Hello, wanted to get some idea's as it's been a very long time since I brewed beer (over 10 years). At one point, I really followed the whole hobby and had a decent familiarity with what was good/bad etc. in terms of ingredients etc. Marzen/Octoberfest was always my favorite beer to brew and I did it as closely aligned with tradition as possible (e.g., brew in March and Lager all Summer). Here is what I'm thinking and I'll probably kick this off next month for an Octoberfest. My goal is, and always has been, a traditional German style (not American). What do you guys think of the following? Grains: German Pils Malt 25% German Munich Malt 72% Cara Pils (or something for additional body etc) 3% (shooting for something in the 1.055 OG range. Hops: German Noble Hops (hall or tett) for Boil and finish (shooting for something in the ball park of 25 IBU). have to figure out quantity once I know the AA in the actual batch. Yeast: Here is where I could use suggestions. I used to use Bavarian Lager from Wyeast (not sure if that is still a good choice). I'm chasing the general character of Hacker Pschorr octoberfest . Mashing: I'm a double decoction kind of guy. Yes, I know that there are lots of good reasons not to do it, but I I've always had a really good outcome. Water: Always had good luck with gallons of Poland Spring water. Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
Based on your comment in the other thread about your Marzen always being gone within a couple of days and its probable commercial viability, I'd say brew the recipe/process you have always done.
I have never brewed a Marzen but I brew a lot of Pilsners and Dunkels. If I was going to brew a Marzen I would use the S-189 lager yeast as to me it has a brighter more crisp finish then the WLP830-34/70 strain. Good luck on your beer!
I may be dating myself here. When I left off, right or wrong, the general perception was that dry yeast was inferior to liquid yeast. I would be interested to hear any observations on this.
I'm not prejudiced against dry yeast, but lately WLP833 has been my most used yeast. It finishes fuller and maltier than the Weihenstephaner strains, imo.
I never used it for a Lager but I have for Ales. I live on Cape Cod and I used to buy my Malt from this dude Todd who was the brewer at Cape Cod Brewery. He had a dry ale yeast that I believe he may have used commercially and it was a solid yeast. Just seems like you can get away with allot brewing Ale which Lager, at least for me, has always been somewhat less forgiving.
I have personally not used them but there are a number of dry lager strains that folks have reported produce quality lager beers, For example: · Fermentis W-34/70 · Fermentis S-189 I have had the pleasure of drinking lagers produced by @premierpro and I can attest these yeast strains can produce high quality lager beers. Cheers!
