Brewing Oktoberfest
The first Oktoberfest was brewed to celebrate the wedding of King Ludwig I to Princess Maria Therese in 1810. Ever since, the beer has been brewed to commemorate the annual event that takes place on the same Munich village green, known as Theresienwiese, or “Therese’s Meadow.” The original one-day celebration has expanded to a sixteen-day festival attended by some six million visitors.
The Oktoberfest style is regulated by Munich Brewer’s Guild law. It specifies that the beer must be filtered and that the original gravity must be at least 1.052 (13° Plato). The brewer’s guild is comprised of the eight Munich breweries; those that brew Oktoberfest outside Munich must create a product that’s lower than the mandated 13° Plato. This results in a beer that’s slightly lower in alcohol than the traditional Munich beers.
The style guidelines for Oktoberfest are OG of 1.052 to 1.056 (13° to 14° Plato); ABV of 5.3 to 5.9 percent; bitterness of 18 to 25 IBUs; and color of 4 to 15 SRM.
The term Märzen is often used in place of Oktoberfest, and the guidelines for the World Beer Cup and GABF list the beers as a single style. The only difference is that Märzens traditionally were brewed in the spring (“Marz” is the German word for March) and conditioned until late summer.
From Germany, classic examples come from Spaten, Paulaner, Augustiner and Andeks. From the United States, some of the better brews are created by New Glarus Brewing (New Glarus, Wisconsin), Full Sail (Hood River, Oregon), Abita Brewing (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Boston Beer Company – Sam Adams (Boston, Massachusetts).
For our version, we’ll keep the grain and mash simple: Chariot pilsner, dextrin and Munich crystal malt (40° Lovibond) mashed in a single infusion at 150° F.
You can use American and English malts. Or if you prefer, German malting companies like Weyermann and Durst make very good and widely available products. If you’re a purist, you could conduct a decoction or step mash. But besides respect for the German decoction tradition, there’s really no need for it. All of the malt in this recipe is highly modified.
Generally I recommend an accelerated lagering technique. But this time, we’ll try a slow, cold lagering process. If you have a spare refrigerator, great. For the rest of us, there are a few options. First, you could split the beer into small containers (a gallon) and cram it into your normal refrigerator. The second option is to immerse your lagers in an ice-water bath.
In a carboy or Cornelius keg, the beer can sit in a garbage can or similar container. It should be just big enough to hold the carboy and ice, with six inches of headspace above. This way, you can loosely cover the can, which will help insulate the ice. The ice water should rise to a level just below that of the beer. Don’t let the water get too high or the carboy will float around, disturbing the contents. I drilled a hole in my garbage can three-fourths of the way up. The hole drained water and also vented carbon dioxide.
The beer will ferment for 7 to 10 days at 50° to 55° F and seven more days at 40° F. At that point, cool the beer as close as possible to 32° F for another week. When the gravity is constant, rack to a secondary and continue at 32° F until September.
Keeping beer on ice for three months isn’t as hard as it sounds, especially if you have a cool basement. Once the beer is chilled to 32° F and the yeast has slowed, the temperature should hold steady. And the ice should last a few days before you need to replace it.
Oktoberfest
(5 gallons, all grain)
Ingredients
• 6.5 lbs. Chariot pilsner malt
• 2.25 lbs. cara-Munich (40° Lovibond)
• 1 lbs. carapils or other dextrin-type malt
• 0.75 oz. of 4.5% alpha-acid Tettnang hops (3.4 AAUs)
• 1.0 oz. of 4.5% alpha-acid Tettnang hops (4.5 AAUs)
• 2 pt. starter of Bavarian lager yeast (Wyeast 2206 or equivalent)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Mash grain in 3 gallons of water for 60 minutes at 150° F. Sparge with enough 168° F water to yield 5.75 gallons of wort. Total boil time is 90 minutes. At beginning of the boil add first Tettnang hops and continue for 75 minutes. Add second Tettnang and boil for 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 40° F to pitch starter.
Ferment the beer at 50° to 55° F for 7 to 10 days. Cool to 40° F over 7 more days, then begin cooling to 32° F. Continue fermentation at 32° F for approximately one more week. Lager will then age at 32° F for the next eight weeks.
Extract with grain option:
Substitute the pilsner for 6 lbs. malt extract syrup and increase first Tettnang addition to 1 oz.
Start with 5 gallons of water in the boil kettle. Steep the crushed grains at 150° F for 30 minutes. Remove the grain bag and rinse with enough 168° F water to make 5.5 gallons. Add extract. Total boil time is 60 minutes. At beginning of boil add first Tettnang hops and continue for 45 minutes. Add second Tettnang hops and boil for remaining 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 45° F to pitch starter. Ferment and condition as described above.
OG = 1.052
FG = 1.012
Color = 14 SRM
Bitterness = 23 IBUs
