german oktoberfest
- Thread starter uglypug
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Pie_Man
Well-Known Member
There's really no single ideal time. Yeast are living organisms and a number of factors determine the length of time needed for proper fermentation such as the fermentation temp, the oxygenation level, yeast count, yeast health, the fermentability of the wort, etc, etc. Generally speaking though, about 2-3 weeks in the primary and a few weeks of lagering is what you're looking at. Good luck on your first Oktober and welcome to the forum 
.
If I may, the following resources may assist you:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10.html (note: don't be overly concerned about yeast autolysis. It's not a huge issue on a homebrew scale and won't occur for a quite some time. The author has updated his stance on the matter in later revisions of the book.)
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers (Great reading, albeit more advanced, on the braukaiser site)
. If I may, the following resources may assist you:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10.html (note: don't be overly concerned about yeast autolysis. It's not a huge issue on a homebrew scale and won't occur for a quite some time. The author has updated his stance on the matter in later revisions of the book.)
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers (Great reading, albeit more advanced, on the braukaiser site)
bajaedition
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2013
- Messages
- 1,187
- Reaction score
- 306
I do my Oktoberfest beers kind of traditional
The first week of March, but you can do it any time you want
I set my kezzer to be used as a fermentator for a month, then I let the beer ferment for a month before racking it into a 5 gallon carboy and setting it back in and cranking the kezzer back down to 38 degrees, I let the beer sit in there monitoring it for any build up of trub till the first of September, then O filter it and carbonate it, let it sit till October first.
Now let me tell you how hard that is for me to do, Oktoberfest is my absolute favorite beer.
Good luck
The first week of March, but you can do it any time you want
I set my kezzer to be used as a fermentator for a month, then I let the beer ferment for a month before racking it into a 5 gallon carboy and setting it back in and cranking the kezzer back down to 38 degrees, I let the beer sit in there monitoring it for any build up of trub till the first of September, then O filter it and carbonate it, let it sit till October first.
Now let me tell you how hard that is for me to do, Oktoberfest is my absolute favorite beer.
Good luck
im still new to the brewing world im about to brew my first oktoberfeast what is the ideal time for it to sit in the first ferm then second to bottle
Do you have the ability to ferment this as a true lager or will you be making it as an ale?
This. A true Oktoberfest/Marzen is a lager, you you have to pitch a ton of yeast, ferment it at 50 deg or a little below, then lager it close to freezing for months.
Look up Mocktoberfest for a similar kind of thing using ale yeast if that sounds like too much.
Look up Mocktoberfest for a similar kind of thing using ale yeast if that sounds like too much.
Pie_Man
Well-Known Member
If you used a lager strain, 60 is pretty warm. Lagers enjoy temperatures around 50. I suggest you read the links I posted earlier.
That depends on what yeast you use. If you used an ale yeast like Nottingham, your 60 degree temp is perfect. For a saison yeast, that is way too cold, but for a lager yeast it's too warm. You need to know what the yeast is that you are using and what its preferred temperature range might be.
I think what many of us are getting at is this:
Lagers are different from ales, and many of the processes needed to make lagers turn out well are a little tricky. Nearly all of us start out making ales and tackle lagers once we get a little more experienced. Sounds like you have a good setup for making ales, so you'd probably have a better result if you make an Oktoberfest like ale rather than the full blown lager Oktoberfest. If you use a clean ale yeast, like US-05, or Nottingham in an Oktoberfest like ale and ferment it in that 60 degree area, you'll wind up with something good.
Lagers are different from ales, and many of the processes needed to make lagers turn out well are a little tricky. Nearly all of us start out making ales and tackle lagers once we get a little more experienced. Sounds like you have a good setup for making ales, so you'd probably have a better result if you make an Oktoberfest like ale rather than the full blown lager Oktoberfest. If you use a clean ale yeast, like US-05, or Nottingham in an Oktoberfest like ale and ferment it in that 60 degree area, you'll wind up with something good.
Pie_Man
Well-Known Member
Which kit are you using? Many kits call themselves lagers, but in fact they are not, they use ale yeasts, and that will change the fermentation temp.
Pie_Man
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I know it's an Oktoberfest, Brewer's Best is what I was getting at. Not all kits are created equally, some kits that are sold as lagers actually use ale yeast, other use lager yeast. I believe the Brewer's Best German Oktoberfest uses lager yeast, but I am not 100% on that. As mentioned, 60 is a little warm (assuming it is a lager yeast). Your beer will turn out fine, nothing to freak out about at this point. For future reference, the brew could probably benefit from more exact temperature control. As the brewer, you make wort, the yeast make beer. It's one of your jobs as a brewer to keep the yeast happy, meaning keeping the yeast at a temperture they like (this varies between yeast strains), proper pitching rates, aerartion, and good sanitiation.
You can certainly use that yeast, but because it's a lager yeast, it will need some extra care, including low temps. If you can get a hold of a packet of Nottingham or US-05, you can just ferment it in that 60ish degree area you have and have a much easier time of it.
Similar threads
