Monday, September 04, 2006

Brewing Recipe: Oktoberfest Split Batch -Ale & Lager

A bunch of us are brewing Oktoberfest beer styles now. I'm the last one to get around to it. I decided to try lagering this time. In fact I'm performing a little experiment. I'm going to ferment half the batch with a lager yeast and the other half with an ale yeast. Fermenting half as an ale will also help me have something for tasting with the group in a few weeks. The lager will have to wait two months or so. So here's the recipe...er as much of it as I can remember :-) Extract Recipe
  • 8 oz. 60L crystal
  • 2 oz. chocolate malt
  • 4 lbs Pale Malt Extract Alexander's Sun Country
  • 3.3 lbs Golden Light Briess CBW
  • 2 oz German Hallertau Bittering 3.3% acidity
  • 1/2 oz German Hallertau Aroma 3.3% acidity
  • White Labs Oktoberfest/Marzen Lager Yeast WLP820
  • Nottingham Brewing Yeast (Ale Yeast)
Steps
  • Boiled a little less than 5 gallons of water
  • Steeped Grains at 160 deg for 30 min
  • Dissolved extract
  • Brought to boil
  • Added bittering hops 2 oz
  • at 45 min put in the chiller
  • Boiled for 55 minutes
  • Added aroma hops
  • at 60 min chilled (took a while...tap water wasnt cold enough)
  • siphoned 1/2 to bucket and 1/2 to carboy
  • pitched the lager yeast to the carbody (I just like saying "pitched" ;-)
  • pitched the ale yeast to the bucket
  • added the airlocks
  • put the lager in the fridge with the temp controller at 45
  • put the ale in the dining room for now
Oh yeah, Kyle asked what the Original Gravity was. OG 1.061
So that's it. It's a waiting game now :-) The plan is... Ale
  • ferment for 5-7 days or so
  • bottle...cause I'm using my secondary for the lager :-(
Lager
  • ferment at 45 degrees for two weeks
  • store for six weeks at 35 degrees

2 comments:

Kyle said...

I hope you don't mind, but while searching for an 'Oktoberfest' Ale (I don't have the facilities for a lager), I came across your recipe and copied it. I was wondering if you took a O.G. measurement and what it was? I just finished mine and it's at 1.074! Sounds kinda high to me...

Adam said...

Of course, I don't mind. :-) Although I don't know what it tastes like yet. Your mileage may vary.

I measureed the Original Gravity at 1.061.

Good luck!