Festbier Oztoberfest (1st place with score of 43!)

[copper2hopper]

Holy crap!!! This is an awesome brew. My first five gallon keg kicked in less that a week. Had my kids birthday party yesterday and we destroyed it. Everyone LOVED it! My second keg is on the gas right now next to my pumpkin ale.

 

[anteater8]

Brewed this up and its tasting great.

Beautiful clear copper color with a thin off white head, color seems a touch too dark for festbier. Honey, fresh baked white bread crust, and faint floral in the aroma. Biscuit, white bread crust, lemon, medium hop spiciness, light caramel flavor. Very clean, no sulfur or esters. Overall I love it but I’m wondering if it would be better classified as a Marzen.

 

[LokiM4]

Brewed this up and its tasting great.

Beautiful clear copper color with a thin off white head, color seems a touch too dark for festbier. Honey, fresh baked white bread crust, and faint floral in the aroma. Biscuit, white bread crust, lemon, medium hop spiciness, light caramel flavor. Very clean, no sulfur or esters. Overall I love it but I’m wondering if it would be better classified as a Marzen.

OP’s original recipe says “3-B Octoberfest/Märzen”

His title does say Festbier, but that’s a 4-B and his recipe doesn’t reference either aside from the title/recipe category

 

[anteater8]

OP’s original recipe says “3-B Octoberfest/Märzen”

His title does say Festbier, but that’s a 4-B and his recipe doesn’t reference either aside from the title/recipe category

Fair point! I guess I was stuck on Festbier because that's what I filtered on to find the recipe. In any case, this is a recipe I will return to... delicious!

 

[Jeff...]

This is my first post here. I seen this recipe and said to myself, Wow this is so close to what I've tweaked over the years from scratch for my Mazen, that I couldn't believe it.

There is only 3 differences.
I use 5 lbs of Pilsen instead of 4

My IBU is slightly higher @ a solid 24 the top for the style.

I brew 6 gallon batches instead of 5. That way I end up with a full corny and growler.

 

[Fly_Guy]

Well, after reading the entirety of this thread I will definitely be making this. Only question do any of you bottle? If I lager for the 60 days as OP says, will there be enough yeast left to bottle carb, or should I grab some of the cask conditioning yeast when I buy the other necessary ingredients?

Also, thank you for sharing this recipe!

 

[Immocles]

Well, after reading the entirety of this thread I will definitely be making this. Only question do any of you bottle? If I lager for the 60 days as OP says, will there be enough yeast left to bottle carb, or should I grab some of the cask conditioning yeast when I buy the other necessary ingredients?

Also, thank you for sharing this recipe!

When I've brewed lagers, or chose to lager some ales, I flop the two processes. I ferment, bottle/carb, then lager after a couple weeks. My experience is limited, but it has worked out well for me so far.

 

[Jeff...]

Well, after reading the entirety of this thread I will definitely be making this. Only question do any of you bottle? If I lager for the 60 days as OP says, will there be enough yeast left to bottle carb, or should I grab some of the cask conditioning yeast when I buy the other necessary ingredients?

Also, thank you for sharing this recipe!

My opinion even after a long lagering phase there should be plenty enough yeast left to bottle prime. You going to want to prime at room temperature for a couple of weeks anyways.

You can always pull a sample bottle from your lagering vessel and add priming sugar, cap the bottle, set out at room temperature and wait a couple of weeks to see if it primed. Ofcourse you will want to add CO2 to your lagering vessel to protect the beer that's still in lager after you open the keg.

If for some unknown reason it doesn't prime then you could always pitch a yeast stater at bottling time or even better yet, pitch a krauesening yeast starter at bottling time.

I'm no where as experienced as many here. So take what I say with a grain of salt. But I've never had a problem bottling even after 6 months of lagering @ 35 degrees. I do this in a 1/2 gallon brown glass grower for my daughter in law when she asks. I just add .5 ounces of white table sugar to a clean and sterile growler, syphon off the top of my lagering keg. cap the growler and give it a good shake. I tell her to set the grower on her kitchen counter for 14 days. Then refrigerate, open and pour a glass. I haven't had a dud, bottle bomb or skunk bomb yet.

 

[Norberto Adrian Desimone]

Hello, I want to make this recipe, but where am I not getting liquid yeast, just dry, I want to know what dry yeast should I use for this recipe?

The easiest to get here are the danstar lallemand (my favorites) and the saf fermentis.

Thank you in advance for the recipe.

 

[Norberto Adrian Desimone]

My second attempt at an Oktoberfest (Named Oztoberfest after my son Oz). I was really happy with how it turned out.
It took gold in Euro Amber Lagers at the Rocky Mountain Homebrew Club Challenge last night with a score of 43 (scored 41 by a National rank judge).
I did a beta rest and alpha rest for the mash (just added 2nd round of hot water to raise temp) which is why it finished so dry, but has a good malt backing.

[size=+2]Oztoberfest II[/size]
[size=+1]3-B Oktoberfest/Märzen[/size]
Author: Kyle



Size: 5.50*gal
Efficiency: 69.56%
Attenuation: 85.7%
Calories: 176.58*kcal per 12.0*fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.054 (1.050 - 1.057)
|=================#==============|
Terminal Gravity: 1.008 (1.012 - 1.016)
|================================|
Color: 12.29 (7.0 - 14.0)
|====================#===========|
Alcohol: 6.07% (4.8% - 5.7%)
|==============================#=|
Bitterness: 23.2 (20.0 - 28.0)
|==============#=================|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
4*lb Pilsner Malt
4*lb Munich Malt
4*lb Vienna Malt
0.50*lb Caramunich® TYPE I
0.25*lb Cara-Pils® Malt
1.5*oz Hallertau (4.2%) - added during boil, boiled 90*m
0.25*oz Hallertau (4.2%) - added during boil, boiled 15*m
1.0*ea WYeast 2124 Bohemian Lager

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 80.0*°F
Source Water: 60.0*°F
Elevation: 0.0*m

00:26:48 Mash - Liquor: 2.87*gal; Strike: 151.81*°F; Target: 140*°F
00:56:48 Beta Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 139.3*°F
00:20:20 Mash - Liquor: 1.59*gal; Strike: 173.35*°F; Target: 150.0*°F
00:50:20 Alpha Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 148.8*°F

[size=+1]Notes[/size]
Awesome beer. Lighter and easier drinking than standard Oktoberfests, but that's just fine with me.

[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.20[/size]

In my brew store there are 2 types of Viking brand Munich malt: light 6 ° L and dark 9 ° L.
What is the one you use in this recipe?

 

[Jeff...]

Hello, I want to make this recipe, but where am I not getting liquid yeast, just dry, I want to know what dry yeast should I use for this recipe?

The easiest to get here are the danstar lallemand (my favorites) and the saf fermentis.

Thank you in advance for the recipe.

I have not brewed this exact recipe, but self developed and tweaked one over the years that is so close to this one, it's scary.

You mean Diamond Lager? ---> Diamond Lager Dry Yeast (Danstar)

Sounds like a great substitute to me. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Give it a try and report back.

 

[Jeff...]

In my brew store there are 2 types of Viking brand Munich malt: light 6 ° L and dark 9 ° L.
What is the one you use in this recipe?

Run with 6L and don't look back

 

[LokiM4]

Hello, I want to make this recipe, but where am I not getting liquid yeast, just dry, I want to know what dry yeast should I use for this recipe?

The easiest to get here are the danstar lallemand (my favorites) and the saf fermentis.

Thank you in advance for the recipe.

You could also use Fermentis 34/70, it’s a German Lager yeast and should do well in this and suggested as an alternate by the OP-in fact it’s what I plan on using when I brew it warm this summer so I can have it ready for the fall.

 

[rtstrider]

I'm going to be brewing this in a few weeks. Since w34/70 is pricey for a dry yeast I wanted to get a few brews out of it to offset the costs. I pitched one pack into a 2L starter on the stir plate. I brewed, and warm fermented (66F until the krausen dropped and airlock slowed to bubbling every 15 seconds then bumped to 70F), a Sam 76 Clone pitching all 2 liters of starter wort in there. I adjusted the hop additions to hit the right ibus with the extra 2L of starter. I then repitched a quart of slurry into a Helles (warm fermented) and it went nuts! I will be repitching the slurry into the Cats Tits Pilsner (recipe on these forums) and finally this Oktoberfest. This will all be warm fermented

 

[rtstrider]

I've never brewed an Oktoberfest/Marzen before. Would adding in .25 lbs of Melanoidin malt, to emulate a decoction mash, and bumping the base malts down a touch work out fine with this brew or would it make it too malty? I will be using Saflager w34/70

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I've never brewed an Oktoberfest/Marzen before. Would adding in .25 lbs of Melanoidin malt, to emulate a decoction mash, and bumping the base malts down a touch work out fine with this brew or would it make it too malty? I will be using Saflager w34/70

It’s your beer, and Marzen is meant to be malty, with that said this recipe scored very well in competition. I say, brew it as is the first time then if there’s something you think you could improve then tinker with it.

 

[rtstrider]

I brewed this and added .25 lbs Melanoidin malt to mimic a decoction mash. Also I mashed at 140F for 30 minutes and then I raised to 150F for 60 minutes (instead of the 30 minutes mentioned in the recipe). I wanted to eek out a tad more efficiency for giggles. Ended up spot on. It's been fermenting at 66F since Friday night. Oh another first is this is the first time I've direct pitched dry yeast for the heck of it. It took off just fine Really curious to see how this bad boy turns out!

 

[rtstrider]

Well after 3 weeks in the bottle at room temp the carbonation is right where I want it. You know I’ll say I’m not a fan of this beer style by all means. Your recipe though...Is WAY too drinkable lol! I added a pinch (2%) melanoidin malt to mimic a decoction. I’m putting these bad boys in the lagering fridge for 6 weeks or so till they clear. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[bamcisman]

Brewed this on July 26th. Benn in the keg for 27 days.... Wow. This is my first lager. Used Saflager 34/70. This came out delicious. Only thing I'd change is less hop bitterness. I had to add some Liberty because the Hallertau was like 2.8%. Anywho, thanks for the recipe, it's great.

 

[rtstrider]

Cracked open one of these bad boys a week early. I will say lagering is an ABSOLUTE with this brew. No way around it! It has really smoothed things out and it’s way better than it was before Doing an official Octoberfest grill out next Friday

 

[bamcisman]

Cracked open one of these bad boys a week early. I will say lagering is an ABSOLUTE with this brew. No way around it! It has really smoothed things out and it’s way better than it was before Doing an official Octoberfest grill out next Friday

Agreed. It was good a few weeks after kegging... Now that it's been in the keg for almost 7 weeks, it is Delicious with a capital D. I will brew this every year in July for sure.

 

[rtstrider]

Agreed. It was good a few weeks after kegging... Now that it's been in the keg for almost 7 weeks, it is Delicious with a capital D. I will brew this every year in July for sure.

This was the third week in the fridge. A non lagered sample was very astringent but lagering has helped big time with that. Am curious to see where this is at the 7 week mark for me at least

 

[rtstrider]

This has lagered around 8 weeks and it’s finally hit it’s sweet spot! Ok I wanted to break this down for any new brewers. At first sample before bottling this was astringent to me at least. In the bottles after carbing for 3-4 weeks it was carbd and astringent. After 3 weeks cold conditioned the yeast flavor of w34/70 was still there but the beer was clear and still astringent. 6 weeks the yeast flavor was weaker but there still and astringent. 8 weeks and holy moly! It’s nice and flippin smooth! So if you brew this and get that astringent bite it does go after lagering! Be patient and you’ll be rewarded with a darn good Marzen...And I hate the style but this has been my go to beer as of a few days ago Good luck, brew on, and enjoy!!!

ps I fermented this at 66f with w34/70 non rehydrated. This is CLEAN!

 

[Beer Viking]

Sounds awesome! Forgive me for this question but I'm new to brewing; did you adjust the temperature of the mash for the remaining 30 mins of out the total 60 mins so you would get both alpha and beta enzymes?

 

[cgoldberg3]

This looks like a good recipe to add to the queue! I either need to start drinking more or start making 3 gallon batches lol.

 

[megs8888]

Hi I am about to make a Marzen would someone please explain the mash process please not undertanding the timings
Mash is that for 26mins 48 secs added water was 151.81 F Target Temp is lower being 140F ???
Beta Rest at 56.48 for 30 min at 139.3F?
Mash 20min 20sec strike 173.5 Target Temp 150F
Alpha Rest for 30 mins at 148,8?




Can I do a decoction on this what would that involve? and can I use WLP920 Yeast instead? I intend to ferment and then condition in a 23 litre keg, should i condition in the keg for 6 weeks and then transfer to another kegs to clear?

thanks for your help

00:26:48 Mash - Liquor: 2.87*gal; Strike: 151.81*°F; Target: 140*°F
00:56:48 Beta Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 139.3*°F
00:20:20 Mash - Liquor: 1.59*gal; Strike: 173.35*°F; Target: 150.0*°F
00:50:20 Alpha Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 148.8*°F

 

[Ariel]

Can someone explain the instructions to me? I'm not familiar with all these terms. This would be my 3rd batch of beer and I am scaling it down to 1 gallon

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Can someone explain the instructions to me? I'm not familiar with all these terms. This would be my 3rd batch of beer and I am scaling it down to 1 gallon

Have you been brewing all grain or with extract? What specifically do you want help with?

 

[Ariel]

Have you been brewing all grain or with extract? What specifically do you want help with?

Ive done all grain. I followed a video which said to boil the grain to 165(ish) and let it sit at that temp for 1 hour. Then drain the grains and boil for 1 hour with the hops. Cool and bottle. All these terms and the exact seconds is all new to me.



00:26:48 Mash - Liquor: 2.87*gal; Strike: 151.81*°F; Target: 140*°F - Does this mean to boil the grains for 26 min?
00:56:48 Beta Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 139.3*°F - Does this mean to let it steep in the water for 56 min?
00:20:20 Mash - Liquor: 1.59*gal; Strike: 173.35*°F; Target: 150.0*°F - Do I boil it again to reach 150 for 20 minutes?
00:50:20 Alpha Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 148.8*°F - Then let it steep for another hour?

When do I add the hops?

 

[IslandLizard]

Can someone explain the instructions to me? I'm not familiar with all these terms. This would be my 3rd batch of beer and I am scaling it down to 1 gallon

How to Brew.com - Section 3: Brewing All-Grain Beer

 

[bracconiere]

Ive done all grain. I followed a video which said to boil the grain to 165(ish) and let it sit at that temp for 1 hour. Then drain the grains and boil for 1 hour with the hops. Cool and bottle. All these terms and the exact seconds is all new to me.



00:26:48 Mash - Liquor: 2.87*gal; Strike: 151.81*°F; Target: 140*°F - Does this mean to boil the grains for 26 min?
00:56:48 Beta Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 139.3*°F - Does this mean to let it steep in the water for 56 min?
00:20:20 Mash - Liquor: 1.59*gal; Strike: 173.35*°F; Target: 150.0*°F - Do I boil it again to reach 150 for 20 minutes?
00:50:20 Alpha Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 148.8*°F - Then let it steep for another hour?

When do I add the hops?

hmm, looks like strike water heated to 151f, and added to the grain. which will cool it down to ~140f. then doing a step mash by adding some more water at 173f, to bring the mash up to ~150f? both held there for 30 minutes...honestly....i have no idea what the numbers in front mean, looks like a bible quote or something?

and how did the beer you brought the mash up to 165f work out for you? 165f, would be the temp you want to heat your water to, what they call "strike water" before adding the crushed malt to it, because the malt will cool it down a bit....165f will denature the enzymes you need working for you....

but i didn't read the whole thread, just thought i'd chime in to try and help....

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Ive done all grain. I followed a video which said to boil the grain to 165(ish) and let it sit at that temp for 1 hour. Then drain the grains and boil for 1 hour with the hops. Cool and bottle. All these terms and the exact seconds is all new to me.



00:26:48 Mash - Liquor: 2.87*gal; Strike: 151.81*°F; Target: 140*°F - Does this mean to boil the grains for 26 min?
00:56:48 Beta Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 139.3*°F - Does this mean to let it steep in the water for 56 min?
00:20:20 Mash - Liquor: 1.59*gal; Strike: 173.35*°F; Target: 150.0*°F - Do I boil it again to reach 150 for 20 minutes?
00:50:20 Alpha Rest - Rest: 30*m; Final: 148.8*°F - Then let it steep for another hour?

When do I add the hops?

Okay, when we ”mash” the grain is getting converted from starch to fermentable sugar. The “strike temp” is hotter than the mash temp because adding room temp grain will cool the hot water. This recipe has a step mash with the steps getting warmer. @IslandLizard has given a great recommendation for reading. As you increase the temp with each step you’ll need to keep the grain off the bottom of your kettle so it doesn’t burn. For the mash we do not boil. If this sounds daunting, perhaps you can use this grain bill with a familiar process. Many brewers have the opinion that step mashing isn’t needed now that grains have been modified. With that said, I’d keep it around 155-158F for an hour. I hope that helps.

 

[Ariel]

Okay, when we ”mash” the grain is getting converted from starch to fermentable sugar. The “strike temp” is hotter than the mash temp because adding room temp grain will cool the hot water. This recipe has a step mash with the steps getting warmer. @IslandLizard has given a great recommendation for reading. As you increase the temp with each step you’ll need to keep the grain off the bottom of your kettle so it doesn’t burn. For the mash we do not boil. If this sounds daunting, perhaps you can use this grain bill with a familiar process. Many brewers have the opinion that step mashing isn’t needed now that grains have been modified. With that said, I’d keep it around 155-158F for an hour. I hope that helps.

I double checked and it was 156F.

This is the steps that I followed for my first beers: I skipped the campdon tablet

Method: In a large stainless steel pot bring your water to 156ºF.
Dissolve the Campden tablet.
Place the mesh bag into the pot, and slowly stir in the crushed Munich malt.
Cover the pot, and maintain 154ºF for 1 hour - wrap in blankets / towels if needed.
After 1 hour, remove the bag of grain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Bring the pot to a boil.
Once boiling, add the hops and boil uncovered for 1 hour.
Remove from the stove, and chill the pot to 60ºF as quickly as possible.
Carefully transfer the wort to a cleaned and sanitised 1 gallon jug, add the yeast, and seal with an airlock.
Leave at room temp for 2 weeks out of direct sunlight.
Clean and sanitise pressure rated beer bottles - swing top is best.
Add desired amount of priming sugar to each bottle, and then carefully fill each bottle with beer.
Leave bottles at room temp for two weeks before transferring to the fridge to chill.

 

[rtstrider]

Got the grains crushed this morning and the 2124 starter has been cold crashing since last night. Planning on getting this brewed today. I used w34/70 last year and that was way too good! Wanted to brew the real thing though so going with 2124 and shooting for a fermentation temp of 49f for the heck of it. Can’t wait!

 

[rtstrider]

Done! Ended up boiling way too much off so boiling up some distilled water to top it off. As of now the brew would be over 7% lol

 

[rtstrider]

Just tapped the keg. It’s premature at 3.5 weeks. This really needs more cold conditioning. I fined with gelatin a few weeks ago and am using a floating dip tube. This is not where I want it to be quite yet flavor and clarity wise. Back to lagering for a few more weeks. May have to follow my own advice from the previous response and just wait till 8 weeks cold conditioned lol

 

[rtstrider]

Ok I spoke WAY too soon. Just took another pull from the keg for giggles. The head is lacking due to low carbonation. My beers were over carbed a pinch and now they’re under carbed just a pinch so been slowly but surely tweaking the psi on the kegerator. Man this is a really really really good Oktoberfest! Right under four weeks in the keg. Fined with gelatin and using a floating dip tube

 

[rtstrider]

Well it’s ready! Tried to do my best foamy pour for an Oktoberfest lol Anywho we grilled sausages, have cabbage going, and various other things that scream Oktoberfest. I want to tinker this a bit but that’s just to fit my personal tastes and would take this way out of style. Year two of brewing this and can say this is a great recipe!

 

[uSlackr]

Dumb question. Hallertauer has varieties now. Would this be Mittlelfrueh?

 

[rtstrider]

Dumb question. Hallertauer has varieties now. Would this be Mittlelfrueh?

yep! Mittlefrueh