All Grain Recipe: #15 Munich Madness Oktoberfest Ale

I recently brewed up a Mr. Beer Oktoberfest Vienna Lager kit, batch #9. Like all Mr. Beer kits, this isn't a true to style beer, but rather a hybrid of Oktoberfest and Vienna Lager brewed with an ale yeast. I brewed it with a Nottingham ale yeast, a quarter lb. of Crystal 15, 1.5 lbs. of DME and 6 oz. of Booster. It turned out really great, even though it has only had two weeks to carb/condition, and has me itching to do a non-kit version of the same style.

The biggest difference between Vienna Lager and Oktoberfest is that an Oktoberfest generally has a Crystal malt presence and more hope character. Another obvious difference is that commercial examples of Vienna Lager are very difficult to find. Negra Modelo is a good example that I enjoy, and Trader Joe's sells a decent one that is brewed by Gordon Biersche. 

In contrast, Oktoberfest is a German lager and is brewed by several German breweries, including Spaten, Paulaner and Ayinger. Oktoberfest lagers were brewed in March ('Marzen') for consumption during festivals in the fall ('Oktoberfest'). 

Whichever way you go, you'll get a clean, malty, dry beer with a focus on malt and a roasted flavor. It goes down easy with a dry finish that makes you want to drink more. I find this style to be the most refreshing of the 'darker' beers one can find.

My main problem is that brewing lagers is a pain in the ass - one that I don't find to be worth it. Why invest in a brewing refrigerator and spend 2-3 months lagering your beer when you can get something that tastes just as good or better by using an ale yeast? True, it might not be true to style, so you may not want to enter it into a competition, but the end product will be just as drinkable.

Below is the Oktoberfest recipe I plan to use from Brewing Classic Styles. The original recipe is for 6 gallons at 70% efficiency, but I've scaled it to 3 gallons at 85% efficiency. The hops are tweaked slightly based on advice in Designing Great Beers, which says to use 0.75 oz of flavor hops and target an IBU to Gravity ratio of around 0.5. I'm also trying to get rid of around 40 grams of Hallertau I have in the freezer.

Finally, I substituted the WLP029 Kolsch ale yeast instead of using the WLP820 Marzen yeast. The WLP029 is supposed to give a clean, lager-like flavor that works well in this style. It supposedly creates a bit of sulfur early on, which goes away with aging. I'll be fermenting lower than normal, around 65 if I can, but I'd like to avoid getting too much diacetyl in the end product.

Below is the BeerSmith brewsheet for the recipe scaled to my equipment and efficiency, followed by the original 6 gallon recipe.

Munich Madness

Oktoberfest/Marzen

Type: All Grain	Batch Size: 12.00 qt
Boil Size: 16.61 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.00
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot, Full Boil All Grain (5 Gallon)
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 2 lbs 3.4 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (1.6 SRM) Grain 38.70 % 1 lbs 11.8 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 30.47 % 1 lbs 5.1 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 23.11 % 7.1 oz Caramunich Malt (60.0 SRM) Grain 7.72 % 25.00 gm Hallertau (MoreBeer 2011) [4.30 %] (60 min) Hops 23.2 IBU 12.00 gm Hallertauer [4.00 %] (20 min) Hops 6.3 IBU 1 Pkgs German Ale/Kolsch (White Labs #WLP029) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original  Gravity: 1.059 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.86 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.87 %
Bitterness: 30 IBU	Calories: 264 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.3 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: BIAB Double Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 5.71 lb
Sparge Water: 11.00 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 152.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
BIAB Double Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 8.35 qt of water at 162.0 F 152.0 F
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar	Volumes of CO2: 2.6
Pressure/Weight: 80.5 gm	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
Sub WLP029 kolsch ale yeast for the WLP820 marzen lager yeast. Dechlorinate ALL water, even sanitation water. Use one full tablet of campden for a full bucket of water, then transfer all except 19.35 quarts to another container for use as sanitation water. Do not let ANY chlorinated water into the beer, ever, at all.

And here is the original recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.

Munich Madness

Oktoberfest/Marzen

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/13/2011
Batch Size: 24.00 qt	Brewer: Jamil Zainasheff
Boil Size: 30.34 qt
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Igloo Cooler (10 Gal)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 5 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (1.6 SRM) Grain 38.46 % 4 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 30.77 % 3 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 23.08 % 1 lbs Caramunich Malt (60.0 SRM) Grain 7.69 % 43.00 gm Hallertauer [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 17.8 IBU 14.00 gm Hallertauer [4.00 %] (20 min) Hops 3.5 IBU 1 Pkgs Octoberfest/Marzen Lager (White Labs #WLP820) Yeast-Lager
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.055 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.017 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.06 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.95 %
Bitterness: 21.3 IBU	Calories: 248 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.3 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 13.00 lb
Sparge Water: 21.33 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 16.25 qt of water at 170.1 F 154.0 F
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar	Volumes of CO2: 2.6
Pressure/Weight: 170.1 gm	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Sub WLP029 to create a lager-like ale.