Festbier BierMuncher's OktoberFAST Ale (AG)

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bolus14 said:
Anybody think they get a good amount of caramel/toffee flavor or more towards breast/grainy?
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Man im gettin both! I finished at 1.020 from 1.065 or so and it's got that super grain/biscuit nose and very caramely and sweet on the tounge! Im glad the co2 adds a bit if bitter zing to it tho, i think I'll mash lower next time i brew this. Maybe 152.
 
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The malt profile of this beer is much more complex than Sam Adams Oktoberfest. The SA seems more one dimensional and the hops remind me too much of Miller Lite.

In a blind test, my wife picked and preferred my beer. That's good enough for me!
 
Well I have to say, my most recent version of this turned out amazing. Wasn't this exact recipe, but everyone that has tried it has decided it was my best beer ever. Keg is nearly kicked. Ended up with about 92% efficiency on this batch so I ended up fermenting a gallon of it on Kölsch yeast as well and, as soon as I get some more co2, we will be testing that version as well side by side the s04 batch.
 
Is the tempereture of Fermentation too high?
Did you put yeast out of the Fermenter When the Secondary Fermentation？Will the yeast dissolve?
 
Getting ready to do this soon. Has anyone tried safale k97 German ale yeast instead of so4? I know from experience k97 should be fermented a bit cooler and lagered for a
Few weeks to clear but it finishes nice and attenuates low. Wondering if I mashed a bit high if k97 would dry this beer out a tad more and give a bit more of a true German character. Thoughts?
 
Making Oktoberfast with K-97 is on my shortlist. Will probably happen in the fall. I haven't made it with S04, so I won't be able to compare and contrast, but K-97 has worked fine for me in Kölschs and Alts. If you go ahead and brew the Oktoberfast with K-97, let us know how it turned out!
 
I've used K-97 a few times, fermented in the upper 60's and then dropped-out with gelatin with no cold treatment. (If I don't use the gelatin, I get a ton of sediment in the bottles) The beer has a nice character and it's clear, but not sparkling clear like with other yeasts or a very long settling time. Nice dry finish even with very malty beers.
 
Hello,
My LHBS doesn't stock Aromatic malt. What would be a suitable replacement? I was thinking caramunich 1 but i would appreciate a second opinion.

Many Thanks
 
GurraG said:
Making Oktoberfast with K-97 is on my shortlist. Will probably happen in the fall. I haven't made it with S04, so I won't be able to compare and contrast, but K-97 has worked fine for me in Kölschs and Alts. If you go ahead and brew the Oktoberfast with K-97, let us know how it turned out!
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Brewed this yesterday with k-97 and its chugging Away. I'll report back later on
 
I brewed a half batch of this as well. It was my first AG and I missed target OG. I had a bit too much sparge water so my gravity hit in at 1.045... with S04 krausen dropped out at some point under 36 hours. I was shocked but pulled a sample and it was at 1.014. There was a bit of activity in the airlock but only a burp or two. It might drop a bit more but won't get much further. Will report back/check back later too so I'm curious how yours goes
 
Brewed a 10 gallon batch of this for the 2nd year in a row using Wyeast 1450 again. Dang, I forgot how good it is. Incredible recipe.
 
I have based my Octoberfest off of this recipe and currently are using WLP 029 - Kolsch yeast. Chugging away in the fermenter as we speak. Comes out great every time.
 
I have mine lagering for another 8 days and then bottling (no room in the kegorator), but sharing the batch with a fellow home brewer. Looking forward to sampling.
 
Hi Everyone, what do you think would be the outcome if I pitched on top of a cider slurry brewed with S04?

I'm planning to brew this tomorrow morning and I was toying with pouring this onto the slurry from my raspberry apple cider. I brewed the cider with S04 and its been in primary about 3 weeks. I figured I'd rack into secondary tomorrow and re use the yest for the October fast.

Would there be any detriment to flavors by doing this?

I do have a packet of dry yeast on hand so i don't "have too" but the point of October Fast is to pour on a viable yeast cake to speed things up a touch. Would there be a lag from the yeast adjusting to the wort sugars? would this defeat the purpose and introduce sour cider or off flavors?

What do you all think?
 
JunkTruck said:
Hi Everyone, what do you think would be the outcome if I pitched on top of a cider slurry brewed with S04?

I'm planning to brew this tomorrow morning and I was toying with pouring this onto the slurry from my raspberry apple cider. I brewed the cider with S04 and its been in primary about 3 weeks. I figured I'd rack into secondary tomorrow and re use the yest for the October fast.

Would there be any detriment to flavors by doing this?

I do have a packet of dry yeast on hand so i don't "have too" but the point of October Fast is to pour on a viable yeast cake to speed things up a touch. Would there be a lag from the yeast adjusting to the wort sugars? would this defeat the purpose and introduce sour cider or off flavors?

What do you all think?
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I want to say it might be a little too "fruity" for my particular taste. I've made this beer with fresh s04, and now make it as a lager (with wlp830 or 833).
I have it on tap right now (833), and it's so clean and malty that I don't think I ever want to go back(to an ale yeast). I personally would imagine a sour fruity taste every time I drank it, even if it was perfectly clean. I wouldn't risk it, unless you are looking for a sour raspberry oktoberfest.

Pitch new yeast.
 
Thanks for the input, I kind of thought the same, real or imagined I'd be detecting a cidery fruity taste.

I ended up just pitching a nicely rehydrated fresh pack of S-04
 
Kegged my 2nd try at this recipe after fermenting for 5 weeks. This time around I used WLP029 german ale/kolsch yeast and it turned out great. Much dryer (OG: 1.058 FG 1.009)and slightly less "fruity" flavor compared to last time with S-04. I think I'll stick with WLP029 for future batches. Cheers.
 
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Beardo21 said:
Kegged my 2nd try at this recipe after fermenting for 5 weeks. This time around I used WLP029 german ale/kolsch yeast and it turned out great. Much dryer (OG: 1.058 FG 1.009)and slightly less "fruity" flavor compared to last time with S-04. I think I'll stick with WLP029 for future batches. Cheers.
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That's interesting to me. I found Wyeast kolsch to leave a horribly fruity flavor while s04 left a great malty backbone with no fruity esters. What temps are you fermenting this at?
 
HawleyFarms said:
That's interesting to me. I found Wyeast kolsch to leave a horribly fruity flavor while s04 left a great malty backbone with no fruity esters. What temps are you fermenting this at?
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Where I keep it in my basement stays steady around 68-69 F.
 
Beardo21 said:
Where I keep it in my basement stays steady around 68-69 F.
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Yeah, I haven't been a fan of the crazy fruity esters that come with wyeast' kolsch in this beer over 60°, the WL version must be a different strain. I keep my s04 at 65° (fermentation temp not ambient) for this brew and have never gotten anything fruity. If your ambient temperature is 68-69 my bet is your fermentation is in the low 70's which would explain why you are getting that with s04
 
What flavor would expect when this beer is green? I like to keep tabs on how flavors change with time.

I brewed on Sept 14, pitched S-04, fermented high 60s, cold-crashed for two days, and kegged on Sept 29.

Pulling samples at present has an overwhelming "dough-y" aroma / flavor. It's the "brewing" aroma ... the one you have when you dough-in.

This doesn't immediately worry me because I've had many a brews that aged into a balanced profile.
This keg will age at 33 F until three weeks from this Saturday so it has some time.
 
Beardo21 said:
Kegged my 2nd try at this recipe after fermenting for 5 weeks. This time around I used WLP029 german ale/kolsch yeast and it turned out great. Much dryer (OG: 1.058 FG 1.009)and slightly less "fruity" flavor compared to last time with S-04. I think I'll stick with WLP029 for future batches. Cheers.
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I've used Wyeast German Ale 1007 yeast twice and both times it has turned out great. I'm at work and cannot remember what the OG and FG were, but I got beer and that's the important thing.
 
Great recipe! Always been a fan of Sam Adams Oktoberfest but this one is that plus more. Couldn't get 20l Munich so subbed for more aromatic and it came out great! 3 weeks at 65 and so far 3 weeks in the keezer and seems to be getting better everyday. Used gelatin for the first time and came out really clear.

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This is a great recipe! I am sampling a glass right now that is only 25 days old, used S04 fermented at 64 for 10 days and then kegged and I honestly can't believe how clean this is. Loads of malty goodness with no off flavors. I wanted to turn this one around fast but never thought it would be this good this soon. Thanks BierMuncher for a great recipe!
 
Brewed as per the OP (scaled for volume) this past Sunday.

My efficiency was a few points low, so OG was a touch on the low side.

Colour into the primary looked awesome, nice coppery wort.

Fermenting in the 63-66F range (though it did drop to 61F for a couple hours at one point), and this morning activity has already settled right down (on Day two, that S04 was going crazy).

Plan on holding it mid 60's for 3 weeks, then into bottles it will go. I'm tempted to only leave it two weeks in primary, but I want to try to hold out for the full 3 weeks to really give it a chance to clean up.
 
Checking FG on my scaled OktoberFAST ale, sitting right around 1.018 or 1.017, which is right where it should be.
I'll give it another reading in a few days, but hoping I'll be bottling this up next weekend, and have it ready for drinking right around New Years or shortly thereafter.

Hydro sample tasted awesome! Loving the color. Looking forward to this one.
 

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Did another FG check yesterday, and it's dropped another couple points... apparently she aint quite done yet. Sitting at 2.5 weeks primary currently, don't think I've had a batch take this long to finish before. Still hopeful I'll be good to go with bottling this weekend or early next week.
 
She's pretty much good to go! Could use a few more days to finish carbonating but it's close.

Really tasty brew! Thanks for the recipe, I'll be making this again.
 

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This was one of my best brews to date, but unfortunately the last couple bottles I've opened have not been great... Didn't age well for some reason. Not sure if oxidation issues? Tasting an almost metallic, acrid sort of flavour, and aroma to go with it.

Still drinkable, but lost all that rounded malty flavour.
 
Brewed this tonight. Never used S-04 before. Is everyone still going by the original post and fermenting this at 68?
 
air9 said:
Brewed this tonight. Never used S-04 before. Is everyone still going by the original post and fermenting this at 68?
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S-04 is ok. If you can lager, this recipe makes a delicious Marzen. After making it with wlp830, i can't go back to an ale yeast. Maybe try 66-67 to try to cut back on any fruitiness.
 
Well in the spirit of keeping this thread alive year after year, I'm brewing up 5.5 gallons of this on Saturday. This will be my first time making it but I'm really looking forward to it based on all the positive results. I essentially just cut the recipe in half and will be using Wyeast 1450.

For those that have made this in the past, did you still mash at 157F? It just seems high to me but if people have had good results, I'll give it a go.
 

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