I have several all grain ales under my belt and have been wanting to make my first lager for a while now, since I now have the temp control to do it. After trying the Weihenstephan/Sierra Nevada festbier collab a couple days ago and loving it, I've decided I'd like to do a similar Oktoberfest. Not amber like a Märzen, rather a deep golden color. Seemed to me like a basic German light lager with a lot more malt character.
I'm only hesitant to doing this style for a couple reasons: 1. I see a lot of recipes calling for a step or decoction mash (I only have a cooler for a mash tun and decoction seems complicated) and 2. I know that lagers traditionally take anywhere from a month to several months for completion and I'm just not willing to wait that long.
So, is the step/decoction mash really necessary, or can this be done with single infusion? Secondly, has anyone here had success turning a lager around in 2-3 weeks max?
I'd also love recommendations for recipes. I found this recipe in an article and it seems interesting but also says to do a decoction mash: http://www.beersmith.com/Recipes2/recipe_304.htm
I'm only hesitant to doing this style for a couple reasons: 1. I see a lot of recipes calling for a step or decoction mash (I only have a cooler for a mash tun and decoction seems complicated) and 2. I know that lagers traditionally take anywhere from a month to several months for completion and I'm just not willing to wait that long.
So, is the step/decoction mash really necessary, or can this be done with single infusion? Secondly, has anyone here had success turning a lager around in 2-3 weeks max?
I'd also love recommendations for recipes. I found this recipe in an article and it seems interesting but also says to do a decoction mash: http://www.beersmith.com/Recipes2/recipe_304.htm