New here to the homebrew forums, so nice to meet you all! I am brewing now (in the boil) and was wondering if anyone has tried to make a marzen with ale yeast? I don't have a place to lager, so I figured I would try it with ale yeast. In a one gallon (stove top, all grain) batch, I used 1 lb munich, 1 lb vienna, and .5 lb 2-row. Using ~.5 oz Hallertau in the boil. What do you all think?
Somehow this recipe from biermuncher turns out octoberfest like. He uses s-04 and it seems like witchcraft to me. You could try nottingham or us-05 if you can get it below 63 F. EDIT Nottingham would probably ferment too dry for a marzen now that I think about it. Using us-05 would be better.
Try Wyeast 2124 and tell me how it works for you. @JackHorzempa was telling me in another thread that this lager yeast allegedly ferments cleanly at ale-like temps. If you are into dry yeasts, this and 34/70 are derived from the same strain.
It is indeed true as Peter (@pweis909) posted that I have posted in recent threads that 2124 performs 'lager-like' at ale temperatures but I feel compelled to caveat that I personally have no experience in this regard. My posts were citing other folks experience on this matter. Please do a search on my recent posts to learn more. Cheers!
Thanks guys. I just pitched Safale US-05. If it doesn''t turn out, I will live and learn. I'm not too scientific about my brewing. If a recipe sounds good, I try it. So far this marzen was batch 5. Batch 1 was a kit, it turned out well. 2 was a kit i tried to add fruit too, and I fermented it too hot. 3 was a decent red IPA, and 4 just finished as a dry stout. 1, 3, and 4 were drinkable to good. Hoping 5 is the best yet.
I'm not a big fan of quasi-lagers. But US-05 is a pretty clean ale strain, so you have that going for you. Hopefully you're fermenting at a fairly low temperature. On the other hand, the grain bill isn't really marzen-like...at least it's not the way most people would build a marzen bill. One suggestion...you might want to post recipe critique threads before you start your boil in the future. Don't get me wrong...this might turn out to be a delicious beer. But people could have helped you make something closer to your stated goal.
I took a half gallon from my BoPils last summer and overpitched it with US-05 to see how it would compare with 2124 and 2001 lager yeasts. It was an enjoyable beer, but it still tasted like an ale. If I couldn't lager, I would probably try 2124 fermented warm.
My home brewery brews nothing but ales, and they make a pretty tasty 'Octoberfest' using their house Ringwood yeast. So you can get good beer out of any lager recipe's ingredients.
Agreed. It kind of dawned on me that this forum existed right after I mashed in. Next time I have a question, I will be a little more proactive.
