Does anyone out there have a pretty decent Oktoberfest recipe as an ale? I don't have a way to lager yet and I really want to brew one soon and let it age for a while. 5 gallons preferred, extract w/ specialty grains is what I'm looking for. Thanks! Nick
I would just brew a malty version of a kolsch or altbier as summer comes to a close. I see no advantage to aging an ale version of a marzen especially at its moderate ABV.
I just so happen to have two batches of Kolsch and an Altbier currently sitting in bottles if they're good I'll have to brew one again and age some to see how it goes.
Nick, It is entirely possible to make a mock-Oktoberfest beer. The important thing is to select a very neutral ale yeast strain and ferment as cool as possible to mitigate the development of esters. I would recommend Wyeast 1007 (German Ale) and if you could ferment in the mid-high 50’s that would be ideal. There are a few extracts that include Munich Malt. Munich Malt is needed to produce an amber colored Oktoberfest. I would recommend you purchase Williams Gold malt extract from Williams Brewing. If you would like to make a robust beer with an OG of around 1.055, buy the 8 lb. LME package. You can add a bit of crystal malt if you would like to add some ‘dimension’ to your beer. Whether to use specialty malt or not is your choice. I personally like using ½ lb. of Caravienne to my Oktoberfest beers since it adds a bit of a toasty flavor that I like. I prefer to use the noble hop of Hallertauer Mittelfruh for my Oktoberfest beers. I use something like 8 AAUs for bittering and then ½ ounce for flavor (the last 15 minutes of boil). Feel free to use other noble hops like Tettnanger or Spalt if you are so inclined. Good luck with your Oktoberfest Ale! Cheers! P.S. All of the above amounts are for a 5 gallon batch.
+1 on the 1007 yeast, you can make some truly awesome lager-like ales with that particular yeast strain. I've also had good success with the Kolsch strains 2565 and WLP029. However the 1007 is my favorite of the three.
I brewed an octoberfast ale with extract before. It turned out great. I'll try and find the recipe and post it later.
I have no doubt you can brew a good beer with a Marzen grain bill and an ale/"hybrid" yeast at cool temperatures. But I wouldn't expect it to nail (if that's what you're after) the Oktoberfest style. I've tasted a couple of valiant attempts from accomplished brewers, but they were not quite there. Having said that, Jackhorzempa's tips look reasonable to me.
100% 5-7L Munich malt and a German ale yeast or kolsch yeast ( as cold as you can) will probably make a nice aletoberfest. Worked well for me with a lager strain but I haven't tried it with an ale yeast.
FWIW, last night my buddy and I did a taste test of his dunkel (fermented with a German lager yeast) side by side with my altbier (with the 1007 alt yeast). Both beers are about the same age. Same in color, clarity, bitterness, body, and dang... tasted almost identical! Two different recipes. Of the subtle differences we could pick out, his had very slight DMS, mine had very slight skunk that immediately evaporated off... and mine tasted more "German", whereas his was a little more bland. Just sayin again... that 1007 yeast is pretty fantastic stuff, if you can't tell much difference in a side by side comparison with a real lager yeast fermented beer.
I actually am fermenting an oktoberfest ale right now. I should start by saying it's my first ever but I did decide to do it as an ale ( less decision more a factor if tempature and equipment). I purchased the brewers best oktoberfest beer kit. It specifically says that it can be done as an aIe. I also purchased wyeast 2124 because of tempature here in kansas and everything seems to be fine thus far. Less of a recipe more of "you can do it" reply"
Not quite a side by side. I have two Alt Biers on tap now with one pitched with ale yeast and one with lager and is night and day difference. Octoberfest is not one of my favorite styles so I do not brew them but if I was the OP I would use the 34/70 dry yeast. Even at higher temperatures this yeast is very clean.
I'll agree with you, it wasn't an exact side by side, but pretty close. And I agree, the W-34/70 yeast is really good, at least around 50 F. I have not tried it at relatively high temperatures.
Jim, Which lager strain did you use to brew your Alt? At what temperature did you ferment that batch? What is the highest fermentation temperature that you used W-34/70? Cheers! Jack
Hi Jack. I used the 34/70 yeast at 60 degrees. I have used this yeast at 66 degrees and the beer was very clean at that temp. This yeast produces a very malty beer that will lessen the hop flavors if you were to use it in a Pilsner. Take care.
Jim, Thanks for that input. I have read that some homebrewers report that Wyeast 2124 performs well (i.e., clean fermentations) in the 60’s as well. I have a lot of experience homebrewing with 2124 but only at lager fermentation temperatures (i.e., low 50’s). It appears that W-34/70 & Wyeast 2124 (the exact same yeast strain?) are good options for producing clean beers even when fermented warm (60’s). Cheers! Jack
Yea the same yeast. Within the last year or so I have been using a lot of the 34/70 yeast in my split batches. (Very cheap). For a malty lager I do not think I would spend any more money on liquid yeast. My opinion is that there is not a lot of difference using this yeast between 52 and 66 degrees. Next time I make my Dunkel I will run this experiment. Take care.
