Festbier BierMuncher's OktoberFAST Ale (AG)

[bbohanon]

I just have to say this recipe is my go-to for an octoberfest. I have lagered this one as well as brewed it in its orig format as an ale. Either way it turns out spectacular and honestly the only difference is that its just a bit cleaner and crisper when I brew this and lager it with WLP820.
I usually stick to the ale version as it just goes so quickly.

If you have not tried this one, do yourself a favor and brew it...I brew this one again once the first 5 gallon keg kicks just to keep it available. Its OctoberFAST Ale time all the time at my house!

:rockin:

 

[mattsearle]

Did this as my 2nd brew ever (my 1st effort went down the drain as it was undrinkable) and I am so so happy with the results!

I know that my technique is obviously lacking in so many areas due to inexperience so I was not holding out much hope but I can honestly say it is a great beer, that I would gladly sit and drink all night (well until I passed out) over a lot of beers that I've bought in bars or shops!

Nice one for the recipe!

 

[paguy]

I was wondering. Normaly if I pitch the proper amount of yeast, in this case 04, I can get to final gravity in a week or 2 at 60 deg followed a slow increase to 70. Can I cold crash at this point or should I give it a full month or so in the fermentor? Lately I've stopped using a secondary and just leave it in the primary unless my conical is available. What do we think?

 

[RADMAD]

I have spent the last hour or so looking for any post related to suggested water profile for this brew. How to get mine underway early July in preparation for the upcoming fall. If anyone has a water profile suggestions or can point me to a post discussing them it would be appreciated.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

I have spent the last hour or so looking for any post related to suggested water profile for this brew. How to get mine underway early July in preparation for the upcoming fall. If anyone has a water profile suggestions or can point me to a post discussing them it would be appreciated.

This should get you close.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436550851.478273.jpg
I and including all the people I know here in St.Louis don't mess with our water much. A little calcium chloride or gypsum here and there but that's about it. Some beers require some acid to get the ph down but nothing major.

 

[ahariton]

Has anyone tried brewing this with either:

WLP011 European Ale Yeast

Malty, Northern European-origin ale yeast. Low ester production, giving a clean profile. Little to no sulfur production. Low attenuation helps to contribute to the malty character. Good for Alt, Kolsch, malty English ales, and fruit beers.

or

WLP036 Dusseldorf Alt Yeast

Traditional Alt yeast from Dusseldorf, Germany. Produces clean, slightly sweet alt beers. Does not accentuate hop flavor as WLP029 does.

 

[Batteman87]

I just ordered my grains in prep to brew this for our coming Oktoberfest. I was wanting to use a Wyeast smack pack, ideally the Oktoberfest 2633 but will be unable to Lager it in the fridge due to space issues. Would any of you recommend just using the German Ale or just use the American Ale? My concern with the German Ale is the yeast remains suspended after fermentation. I don't have a filter, but I plan on using gelatin in an effort to clarify. Either way, I'm looking to not use a US-04 or 05. I just am not a fan of those. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly for your time and attention!

 

[YeastMode]

I just ordered my grains in prep to brew this for our coming Oktoberfest. I was wanting to use a Wyeast smack pack, ideally the Oktoberfest 2633 but will be unable to Lager it in the fridge due to space issues. Would any of you recommend just using the German Ale or just use the American Ale? My concern with the German Ale is the yeast remains suspended after fermentation. I don't have a filter, but I plan on using gelatin in an effort to clarify. Either way, I'm looking to not use a US-04 or 05. I just am not a fan of those. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly for your time and attention!

Of the choices you provided, I would go American Ale. I just brewed this again today, and I have always used Nottinghm and fermented low in the temp range by stepping it down a bit once it kicks off. I found that starting too low makes it sluggish. I have had great results with the beer finishing with crisp and clean maltiness.

 

[mgr_stl]

I recently bought my first fifty pound sack of grain (Briess two-row) since I just got a grain mill. I usually make IPAs every second brew, so that's why I decided on two-row.

Would it be possible to use two-row as the main base grain to make this beer if the other grains were tweaked, or is that like making a cake using bread crumbs instead of flour?

 

[bolus14]

2 row should be fine, you're getting most of the malt flavor/sweetness from the Vienna, Munich and caramel malts.

 

[copper2hopper]

YEAST STRAIN: 2633 | Octoberfest Lager Blend[emoji769]

Would this used to be inappropriate for trying to get a similar turn around time when using S – 04? Would I technically have to "lager it " with a significantly longer length of the fermentation and lagering time just because it's labeled as lager strain?

 

[rustedbucket]

This thread isn't as long as some others (HT, ZD, etc.), but if you could help a brotha' out...

Is the recipe on the first page still the go-to recipe, has it had any alterations?

From the original, it looks like Bier used/s S-04; I anticipate this is why he refers to it as OktoberFAST to forgo the lagering process with a lager yeast. Is this still the yeast of choice, or are have there been other alterations there?

Thanks!

 

[DrBrewDC]

Hope so... Cuz I just brewed it yesterday.

Yet, I, too, have a question...

I have one more week of Yoopers House Ale to dry hop in me chamber and it sits at 62*. Any advice an what may happen to OctoberfAst if it ferments at this temp for the first week? Or would it be better to bring it up to 68*.... And then I wonder, what will this do to what has become my favorite and therefore, my house ale?

 

[jmcquesten]

I recently bought my first fifty pound sack of grain (Briess two-row) since I just got a grain mill. I usually make IPAs every second brew, so that's why I decided on two-row.

Would it be possible to use two-row as the main base grain to make this beer if the other grains were tweaked, or is that like making a cake using bread crumbs instead of flour?

I hope so, because I just made this recipe using Briess 2-row in place of the pilsner malt. Good thing about subbing 2-row is that you can drop the boil to 60 minutes instead of 90.

 

[rockinmarty]

Hey BM what do you think about replacing tettnang by hallertau? My hallertau plant will have a decent yield this year.

 

[mgr_stl]

I couldn't find Munich as dark as the original recipe (mine is about 7 SRM compared to 20 from the recipe).

Accordingly, the color of my beer won't be quite dark enough to match the original recipe.

I'm using crystal 15 and crystal 60 (original recipe uses 20 and 40), and I was wondering if I could just increase the amount of 60 and decrease the amount of 15 to get the darker color? Is color the only difference between these crystal malts, or do the higher numbered malts also provide different amounts of mouthfeel/head retention than the lower numbered ones?

 

[mgr_stl]

Can anyone provide feedback on the final color you ended up with for those who followed the recipe in the first post but used lighter Munich (in the 7 SRM range as opposed to the 20 SRM in the recipe)?

 

[tmendick]

Hey BM what do you think about replacing tettnang by hallertau? My hallertau plant will have a decent yield this year.

Can't imagine that would make enough difference not to use hallertau instead of tettenang

 

[robertus]

Just so I get my brain wrapped around it, for a Partial Mash version of the original recipe, I'd be converting the 2-row to DME (math later, no coffee) and then mashing the Vienna, Munich, and Aromatic, is that correct?

Other than adjusting for volume, are there any changes to the bill for those grains?

 

[mgr_stl]

Used S-04 yeast and I brewed this on August 3. Fermentation started and finished fast, and I'm trying to figure out whether I should bottle this or next weekend. Fermented at 65 for the first five days and then bumped up to 68 ever since.

Is there really any advantage to waiting another week before bottling? I want to taste this beer! So we're looking at bottling on day 19 vs. day 26 (both including a two-day cold crash).

 

[smit70136]

Probably not a big deal to go ahead with bottling after 19 days as long as fermentation is complete. With S-04 and temp control I imagine it's probably done. You're really only giving up a bit of clarity really. I understand the impatience - this beer is awesome. Prost!

 

[JBOGAN]

Just mashing in and I could smell how good this one is going to be!

 

[jmcquesten]

I can confirm that substituting 2-row for the pilsner (60 minute boil instead of 90), and using a little Magnum for bittering (kept tetnang for late additions) still makes a great beer. I'm glad I made 11 gallons of this one, this first keg is going fast.

 

[Batteman87]

Brewed this as a 5 gallon batch on Saturday (8/22/15). Pitched with Wyeast labs German Ale 1007 since I was not going to use S-04 and didn't have the chance to Lager it with Oktoberfest 2333. Pitched the yeast at 8:30 PM and it sounded like a motor boat was trolling the water in our closet at 8am. Glad I used a blow-off tube because the krausen had already worked its way out of the fermenter into the bucket of water w/ sanitizer. Can see the yeast are pretty happy in there. Bubbles have slowed today but still a lot of action going on inside. Will switch to an air-lock in the next day or so. Plan to then add gelatin to clarify around the end of week 3. Will then Keg and enjoy around wk 4-5. Excited to taste this one. Will update as I can.

 

[jmcquesten]

Brewed this as a 5 gallon batch on Saturday (8/22/15). Pitched with Wyeast labs German Ale 1007 since I was not going to use S-04 and didn't have the chance to Lager it with Oktoberfest 2333. Pitched the yeast at 8:30 PM and it sounded like a motor boat was trolling the water in our closet at 8am. Glad I used a blow-off tube because the krausen had already worked its way out of the fermenter into the bucket of water w/ sanitizer. Can see the yeast are pretty happy in there. Bubbles have slowed today but still a lot of action going on inside. Will switch to an air-lock in the next day or so. Plan to then add gelatin to clarify around the end of week 3. Will then Keg and enjoy around wk 4-5. Excited to taste this one. Will update as I can.

You should start another batch, it will go quickly.

 

[depper]

Used S-04 yeast and I brewed this on August 3. Fermentation started and finished fast, and I'm trying to figure out whether I should bottle this or next weekend. Fermented at 65 for the first five days and then bumped up to 68 ever since.

Is there really any advantage to waiting another week before bottling? I want to taste this beer! So we're looking at bottling on day 19 vs. day 26 (both including a two-day cold crash).

As long as your FG is where you want it and almost all airlock activity has ceased then there is no reason to wait another week to bottle, in my opinion. If it were me, and FG is good and airlock is good, then in the bottle it goes. I rarely have a primary go longer than 10 days....2 weeks total if I'm dry-hopping or want it to clear a little more in a secondary. Pull out a sample, measure the FG and then drink that sample!

 

[NCSU_Brewer]

I'm going to try a partial mash version of this tomorrow. Beersmith recommended a 2 oz Tettnang addition at 60 minutes for a 5 gallon batch to hit 17 IBU's. Does that sound right?

 

[cyberbrew]

I'm going to try a partial mash version of this tomorrow. Beersmith recommended a 2 oz Tettnang addition at 60 minutes for a 5 gallon batch to hit 17 IBU's. Does that sound right?

Depends on your AA%. I'm also brewing this tomorrow, the Tettnang I have is 2.4% AA so I'm using a bit more than the recipe, shooting for ~20IBUs.

 

[depper]

This recipe is amazing! 41 days after brewing it I opened a bottle and was ecstatic. This is a wonderful malty beer that reminds me of an Oktoberfest Lager, despite fermenting like an Ale. If anyone is on the fence to brew this, I say DO IT! If you want a beer that is similar to an Oktoberfest, without lagering, this is the one! Thanks @BierMuncher for this recipe!! Cheers....

 

[Biscuits]

Just brewed this recipe. Had a few brew day mis-haps...a boil over, and for lack of not checking my final checklist, I had my volumes incorrect and ended up with a larger yield than I anticipated. Instead of 2 Gallons, I ended up with more like 2.5. Even so, I came relatively close to the numbers...OG was 1.046 (11.5 Brix). More beer is never bad thing...just waiting for my ferm chamber to bring the wort to pitch temp and it is off we go! Color looks nice too. Will post pics when I pitch the yeast.