I'm brewing an octoberfest from extract this weekend. The alcohol is only 3.5% and I wanted to up it a little. This is my 3rd brew and I've added brown sugar to a pumpkin kit I brewed and it turned out great. Would brown sugar work with the octoberfest? Or would anyone recommend something else?
Octoberfest question
- Thread starter Strat6255
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freisste
Well-Known Member
Is this a kit? I guess I'd like to see the current recipe. You want to keep things in balance or it will get a little weird.
To answer your question, yes, adding brown sugar will up your ABV. Not sure it is a good addition when it comes to making good beer.
Also, I think brown sugar is very fermentable, so it would likely dry the beer out a bit. Oktoberfests are malty beers.
To answer your question, yes, adding brown sugar will up your ABV. Not sure it is a good addition when it comes to making good beer.
Also, I think brown sugar is very fermentable, so it would likely dry the beer out a bit. Oktoberfests are malty beers.
Any sort of sugar addition would add ABV but also dry and thin out the beer. October Fest styles are more about balance and a good malt backbone so IMO you would be better served adding additional DME to the recipe. Keep in ind though you will also need to add hops to keep the recipe balanced or it will be too sweet. One pound of DME will add 6 gravity points to a five gallon batch.
As an aside, many October fests are lagers, did this come with lager yeast and do you have control over your fermentation temperatures to do a lager?
As an aside, many October fests are lagers, did this come with lager yeast and do you have control over your fermentation temperatures to do a lager?
freisste
Well-Known Member
Strat6255 said:
I don't think it would take away any flavor, but as duboman said, thinning out an Oktoberfest would be a pretty severe adjustment. The malty backbone is somewhat of a signature of the style. Thinning it out would be akin to only using 1/4 of the necessary hops for an IPA. Will it be beer? Absolutely. Will it be a good example of the style? Not at all. If that is what you choose to do, that is fine.
I certainly encourage you to make beer that YOU like. If you WANT to thin the beer out, that isn't a problem. If you want to stay more to style, but increase ABV, post the recipe when you get home from work and the community can work on adjusting the recipe to get you where you want to be.
freisste
Well-Known Member
Just looking through the BJCP guidelines which state (and again, I'm not saying you have to produce a beer to style for the sake of the style - brew what you want how you want) an Oktoberfest has an ABV range of 4.8-5.7, so you are definitely low at 3.5. Strange recipe.
freisste
Well-Known Member
If you have a nearby source where you could get some extra DME and hops, we could probably work something out to retain the character of an Oktoberfest but up the ABV to be within the guidelines for the style. Strange that a kit would be so far out of range.
Also, someone already asked but I didn't see your answer. Oktoberfests are lagers. Do you have lager yeast? If so, are you able to control the temperatures really well? That will be important. If it is "Oktoberfest style" with ale yeast, make sure to ferment on the cool end of the yeast's ideal range. This will get it as lager-like as possible.
Good luck.
Also, someone already asked but I didn't see your answer. Oktoberfests are lagers. Do you have lager yeast? If so, are you able to control the temperatures really well? That will be important. If it is "Oktoberfest style" with ale yeast, make sure to ferment on the cool end of the yeast's ideal range. This will get it as lager-like as possible.
Good luck.
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