Festbier Bee Cave Brewery Oktoberfest Ale

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Yep, 2565. That is the Kölsch yeast I always use. It works great. I would ferment this at 60º with that yeast, it will give you a better malt profile IMHO.

 

[jay415]

Yep, 2565. That is the Kölsch yeast I always use. It works great. I would ferment this at 60º with that yeast, it will give you a better malt profile IMHO.

Thanks for the quick reply. I just called the brew shop near me and they don't have it... Just my luck. I asked what could I use that is similar and he said he has Wyeast German Ale 1007 and he does have that in stock. Any opinions on that?

 

[jay415]

Yesterday was the day, My first All Grain is underway. I had run into a few problems though. Not too big of a deal. My efficiency was really low about 57%, I only ended up with 1.053 OG. I don't think my sparge water was hot enough and I drained the 2nd runnings too quick (I didn't let it rest for a few min). Next I probably cranked the heat too high; I lost a lot to boil off and ended up having to add about another gallon of boiled water. And finally was with the yeast, the WLP029 was no good my starter never took off. So I ended up using Wyeast German ale 1007. It was the closest thing I had available to me in short notice. Hopefully it comes out good. AHS is sending me a replacement so I'll just have to brew it again and be sure to hit my mark of 1.062. At least I'll still have about 5.25% on this batch. It's sitting in my fermentation chiller fermenting like crazy at 60 degrees. Carboy is at 66 degrees. It looks like a snow storm.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Ed's Oktoberfast - renamed Wolpertingerfest '08

Appearance:
A nice creamy head sits atop a light amber beer. Carbonation bubbles lazily float to the surface. Clarity is great with just a bit of clouding from the Kölsch yeast. It is much clearer than the pic shows.

Aroma:
Light caramel and spice.

Lacing and Head:
Consistent head keeps the beer lightly dusted to the last drop. The lacing is very fine and spreads evenly.

Taste:
Begins smooth and creamy the texture is more apparent than any recognizable taste. The middle reveals the alcohol with white pepper and caramel sweetness. The malts come through subtly. The finish shows the maltiness but asserts enough hops to dry out the palate. This goes down easy and is simple enough to drink all night.

Conclusion:
I was really happy with this beer. I think next time I would mash at 156 to leave the finish a bit maltier.


Way to go Ed. This is a winner!

 

[EdWort]

Great job! Looks fantastic!

 

[nealf]

Could subbing the Pils for normal 2-row or Marris Otter cause a big change of flavor? I have a couple of bags of those that I could use. Or, should I just stick to the Pils?

 

[Coastarine]

I have the grist for this mixed up in a bag waiting to be crushed. I like to order my grain and mix it ahead of time to avoid confusion, but what I didn't anticipate was a jump in efficiency. It looks like with the same grist I'll be getting an OG of around 1.073 and an ABV around 7.5%! I'm calling it a Dopple O-fest, and I'm betting it will be delicious!

 

[DaBo]

Brewed this one at 11/24, after 3 weeks in the bottle (still needs a little more carbonation):

Close:

Distant:

Thanks Ed Wort I Love your Recipes!!!

 

[EdWort]

That's a mighty fine looking beer there.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Going back... I would not mash this higher if I had time to age it. I still have a bit left and it has matured beautifully. If drinking it young I would mash at 156 as previously suggested.

 

[Gussymo]

Don't think you are going to have much luck at making anything like an oktoberfest even in ale form from extract... You would at least need to mash the munich I would think to get the maltiness...

Williams Brewing has an extract they call German Gold that they say is made from Munich and Pils malts//http://www.williamsbrewing.com/GERMAN_GOLD_EXTRACT_6_LBS_P362C99.cfm.

 

[johnnyc]

Don't think you are going to have much luck at making anything like an oktoberfest even in ale form from extract... You would at least need to mash the munich I would think to get the maltiness...

Really old thread but I just wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion on converting this to an extract brew. My friend is getting married in October and asked me to provide some beer. I'm really pumped about it and since he's a homebrewer who's a hop-head I wanted to go the other way for his guests. He's brewing too btw. In any case I've got plenty of time for it to age to greatness and I'm looking for a solid Oktoberfest extract recipe. And please don't say just go to AG.

 

[Monsterc]

I went all grain over a year ago and will never go back.
All my friends want more and of my beer now and I can't keep up with demand.
When I did extract there was always that extract taste and it never tasted like real beer.
I did extract for over 20 years and I'm glad I switched to all grain after my local brew master convinced me to try it.

 

[Coastarine]

I brewed this back in january, let it have a nice long primary and a nice looong cold condition in the keg. I mentioned before that it came out strong because I had just gotten my barley crusher. 7.7% and it is so amazing, words cannot describe. It has the wonderful maltiness of an o-fest with a little bit of fruitiness from the alcohol. It is crystal clear, there's just some frost on the glass in this picture:

 

[Coastarine]

Here you go:

 

[EdWort]

Nicely done Coastarine! It's a big beer, but it's designed to be a big one, but the BC has always helped make my beers even bigger. .

It's amazing how beers come into their own after a couple of months of aging. Congrats!

 

[Boodlemania]

How far "off" would the flavor profile be if substituting Breiss 2-Row for the Pils?

 

[MagicLarry]

Hey Ed sounds like great recipe. Just wondering about the amount of water used for the mash and temp/amnt of water for the sparge. Please advise thank you very much.

 

[EdWort]

Single infusion mash (1.25 qts./lb.) at 154 degrees for 90 minutes.

 

[MagicLarry]

Thank you very much

 

[nealf]

It's amazing how beers come into their own after a couple of months of aging. Congrats!

Should aging in the keg be done at room temperature or at serving temperature? I currently have mine in the kegerator but would be willing to move it back to room temp if that would decrease the aging time necessary. I was a bit more efficient that I wanted and started at about 1.065 down to 1.012, pushing me to a bit over 7% ABV.

 

[Coastarine]

I'd have to recommend aging as cold as possible, mainly since the style is actually a lager. Lagering really helps make the beer more lager-like.

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

I was a bit more efficient that I wanted and started at about 1.065 down to 1.012, pushing me to a bit over 7% ABV.

Dammit all, I HATE when this happens to me.

 

[nealf]

I'd have to recommend aging as cold as possible, mainly since the style is actually a lager. Lagering really helps make the beer more lager-like.

Consider it done... need to make some space in the keezer... if only I could find some people to drink that 5 gallons of apfelwein....

 

[JediJoel]

What does everyone thing about this converstion? I've never done AG before but figured a mini-mash of a couple of pounds would be a good way to ease in...

4.13 lb Pale Liquid Extract
4.13 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract
2.00 lb Munich Malt
0.50 lb Caramunich Malt
0.50 lb Caravienne Malt

Not changing anything on the hops bill.

 

[murphyslaw]

If I wanted to age it for 3 weeks rather than 2 months, should I mash it at 156? Or is the benefit of 2 months of aging really essential?

 

[red999]

Ed,

What was your efficiency on this? 14lbs of grain for a 1.062 seems like a lot. Beersmith puts me at just about 67% efficiency to get those numbers.

 

[EdWort]

Ed,

What was your efficiency on this? 14lbs of grain for a 1.062 seems like a lot. Beersmith puts me at just about 67% efficiency to get those numbers.

Those were my numbers the first time I brewed it.

 

[stevenryals]

any news on substituting 2row? i have a load of that!!

 

[EdWort]

any news on substituting 2row? i have a load of that!!

If you have to, go ahead. I try to keep it German myself. It should be fine.