oktoberfest ale

[lokiua4]

and yes i do mean ale.i'm a huge oktoberfest fan but i do not have any lagering equiptment.so me and the guy at my LHBS came up with this recipie and i figured i would give it a shot and i gotta say i was surprisingly pleased with the outcome.it made for a very smooth clean tasting beer.my only complaint about it is it doesn't really have that almost spicey finish to it.i don't want to drasticly change the flavour because it tastes great i just want to add a slight taste of spiceyness.so i figured i would ask here befor i make a bunch of batches with slight mods to get the outcome i am lookinf for.i also want to switch to a liquid yeast on the next batch so i am open for suggestions....

3.3 lbs munich malt
3.3 lbs 2 row pilsner
3.3 lbs vienna malt
1oz hallertauer (60 min)
1oz hallartauer (15 min)
1oz spaltz (5 min)
1 pkg nottingham yeast

 

[beeber]

That is a mighty good looking recipe. Saaz for finish hops, as well as dry hops would give you a nice spicy finish.

 

[Yooper]

That is a mighty good looking recipe. Saaz for finish hops, as well as dry hops would give you a nice spicy finish.

That's exactly what I was thinking! That "spicy" flavor comes from Czech saaz hops. That would be perfect for this recipe, instead of the spalter.

 

[unionrdr]

I remember reading (I think AHS) that an ale yeast that brews a little cooler can come pretty close. Maybe look into something that brews well at 64-66F? I'm considering that myself,anyway...

 

[azscoob]

I ferment Notty at 60 degrees all the time, it comes out very clean, almost lager-like, I am going to be doing an Oktoberfest ale myself pretty soon, I can brew lagers with my setup, but I have a very tight schedule, and cant tie up the fermenter at those temps for that long.

 

[Yooper]

I ferment Notty at 60 degrees all the time, it comes out very clean, almost lager-like, I am going to be doing an Oktoberfest ale myself pretty soon, I can brew lagers with my setup, but I have a very tight schedule, and cant tie up the fermenter at those temps for that long.

Yep, me too. I've gone as low as 59 with nottingham with a cream ale, and it was almost like a light American lager!

I've also used notty for my OktoberFAST ale and it came out really good as well. The key is to NOT let it get above 70 degrees, no matter what! and try to keep it in the low 60s or lower if at all possible.

 

[unionrdr]

Maybe it was the notty. They did mention it's coming out very lager like. May just find a way to get it down that low & try it.

 

[azscoob]

I use a lot of Notty, I make plenty of beers where I need a specific liquid yeast, but for my go to house yeast, I'm still a Notty guy at heart. It is just so versatile.

 

[lokiua4]

i'm not looking to change the yeast because of fermentation temp.i can ferment at a lower temp if i do it in my basement.i'm just looking to change the flavor a little and i like the fact that i can get a more specific flavor with the liquid because there are so many more options.i just don't have much experiance with liquid yeast so i just don't know what to use

 

[ENS]

I too would like to make an ale version of Oktoberfest. Would WL European Ale be a good yeast for this type of endeavor? I didn't brew last summer, so I am not sure what my cellar temps are during the heat of the summer. It is always cooler than anywhere else, but after summers like last summer, 80 degrees feels cool. Right now I am getting temps in the low 60s. Depending on where I place my fermenters, I can hit 60-61 - 65. I am a little worried about summer temps though. To get an Oktoberfest ready by October, it would have to be brewed in August. I was thinking I could brew one now, but I already have my hands full with beers I want to brew. I just brewed, what I would like to think of as a Vienna Ale. I am hoping it will taste like an old school vienna, but I used San Francisco lager yeast and was told that won't have the taste as a vienna. I am wondering if it will be close to an Oktoberfest too. If it is, it won't last until October. I also brewed a German Alt and I wonder if Oktoberfest and Viennas brewed as ales are closer to alts.

 

[ksbrain]

I used WY1272 for my Oktoberfest Ale I brewed in February, and I'm pretty happy with it. Slightly less nondescript than US-05 but not overly yeast-flavored like the WY1338 was.

 

[iswenson]

Yep, me too. I've gone as low as 59 with nottingham with a cream ale, and it was almost like a light American lager!

I've also used notty for my OktoberFAST ale and it came out really good as well. The key is to NOT let it get above 70 degrees, no matter what! and try to keep it in the low 60s or lower if at all possible.

This OktoberFAST ale didn't happen to be extract did it? Could you possibly list your recipe?

 

[FromZwolle]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/biermunchers-oktoberfast-ale-ag-39021/

 

[KFH]

I would love to try this, but it's a pain in the ass to keep a beer at that temperature with just a water bath and ice bottles in Phoenix this time of year.

 

[FromZwolle]

you might want to try making one of these.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/son-fermentation-chamber-13586/

 

[KFH]

I'm planning on building one of these once I get enough money scraped together.

 

[azscoob]

Thats why the first upgrade I made to my setup was to get a craigslist fridge to ferment in.