Oktoberfest 1

[mightynintendo]

Being March and all, it seems appropriate to brew an Oktoberfest to lager soon. I'm shooting for the more golden-colored O-fest one might encounter at a beer tent in Germany during the actual fest (as opposed to the darker amber-colored O-fests exported to the US). Here is the recipe I've come up with:

Post-boil volume: 5.5 gallons
Brewhaus efficiency: 75%
Yeast attenuation: 75%

Grain bill: 12lbs
Vienna Malt: 75%
Light Munich Malt: 16.7%
CaraHell: 8.3%
Golding hops 1.5oz (5.2%) 60 min

Wyeast 2633

OG: 1.0567 (13.98 *P)
FG: 1.0142 (3.62 *P)
IBU's: 25.2
SRM: 7.0
ABV: 5.6%
Calories per 12 oz.: 175

Considering a decoction mash for this bad boy. Will let it ferment at (48-50) for 6 or 7 months. Updates, of course, as they happen.

 

[KingBrianI]

Looks good. I like doing a decoction on mine for tradition's sake, though I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference since I've never tried the recipe without the decoction. Have a look at the thread for that recipe in my dropdown to see more discussion on the decoction and other stuff related to oktoberfests.

 

[marc06]

I'm doing one this month and one this summer. Going to compare them during the fest!

 

[mightynintendo]

Brewed this one on Friday. Hit all my targets. It's currently bubbling away at 54 degF. Will let this continue for two weeks, d-rest, then d-rop the temp (5 deg/day until i hat 35).

EDIT: I did change the hops. I added an additional 0.25 oz of magnum hops for 60 minutes. Decided I was going to break with style and do what I want (and I needed to get rid of it).

 

[mightynintendo]

I just transferred this to the lagering carboy and took a gravity reading. Current gravity is at 1.018, so I'm four points above where I want this beer to end (2 points above style specifications). The gravity hasn't changed for 3 days now and the diacetyl rest is complete. Any chance that it will drop a few more points during the 5 month lager at 35 degF or so? I took a taste sample and it is really quite good which surprised me. I thought it would take a lot longer for it to start tasting good.