Festbier World's Best Oktoberfest

[KingBrianI]

For the hops, you want to do this. Bring your wort to a boil. Set a timer for 90 minutes. When 30 minutes have gone by and the timer has 60 minutes left, throw the hops in. Some people use little bags to contain the hops but I just let them float free. I'm not sure what is best for electric kettles. Anyway, the hops boil away in there for the 60 remaining minutes. After the 60 minutes are up, turn off the heat and chill the wort. You can then strain the hops out.

You definitely need to aerate the wort. The oxygen you introduce is vital for the yeasts' reproduction. By boiling the wort, you forced all of the oxygen out. You need to get as much as you can back in there so the yeast are happy. You can do that by pouring the wort violently into your fermentation vessel, then closing up the vessel and shaking it vigorously for a couple of minutes. I've heard varying opinions on how long it takes to get the wort saturated with oxygen but you can't really shake it too much. You want at least a couple of minutes of really good shaking. Once it is aerated and at pitching temperature you can go ahead and add the yeast. Seal it up and wait for the magic to happen.

 

[KingBrianI]

Oh, forgot to mention. It looks like your hops are 3% alpha acid, is that right? In that case, you are going to need to use slightly more hops than what the recipe calls for (since the recipe was based on 4% alpha acid hops). If they are 3% like it looks, you'll want to use 2.4 oz (68 g) of the hops to get the same bittering.

 

[Brewer Gerard]

Yup 3% is what it says on the pack so 64 g it is then.

Can i just run the process by you as i am literally only a temperature probe away from brew day.

1. Heat up the strike water and dough in the grain.
2. Follow the whole decoction schedule you have detailed.
3. Vorlauf and first runnings.
4. Batch sparge in 2 steps (10qts per step) and drain the wort to the brew kettle.
5. Boil the wort for 90 min adding the hops after 30 min.
6. Drain the wort to the fermentation vessel through hop strainer.
7. Shake the s**t out of it.
8. Cool to yeast pitching temperature.
9. Make starter and pitch.

 

[KingBrianI]

Looks like you've got the process right there. The only thing I would recommend is to cool before shaking it. The cooler the wort, the more oxygen it will take. Other than that, it looks like you are all set to go.

 

[Brewer Gerard]

Just received my temperature probe this morning so it's getting very close to brew day.

I just have one concern after reading the material on palmers site. It says that above 170°F the 'husk tannins' become more soluble. Based on the mash schedule in the wiki for double enhanced decoction the grains are brought all the way up to boiling. Is this correct or have i misunderstood the process.

Apologies for the continued harassment.

 

[KingBrianI]

You do indeed bring the decoction up to boiling. It was a sticking point for me as well when I was first learning about the process but it works. Next time I'm in Ireland I'll stop by for a pint!

 

[Brewer Gerard]

Well thats my first all-grainer done and by the Christ is it an involved process. Going for a double enhanced decoction first time out may have been a little bit too in at the deep end but i enjoyed it none the less.

The best part for me was building all the brewing equipment, the fermentation chamber is something I'm especially impressed with. I tried to control the temperature steps in the decoction using a PID controller in conjunction with some temperature probes. For anybody who is intending on doing Decoction mashes this is completely unnecessary, just wait till your 1°C or 2°F below the target temp and pull the plug. If you lose a degree or two just fore it up again during the rest. Didn't matter anyhow cos i blew my PID controller heating up the strike water

Just 3 months fermentation to go now

 

[KingBrianI]

Awesome, now lets see some pictures!

 

[Brewer Gerard]

This is all i have for the time being

its not much but hopefully i'll have something a bit better in a few months

 

[Brewer Gerard]

The smell in the fermentation chamber is fairly horrendous, is this normal?

 

[KingBrianI]

Yep, does it smell of hydrogen sulfide?

 

[Brewer Gerard]

It's been so long since my hydrogen sulfide sniffing days i can scarcely remember yep i suppose a bit sulphurous would be one way of describing it. Plenty of airlock activity too s hopefully all is well

 

[Dog House Brew]

Has anyone tried this with just doing a straight step mash w/o the decoction?
Wondering how it turned out. I really want to brew an Oktoberfest before temps in the celler get too warm for primary. Thought I would do some type of light lager and use the cake for this. That glass looks beautiful. Never have done a decoction mash before. I'm sure it builds complex flavors, but my normal brew day runs 8 hrs as is. I guess only because I'm brewing 16.5 gallon batches.

 

[Brewer Gerard]

That glass looks beautiful.

Was hooked as soon as i saw it!

 

[Brewer Gerard]

Got a replacement hydromoeter today and tested the sample that's been in the fridge for the last week. Well it came out at 1.051 which isn't exactly what i was hoping for but not the end of the world either. the gravity of the batch is at 1.022 at the mo which seems excessively fast progress so I've ramped down the temp to the low 40's. Had a taste of the sample and i'd drink it the way it is. I can already get the depth of flavor, in three months time it should be amazing. I think this will be a sensational first time all grainer

 

[KingBrianI]

Nice! Don't worry about it fermenting too fast. As long as you hold it in the proper temperature range it can go as fast as it wants.

 

[tbeggs15]

Looks like a great beer thanks for the detailed recipe

 

[NCBeernut]

Brian - Please brew this again so I can drink some of it. I am way too lazy to do anything more than a single decoction.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[KingBrianI]

Brian - Please brew this again so I can drink some of it. I am way too lazy to do anything more than a single decoction.

Thanks,

Scott

Haha, I don't have much time if i want to brew it in march. You should try it with a single decoction and we can see how it compares.

 

[NCBeernut]

Haha, I don't have much time if i want to brew it in march. You should try it with a single decoction and we can see how it compares.

If I was to do that, do you think just skip the protein rest, etc and just decoct from saccrification rest to mash out?....Not that it matters - no lagering capabilities

 

[KingBrianI]

Hmm, maybe a two step saccharification rest with mashout. Infuse to like 146, let rest 15 minutes, pull a big decoction and add enough back to hit 156, then add the rest after 30 minutes or so to hit mashout. That way you decoct a large amount of the mash to get more flavor.

 

[Brewer Gerard]

Just took a sample today and it's down to 1.015 ish. I think after a minute some carb bubbles built up on the base of the hydrometer and started to push it up ever so slightly (is this credible?) Tasted the hydro sample anyway, cant wait for this to be fully ready.

 

[shelly_belly]

Has anyone tried this with just doing a straight step mash w/o the decoction?
Wondering how it turned out. I really want to brew an Oktoberfest before temps in the celler get too warm for primary. Thought I would do some type of light lager and use the cake for this. That glass looks beautiful. Never have done a decoction mash before. I'm sure it builds complex flavors, but my normal brew day runs 8 hrs as is. I guess only because I'm brewing 16.5 gallon batches.

I brewed this today just as a single infusion at 155F. I pitched WLP802 Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast cake from a Victory Prima Pils clone that I just racked to a lagering keg. I had other things I needed to do so I didn't do the decoctions. I will revisit this beer when I'm ready to do a decoction and it will be great to experience the difference between the two. My OG was 1.053. Mashed for nearly two hours. 90 min boil.

 

[TheGeek]

Brewed this yesterday as my very first lager! Also happens to be my first time using a decoction. Man, you guys aren't kidding it makes for a long brew day.

Anyway, I may have had an issue. My OG reading post boil was only 10.5brix (about 1.044). This is further off from the 1.059 that I read for the recipe than I would have liked. However my efficiency is typically 75% and I see that yours is 85%. So while that makes up for it in part, I think I'm still low. Also I pulled more wort than I typically get which I found odd because there was so much of the mash that was boiled and it was heated for much longer. I think I got nearly 7.5gal of wort.

So I guess my question is what are the easiest ways to lose efficiency while doing a decoction?

In any case, the boil went well and the color is good. Pitch went well also, fermentation started pretty quick for me. The aroma, oh the aroma was amazing. Gonna be difficult to wait until October for this brew.

EDIT: I did some BeerCalculus and since I still has about 6gal post boil, the numbers jive. Oh well, I'll enjoy 6 gallons of 4% oktoberfest just as much as 5 gallons of 5%! lol

 

[sparkyaber]

The geek: That usually ends up being my problem, just a little to much wort.

Well, it is a few months late, but I am brewing this recipe for the third year in a row. This year, we are going to try the step mash instead of the decoction mash. Will post back with the exact schedule, and I will let everyone in the fall know how it tastes.

 

[Champurrado]

Brewed this "Decemberfest" a few weeks ago and right now it's sitting in the primary having a diacetyl rest at 58 degrees. This was the first decoction for me so I'm interested in finding out how the flavor will be affected.
With my other lagers I generally do not gas the keg during secondary/laggering phase. I read another brewer's post recently that indicated the keg should be force car bed for this part of the final fermentation.

Fact or fiction?

By the way, this brewer recently wona trip to Prague for his pilsner so I'm leaning towards the idea that gas is good here.

Appreciate any responses.

Cheers.

 

[TheGeek]

Hey all. I've managed to keep this beer out of my gut since March and I am stoked that Its nearly time to drink it. One thing. After the primary for 3 weeks I racked to a secondary and I have left it in the secondary since. Was this a good call? I was leaning toward "don't expose it anymore than necessary" but wasn't sure if sitting on the small amount of yeast layer left in the vessel would affect taste. In either case I'm kegging it tomorrow to give it a month to carb.

 

[Champurrado]

I think you'll be fine. I left a kolsch in secondary for a while in a keg and when I transferred it to the serving keg for the final leg, it tasted just like it should. You're way ahead of me on your octoberfest. I just transferred out of primary this week. Pretty tasty so far.

 

[KingBrianI]

Brewed this "Decemberfest" a few weeks ago and right now it's sitting in the primary having a diacetyl rest at 58 degrees. This was the first decoction for me so I'm interested in finding out how the flavor will be affected.
With my other lagers I generally do not gas the keg during secondary/laggering phase. I read another brewer's post recently that indicated the keg should be force car bed for this part of the final fermentation.

Fact or fiction?

By the way, this brewer recently wona trip to Prague for his pilsner so I'm leaning towards the idea that gas is good here.

Appreciate any responses.

Cheers.

I've also heard that but don't know whether it is a nod to tradition or if it actually plays some role in yeast activity. I know that traditionally lagers were carbonated by allowing the CO2 produced at the end of fermentation to be trapped in the vessel and pressurize the headspace. I know that pressure can cause yeast to produce less off-flavors for a given temperature than beer fermented at ambient pressure, hence the practice of fermenting lagers at ale temps in pressurized containers.

Hey all. I've managed to keep this beer out of my gut since March and I am stoked that Its nearly time to drink it. One thing. After the primary for 3 weeks I racked to a secondary and I have left it in the secondary since. Was this a good call? I was leaning toward "don't expose it anymore than necessary" but wasn't sure if sitting on the small amount of yeast layer left in the vessel would affect taste. In either case I'm kegging it tomorrow to give it a month to carb.

What temp has the secondary been? If 50 F or below then your beer should be perfect. If warmer it should still be good, but a cold-storage or lagering would have made it even better.

 

[Champurrado]

King:

Appreciate the quick reply. Have yet to carb the secondary for a lager and so far, without secondary carbonation, my lagers have been pretty tasty. I usually burp the secondary kegs from time to time.

I also heard that too much carbonation in secondary is counterproductive at layering temps (34-39).

For now, I think I'll stick with what works for me.