Oktoberfest party, and I need to brew something.

I'm planning an Oktoberfest party and want a nice homebrew for the occasion. Although only one of my friends homebrews, most of them arent your typical BudMillerCoors drinkers, and they have all have enjoyed my homebrew previously (or so they say). They will be easy to please.

I know it is too late for a traditional Oktoberfest ( I can't lager anyway), And I already have an ESB getting ready to go to secondary. Just finished my last bottle of Hefe too. So those 3 are out. Soooooo. The million dollar question.

What should I brew???

Suggestions please... Thanks in advance.

 

i'm a big fan of the chocolate coffee stout.

5 #'s 2 row
2-3#'s chocolate malt
1/2# roasted barely

60 minutes of a high acid hop; then a 15 minute of the same high acid hop
cold crash;
add a fresh pot of godiva's chocolate coffee...
bring back down to temp, pitch yeast... i'm a fan of the generic munton's... but i've also used a stout wyeast pack.
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or, if you just want to do extracts...
goto your LHBS and pickup a kit; then steep a grain to make it a little different... or add an fruit extract when putting it into primary.
ie: pickup a cream ale kit and a strawberry concentrate. Brew the kit as normal, add the concentrate when pitching the yeast.

 

Well, if you want to be safe with something most people would like...

Irish Red
Pale Ale
Belgian Wit

All three are fairly easy to brew and quickly done. You could have all three probably done by october.

 

It is perfectly acceptable to do an Oktoberfest brew with an ale yeast like a Kolsch. This beer could easily be done in time for Oktober and does not require lagering. Look at Ed Wort's Oktoberfest under Amber Hybrids in the recipe section.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/bee-cave-brewery-oktoberfest-ale-38880/

 

That sounds amazing sethful. I think I will go with an irish red though. That chocolate coffe stout will deffinately be in line to brew though. Thanks.

 

If you are trying for an Oktoberfest and can't lager then I too would go American Amber. The reasoning is that you can hike the alcohol up a bit and it will have the caramel sweetness of an Oktoberfest.

 

Changed my mind. I'm gonna brew the recipe in the link dontman provided. Thanks very much!

 

I was wondering. I know that the first time I went to brew an Oktoberfest the man I wanted to get a recipe from was Ed Wort. I figured if anyone knew how to do it right it would be him. Lo and behold, his recipe does not call for a true lager.

 

I brewed Jamil's Oktoberfest, but with Nottingham and fermented it around 60 degrees. It came out really clean and very tasty. Just go with 5 pounds pilsner, 4 pounds munich, and 3 pounds vienna, add some german noble hops of your choice to around 20 ibu's, and you're set.

 

Same here except I used some glacier instead of german noble hops. I know it is not quite an Oktoberfest with Nottingham yeast and non-german hops, but it is darn tasty nevertheless. I just kegged it today and it was super smooth. Nottingham at 55-60F is a very clean ferment.:rockin: