Festbier BierMuncher's OktoberFAST Ale (AG)

[Planet4net]

Made this a few weeks ago. I was also a little for the mash at first so scooped some out and boiled it doing a pseudo decoction to get to the right temp (153). After the temp correction I went to set up the burner and realized it was crap...had a 2 hr search for new one nearby and ended up having to go to the LHBS. This was my first all grain and use of the tun I built. It took me 3hrs to get back home and the temp had only dropped 3 deg F. Pretty happy about that but was worried it would be too dry. Did make a couple of changes the shop suggested.

For the cara/crystal malts in a 5.5 gal batch I used:
.5lb CaraHells
.5 lb CaraMunich I
.5 lb CaraMunich III

Actually used Wyeast 2007(another shop suggestion, I was skeptical) at 63 deg F (in a water bin w/ice bottles)and this stuff is fantastic. I know I'm not truly lagering but it taste great. Not estery at all and very clean, balanced, great head. Thanks for this recipe! I'll definitely be making this one again. I'm wondering how different it will be with a proper 1 hr mash. I guess I can try that next time to compare.

 

[HIbrew]

I just got home from sea and tried one of the Octoberfast bottles I had put up. I followed Biermuncher's recipe to a "T," and used Safale S-04, and wow, this is one tasty brew after a few months of aging. The hops fell off nicely and it beat the pants of the Sam Adams Octoberfest I had at the pub the other night. I think this might be my wife's favorite ever, and it is definitely in my top three. my hat's off to Biermuncher!

 

[jheist]

3 weeks primary and 1 week secondary or 2 weeks primary and 2 weeks secondary if I am kegging? Thanks

 

[Slowfro]

IPAAAA, hows the carb level since your last post? Did you end up using 4oz priming sugar? I would think that would be fine, I wouldn't think you'd want this beer to get too carbonated. I'm going to be bottling tonight, let me know what you think of the beer after a little extra time in the bottle. Thanks!

 

[IPAAAA]

IPAAAA, hows the carb level since your last post? Did you end up using 4oz priming sugar? I would think that would be fine, I wouldn't think you'd want this beer to get too carbonated. I'm going to be bottling tonight, let me know what you think of the beer after a little extra time in the bottle. Thanks!

I tried it again after about 20 days carbing and it was better. I am gonna give it 4 weeks then throw it in the fridge.

Ya I used 4 oz and it seems to have worked well.

 

[Slowfro]

Sounds good. I bottled last night, color clarity and aroma were great and the hydro test sample tasted good too. I'm excited for this to carb up and see how it looks coming out of the bottle! Hopefully I can have the patience to let it age a bit too.

 

[jwible204]

i brewed this up 4 weeks ago, kegged it last week, and had a pint today.

it's ridiculously good. it has some good lager characteristics, and a seriously delicious malt profile. the head is just perfect and it laces the entire way down the glass.

this beer is going in to the rotation, thanks biermuncher.

 

[jmilton1987]

I brewed this on 11 Sept 2010 and let it ferment using a 1L starter of German ale yeast WY1007 until the 17th then I racked 5 gal to secondary and 5 gal to a corney and let them sit like that at room temp (avg high 68*F here in WI during that time). It was a short primary but the fg had stablized at 1.012 down from og of 1.057. I have just recently tried the 5 gal which had been secondaried until 3 October 2010 then kegged and put in the mini fridge and it seems to have a green apple taste like diacytel. Is it still to young to be trying or is this DMS I did have a rigourus 90 min boil and did a 3 step infusion mash of 122*f for 30 min then 158*F for 45 min then mash out 170*F for 10 min before sparging. Any suggestions? this is for a block party so I am no too concerned but I would like to know what can be done if anything

 

[IPAAAA]

Sounds good. I bottled last night, color clarity and aroma were great and the hydro test sample tasted good too. I'm excited for this to carb up and see how it looks coming out of the bottle! Hopefully I can have the patience to let it age a bit too.

So I don't know if it is these specific bottle caps I have but after 4+ weeks this beer has not carbed up.

I have had two beers now with these same caps and they didn't carb worth ****. Must be the caps because I have done everything else and the two other beers I bottled with different cabs were perfectly carbed.

How did yours turn out slowfro?

How much sugar did you use jwible204?

 

[Slowfro]

IPAAAA - I bottled on the 12th so I haven't cracked one yet to check carb levels. I was planning taking the first sample on the 26th to give them 2 weeks minimum. Maybe tonight for scientific purposes I'll check one out and let you know how it is. That's too bad yours aren't holding any carbonation, hopefully you've just had the unlucky 2 of the batch and the rest will turn out.

 

[IPAAAA]

I have tried a bunch of them and they just aren't carbed up like they should be. I really think it might be these caps that I used because like I said previously the other beer capped with these also didn't carb.

Let me know how it goes because I am curious to see if the 4oz of priming sugar was enough.

 

[Slowfro]

Man that's terrible, I'll crack one open tonight and let you know if I get any fizz out of it. I would think that I might have some luck since it's been 10 days (should at least give some carbonation by now right), the beer just might be a little wet behind the ears yet. I plan on trying to squeeze a batch of APA in tonight after work so that'll be my brewing beer.

 

[IPAAAA]

Man that's terrible, I'll crack one open tonight and let you know if I get any fizz out of it. I would think that I might have some luck since it's been 10 days (should at least give some carbonation by now right), the beer just might be a little wet behind the ears yet. I plan on trying to squeeze a batch of APA in tonight after work so that'll be my brewing beer.

I had carbonation at ten days so I thought I was on the right track but now at 4 weeks it is still at the same level.

 

[arock]

I did 5 oz of priming sugar, and it (not surprisingly) was way too much. Tastes like CO2 bubbles attacking my tongue with needles! I'm thinking something more in the 4.3 oz range would have been better.

 

[Slowfro]

IPAAAA, right now I'm in your boat. I chilled 2 beers down and when i popped them open there was a little fizz but not much else to speak of. There are a small number of small bubbles throughout the beer but definitely not enough yet. I'm hoping that since they've only been in bottle 10 days it'll get better in a couple of weeks. I'll definitely report back.

How's your flavor? I'm getting lots of biscuit flavor, almost unrefined or raw with the malt. I don't mind it really, just not what I was expecting I guess. I'm sure the profile will change as well with time. My fermentation temps were a bit high by about 4-5°, not sure if that would have too large an impact. Any thoughts?

 

[pstrohs]

I ordered the ingredients for this recipe and I would like to know what type of adjustments I need to make since the tettnang hops I purchased have an alpha-acid level of 4.4% as opposed to the recipe's 3.0%. Should I make adjustments to bittering, aroma, and flavor or just the bittering additions. Please help as I don't want this beer to be too hoppy and ruin the style. Thanks

 

[IPAAAA]

IPAAAA, right now I'm in your boat. I chilled 2 beers down and when i popped them open there was a little fizz but not much else to speak of. There are a small number of small bubbles throughout the beer but definitely not enough yet. I'm hoping that since they've only been in bottle 10 days it'll get better in a couple of weeks. I'll definitely report back.

How's your flavor? I'm getting lots of biscuit flavor, almost unrefined or raw with the malt. I don't mind it really, just not what I was expecting I guess. I'm sure the profile will change as well with time. My fermentation temps were a bit high by about 4-5°, not sure if that would have too large an impact. Any thoughts?

Sounds like mine. I accidentally only did a 60 minute boil and not a 90 so my flavor will be different then yours but it tastes pretty good. Thought if would be maltier but it is still good.

 

[wheatgerm]

I ordered the ingredients for this recipe and I would like to know what type of adjustments I need to make since the tettnang hops I purchased have an alpha-acid level of 4.4% as opposed to the recipe's 3.0%. Should I make adjustments to bittering, aroma, and flavor or just the bittering additions. Please help as I don't want this beer to be too hoppy and ruin the style. Thanks

Use a 1/2 ounce of (4.4%) Tettnang at 90, 60 and 30 minutes and that will give you an IBU of 21.2 for a 5.25 gallon batch.

 

[jwible204]

BM, this beer is picture worthy. appropriate glassware too! thanks again for the recipe, i'm going to brew this as often as possible because i can't seem to stop drinking it.

 

[Hurls]

I picked up the ingredents for this yesterday at my LHBS. Am I fooling myself in thinking I can have it ready by Thanksgiving? Is that tooo fast for this Oktoberfast? If I brew this weekend I'll get 2 weeks in the primary, ~1 week in the secondary, and a very quick crash cool. This will leave me 4ish days to force carb and be ready to serve.

I'm not expecting perfection based on this schedule, but I'm trying to have 2 beer options on tap. Has anyone tried this one on such a quick schedule? Is there anything I can do increase my chances for a drinkable beer?

I'm doing a 5.5 gal all grain batch.

 

[jheist]

I don't think you are fooling yourself. I did the same thing hoping to have it ready for Halloween. I however just did a primary for 3 weeks and crash cooled it for 3 days and kegged it. It is currently carbing and I'll let you know how it turns out. I just wanted a few pints on Halloween knowing it will get better through November. Give it a shot, at worst it will be a good drinking beer for December!

 

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

I don't think you are fooling yourself. I did the same thing hoping to have it ready for Halloween. I however just did ........ I just wanted a few pints on Halloween knowing it will get better through November. Give it a shot, at worst it will be a good drinking beer for December!

agree I brewed 10/7, primary 10 days then bottled 10/17 with 5 oz priming sugar had one the other day was almost there so know this will be one I keep in rotation

edit used US-05 and ended up very good

 

[Slowfro]

IPAAAA, any progress with the carb level? I tried 2 more today (1 week since last trial, 17 since in bottle) and there was good improvement for me. Carb level was up but still a bit low. I did have some small bubbles floating up through the glass throughout so that was a good sign. Flavor has matured as well, I'm excited to see how this goes over the next couple of weeks.

Hope yours has gotten better!

 

[ErieShores]

I will never use US-05 again with this brew. It finished way too dry compared to some of the commercial versions in a taste comparison (Harpoon, SA, Saranac and Great Lakes. Also, I mashed at 153 and I'm not sure if it was the yeast but I'll probably bump that up to 155 next year. Otherwise, the color was great and it cleared perfectly. Thanks again BM!

 

[IPAAAA]

IPAAAA, any progress with the carb level? I tried 2 more today (1 week since last trial, 17 since in bottle) and there was good improvement for me. Carb level was up but still a bit low. I did have some small bubbles floating up through the glass throughout so that was a good sign. Flavor has matured as well, I'm excited to see how this goes over the next couple of weeks.

Hope yours has gotten better!

It is still the same. It is carbed but not that much.

I tried a sam adams oktoberfest today and I gotta say I liked mine better.

 

[BigB]

Just bottled this yesterday... I had better efficiency than the OP, so I ended up with an OG of 1.057. What makes me nervous though is that the FG was 1.021. A bit high for S-04. I'm suspecting that my basement is a bit cooler than I thought and it just got too cold and crapped out on me. Ohwell, thats what I get for not taking a hydro reading along the way. But the good news is that the sample, despite being at 21, did not taste overly sweet. Since I always seem to overcarb and hence overly dry out my beers, this one might come in just right.

 

[crlova2]

What brand of pilsner malt did you use in this?

 

[crlova2]

Just pitched the yeast on this about 30 minutes ago. Ended up with an OG of 1.061 because I used two extra pounds of pilsner since I had been getting bad efficiency latley... Guess I didn't today. I'll post back how it turns out.

 

[Bru]

I made this with W34/70 (lager yeast). Fermented at 47F and lagered for 7 weeks. Its excellent.
I realize using a lager yeast sort of defeats the purpose of this recipe but the point is if you need a "real" Oktoberfest recipe this one is great.

 

[Kazator]

Hi BM and the rest of community.

What do you think about this version:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 34.1 %
3.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 34.1 %
0.80 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 9.1 %
0.80 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 9.1 %
0.80 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 9.1 % (replaced it with CaraHell, Caravienne was not in stock in my HBS).
0.40 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4.5 %
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00%] (60 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00%] (45 min) Hops 5.7 IBU
0.30 oz Saaz [4.00%] (30 min) Hops 2.8 IBU

Safale S 04

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.051 SG (1.050-1.064 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.013 SG (1.012-1.016 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Color: 14.6 SRM (7.0-14.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 20.9 IBU (20.0-30.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 1.4 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 4.9 % (4.8-6.5 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 0.6 %


Looking forward to comments...

 

[cliffyj]

Hi,BierMuncher
I fancy doing this next, but i was thinking of the simplified version (Biab),
This is what i get for 25ltrs in Beer Engine...
OktoberFAST Ale
Date:
Gyle Number:
Fermentable Colour lb: oz Grams Ratio
Crystal Malt, Pale 60 EBC 1 lbs. 6.3 oz 630 grams 10%
Munich Malt 20 EBC 2 lbs. 8.1 oz 1140 grams 18%
Vienna Malt 10 EBC 3 lbs. 3.1 oz 1450 grams 23%
Pale Malt 3 EBC 6 lbs. 13.0 oz 3090 grams 49%


Hop Variety Type Alpha Time lb: oz grams Ratio
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 60 mins 0 lbs. 1.1 oz 30 grams 50%
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 45 mins 0 lbs. 0.5 oz 15 grams 25%
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 20 mins 0 lbs. 0.5 oz 15 grams 25%


Final Volume: 25 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.014
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Total Liquor: 36.8 Litres
Mash Liquor: 15.8 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 75 %
Bitterness: 18.9972811228373 EBU
Colour: 25 EBC

 

[cliffyj]

Hi,
Did a rethink on this BM...Does this look better...

OktoberFAST Ale
Date:
Gyle Number:
Fermentable Colour lb: oz Grams Ratio
Crystal Malt, Pale 60 EBC 1 lbs. 1.6 oz 500 grams 8.8%
Munich Malt 20 EBC 2 lbs. 6.8 oz 1100 grams 19.3%
Vienna Malt 10 EBC 3 lbs. 1.4 oz 1400 grams 24.6%
Pale Malt 3 EBC 5 lbs. 15.1 oz 2700 grams 47.4%


Hop Variety Type Alpha Time lb: oz grams Ratio
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 45 mins 0 lbs. 0.5 oz 15 grams 25%
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 20 mins 0 lbs. 0.5 oz 15 grams 25%
Tettnang Whole 4.1 % 60 mins 0 lbs. 1.1 oz 30 grams 50%


Final Volume: 25 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alcohol Content: 5% ABV
Total Liquor: 36.2 Litres
Mash Liquor: 14.3 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 75 %
Bitterness: 19.932329529845 EBU
Colour: 22 EBC

 

[cliffyj]

oops, just relised i said pale malt instead of pilsner

 

[VApatriot]

Hey all, I'm very interested in making a 5 gallon version of this but I have a question. Why a 90 minute boil instead of just 60?

 

[ekjohns]

BierMuncher always does a 90 min boil to drive off ALL DMS

 

[wheatgerm]

In general the length of boil increases gravity(through evaporation), reduces DMS and isomerizes alpha acids from the hops. I'm no expert, but 90 minutes seems to be better for mash brewing. Anything over 120 minutes seems like a waste of time.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a hotter, more vigorous 60 minute boil would be similar to a cooler 90 minute boil.

 

[CrookedTail]

I remade a simplified version of this one about 8 weeks ago and tapped it for a neighborhood party this past (Halloween) weekend.

I put it on tap upstairs next to my Wit.

49% 2-Row
23% Vienna
18% Munich
10% Crystal #40

It was a huge hit. Cleared up nicely and very quickly. Smooth flavor.

If you can't get aromatic or aren't a big fan...this simpler recipe gets 6 thumbs up from my neighbors.

This intrigues me. I feel that in cooking, simpler recipes often produce the best results. Why should brewing be any different?

Using the percentages you've used above, I tried to build a 5 gallon PM recipe that I'd like to get your opinion on. The percentages aren't spot on, but they are very close.

Fermentables
3lbs Light DME
2lbs Vienna
1.5lbs Munich 20L
1lb Caramunich II
.25lb Carapils

Hops
1oz Tettnang @ 60min
.5oz Tettnang @ 45min
.5oz Tettnang @ 30min

Yeast
S-04 (although I'm strongly considering US-05)

OG: 1.052
IBU: 21.5
SRM: 12

What do you think?

 

[BierMuncher]

This intrigues me. I feel that in cooking, simpler recipes often produce the best results. Why should brewing be any different?

Using the percentages you've used above, I tried to build a 5 gallon PM recipe that I'd like to get your opinion on. The percentages aren't spot on, but they are very close.

Fermentables
3lbs Light DME
2lbs Vienna
1.5lbs Munich 20L
1lb Caramunich II
.25lb Carapils

Hops
1oz Tettnang @ 60min
.5oz Tettnang @ 45min
.5oz Tettnang @ 30min

Yeast
S-04 (although I'm strongly considering US-05)

OG: 1.052
IBU: 21.5
SRM: 12

What do you think?

Looks like it should get you very close. I like the '04 because of the slightly lower attenuation rate.

 

[CrookedTail]

Looks like it should get you very close. I like the '04 because of the slightly lower attenuation rate.

Awesome. I plan to brew this soon, so I can perfect it before the Fall.

Thanks for your help!

 

[CrookedTail]

This intrigues me. I feel that in cooking, simpler recipes often produce the best results. Why should brewing be any different?

Using the percentages you've used above, I tried to build a 5 gallon PM recipe that I'd like to get your opinion on. The percentages aren't spot on, but they are very close.

Fermentables
3lbs Light DME
2lbs Vienna
1.5lbs Munich 20L
1lb Caramunich II
.25lb Carapils

Hops
1oz Tettnang @ 60min
.5oz Tettnang @ 45min
.5oz Tettnang @ 30min

Yeast
S-04 (although I'm strongly considering US-05)

OG: 1.052
IBU: 21.5
SRM: 12

What do you think?

I brewed this version of the recipe over the weekend. The Tetts I got were a bit higher AAUs than what I estimated, so the hop schedule changed to this:

1oz @ 60 min
.75oz @ 45min
.25oz @ 5 min

That brought my IBUs to 26. A little higher, but it shouldn't affect it much.

Then when I took my gravity reading, I discovered that my hydrometer is busted. I took a measurement and it read 1.030! Unless I didn't add the extract, or got ZERO conversion from the mash, that was basically impossible. I pulled out the hydrometer, and there was liquid inside of it!

With no true and accurate gravity reading, I'll just assume that my efficiency was about 65%. That means my OG is about 1.049-1.050.

I'll get a new hydrometer at my LHBS before I transfer the brew to my secondary fermenter.