Great Lakes Oktoberfest clone

Sorry, don't know this beer, so can't help with a recipe. You mention that you're not doing All Grain yet. But do you have a way to control temperatures for lager fermentation and then for lagering (cold storage)? (I only ask because I think most people jump to All Grain brewing before tackling lagers.)

 

Cool. As long as you have a way to control the temp of your wort (~50-ish) and your beer (~40-ish or lower), you should be golden.

 

Do tell how this comes out.

I'm a bit of a moron cuz I started lagers, planning for my first lager to be ready oct 1st (or so), but DIDN'T make an octoberfest. So I need to live vicariously through someone else's superior planning skills.

Of course mine will be ready in october, and yours won't, so I'm not sure what that indicates as far as planning goes.

Anybody care to give a quick synopsis of the differences in bottling between lagers and ales?*

*yes, I'm too lazy to search. But then I have been drinking beer, so anything I say can't be used against me.

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...lch-questions-on-process.203010/#post-2669541

This thread started in the Homebrew recipe forum but someone moved it to the general homebrewing thread which was probably a good idea.

 

Great Lakes Brewing is awesome on their website providing specs & info on their brews:
https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/WEB Profile Oktoberfest 2012.pdf
The only missing piece really is color which would help dial in percentages...but you can estimate that with a 6-pack and color chart. I've done a couple Great Lakes clones and they came out really well.
If you want to do extract, get Munich or maybe Weyermann Octoberfest extract but that won't give you a clone since that is 25% melanoidin malt as well. If using Briess, you'll want caramunich as well. If using Weyermann Munich, you may want to split it between Munich & extra light extract plus caramunich. Those are the only two extracts I'm familiar with.
I used Wyeast 2124 in my Dortmunder Gold clone and worked well in comparison. Mt Hood at beginning and maybe 15 minutes left in the boil. Should get you close with a solid fermentation schedule.

 

I do not have a clone recipe but I will provide some thoughts.

Below is from the Great Lakes website:

“Flavor:

Rich malt flavors balanced by fragrant noble hops

Ingredients:

MALT

Harrington 2-Row Base Malt: Allows color and flavor from other specialty malts to come through; makes for very clean beer

Munich: Traditional German malt for Oktoberfest beers; provides malty aroma and full-bodied flavor

Caramel 45: Contributes to amber color; provides complexity



HOPS

Mt. Hood: Provides subtle spicy and earthy aromas; used sparingly since malt is main ingredient in flavor profile.”



So, let’s discuss malt first. Since you will be brewing an extract version you have two malt extracts available to you (the only two I know of):

· Williams Gold Liquid Malt Extract(LME): “Mashed from 50% German Moravian Pilsner malt, and 50% German Munich malt, for a full-flavored, malty character. This dark golden malt extract is ideal for Vienna and Munich style lagers and alt beers, or any beer requiring an authentic German maltiness.”

· Briess (Northern Brewer) Munich LME: “It is made from 50% Munich Malt and 50% Base Malt to produce a very rich, malty, amber colored extract.”

If you want to make a beer like Great Lakes Oktoberfest you will also need to steep some Caramel 45 malt.

The hops selection is pretty easy: Mount Hood hops. You will need to formulate a hopping schedule.

There are a number of lager yeasts you could use. I have made many nice Oktoberfest beers with Wyeast 2206 but my preferred yeast is a lager yeast blend of Wyeast 2633.

Below is a suggested recipe for your consideration. Tweak it to suit your personal tastes.

· 8 lbs. of Williams Gold LME

· 1 lb. Briess Caramel 40 L

· 2-3 ounces of Mount Hood (depending on AA%)

· Wyeast 2633

Add x ounce of Mount Hood at the beginning of boil and ½ once of Mount Hood for the last 10-15 minutes of boil; shoot for a bitterness level on the order of 20 IBUs.

Great Lakes list’s their Oktoberfest as being 6.5% ABV. If you want to achieve this value you will need more malt extract. Maybe another 1.5 lbs. of dry malt extract. Personally I would not add this ‘extra’ dry malt extract.

Making a lager beer is very much about process. Some suggestions:

· Make a yeast starter of the Wyeast 2633; lager beers need lots of yeast.

· Ferment cool (e.g., 50 degrees F) for a couple of weeks (or longer)

· Lager cold (≤ 40°F for several weeks; something like 6-7 weeks)

Good luck with your clone of Great Lakes Oktoberfest beer!

Cheers!

Edit:
@telejunkie made mention of Caramunich malt.

Maybe use Caramunich II vs. Breiss Caramel 40L?

Below is from Northern Brewer:

“Weyermann® Caramunich® II

SKU: U18940

46° L. A medium crystal malt with deep color and mildly toasty sweet flavor and aroma.”