over my basement. That Would not be a good night.:cross:


I meant cut the racking away from the freon lines and re-reroute them.
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
I meant cut the racking away from the freon lines and re-reroute them.



Ah Ha!!! The simplest solutions are always the farthest from my mind. Then again, Go cutting away at a very expensive freezer, the SWMBO'd sees that and goes Ape ****. I might just invest in a Cheapo Depot $400 Fridge. Did I mention I also need a Kegerator?:fro:
 
Could you say pitch at 68F for a day or whatnot then slowly drop the temp down to 45F? The drop might be within 1 day though have never tried this. Let the fridge warm to room temp (being off for a day or so) then when fermenter is ready put it inside and turn it onto the warmest setting which goes max to 45F (air temp).

I'd love to do a true marzen but the ones with power would flip if I bought a temp controller.
 
well here it is!

Amount Item Type % or IBU
9.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 67.86 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 7.14 %
0.75 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 5.36 %
0.75 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.36 %
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.36 %
0.75 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.36 %
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
2.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 28.8 IBU
0.60 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1 Pkgs German Lager (White Labs #WLP830) Yeast-Lager


what do you guys think about it.
i found this recipe on the internet and im going to give it a try, with a decoction mash.
 
I brewed one three weeks ago. I'll be moving it to kegs and into the bottom of the kegger to lager in the next day or two. Quite possibly today.
 
i have a pin lock keg that i wont be using any time soon and that would be a great use for it and keep me from drinking all the beer before october!:rockin:
 
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