Day 4: Oktoberfest/Marzen

Thanks to everyone who's taken an early visit to the blog! I apologize it won't be as fancy as some you see...I'm just too busy to be constantly updating, taking pictures every day, and answering every single question....but I'll do my best! I have a hard enough time remembering everything I want to type in by the time I get to the computer.

Someone had asked about doing small batch all-grain beers in an older post. It is definitely possible, and cheaper and easier than doing large batches, since it's a single pot. I won't be doing it all the time during the year, just because it is a bit of extra time. And when you're brewing daily, you're spending enough time over a pot during the week:)

I'm getting to my Oktoberfest batch a bit late this year. This is based on an extract recipe I used to brew back in college called "Oshtoberfest." Which really only makes sense if you're celebrating Oktoberfest in Oshkosh, WI.

On to the beer...

Beer #4 - Oshtoberfest

Style: Oktoberfest/Marzen (3B)

Recipe: For 2 Gallon (All-Grain)

3.25 lb Munich Type 1 Malt
4 oz Vienna Malt
4 oz Melanoidin Malt
4 oz CaraMunich Type 1 Malt
4 oz Aromatic Malt
.5 oz Saaz Hops (3.2% AAU) (60 minutes, full boil)
.5 oz Hallertau Hops (4.5% AAU) (last 15 minutes)
Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager Yeast


Brewing notes: I used a 12"x19" Fine Straining Bag for my grains and it seemed to work out ok. The nylon bag was stitched so it had a flat bottom, not just a seam running across the bottom, so it took on a tube like shape. Which meant the grain didn't settle down low in the pot, but rather to the shape of the straining bag, which was skinnier than the pot. This means the water level needed to be slightly higher than I thought, as there was unused pot space in the bottom due to the straing bag. I think I ended up using almost 2 gallons of water to reach the top of the grain. In the first 20 minutes of mashing my pot went from 158 to 142. After this, I turned on the smallest flame I could on my gas stove and adjusted it as needed throughout the mash. I didn't want to melt the nylon to the bottom, which can happen easily, so I kept the flame low and never let touch the pot. I stirred right in the bag- seemed to work fine. I let it go a few minutes over 60, I wanted to make sure I spent enough time in the 'good zone' where starches convert to sugars. If you can't hold a good temp, at least make sure your grains see 60 minutes between 146-158F. That goes for mini-mashing and all-grain. I sparged out just by poring about a gallon of water over the grain. Held the sack of spent grain over the water a few minutes and let it drain. Got a gravity of around 1.052. This is a bit of a guesstimate, as I took it quick and didn't pull a sample.

And after all this just remember- you're not brewing the Mona Lisa, you're brewing beer.

Cheers!
Aaron