Aletoberfest from All Grain to Extract

Brewing Processes
1

I’m late to the Oktoberfest party for brewing but would LOVE to drink some year round. I’m working on an extract recipe with an ale yeast strain (Wyeast 1007 German Ale Yeast to be exact).

Chip from Chop and Brew posted this up a while back:

It’s a solid All Grain recipe but I was thinking could it be pushed into an extract kit.

The hops and yeast would be the same but the grain bill:
5 lbs. Munich Malt
5 lbs. Vienna Malt
1 lb. Dark Munich Malt
0.5 lb. Caramunich Malt II

So we can use Munich Extract and the Dark Munich and Caramunich Malt II can be steeped (from my understanding).

But what about the vienna? What would the new list be set up as?

I appreciate the help. Still new to all of this :slight_smile:

2

I’d swap the Vienna with Pils malt extract to cut down on some of the richness.

3

I can’t help with the conversion but I can vouch for the recipe. I brewed that recipe as my O’ fest this year. It’s a nice beer.

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4

Munich extract is generally made from a 50:50 mix of Munich and Pils malt. I would just swap out both the Munich and Vienna for Munich LME.

Dark Munich malt really should be mashed, but you can get away with steeping small amounts without running into too much of an issue. Just be aware that you won’t get any conversion or extract from it, only flavor. And too much runs the risk of introducing a starch haze. I’ve only ever steeped it in a dunkelweizen, so I can’t say what the impact that a pound would have on a lager that should be bright and clear.

5

Would I keep it the same weight with the extract? 10lbs of Munich?

I figure I’ll give steeping the dark munich a shot. If it doesn’t turn out well I could also just BIAB with the recipe when I upgrade some equipment.

BrewBama, it sounded awesome on the show! Glad it turned out well for you.

6

It’s not a 1:1 conversion. I believe it’s 1lb grain=0.75lb LME=0.6lb DME, but it’s been a while so don’t quote me on that. Cans of LME are usually 3.3lb, and you don’t really want to use a fraction of one since it doesn’t keep too well. So I’d do 6.6lb (2 cans) of Munich LME and 12 ounces of Pilsner DME (there is no Munich DME, unfortunately).

7

I could have sworn Munich DME is a real thing. Must be confusing it with wheat DME.

8

I think it might have been at one point, but I’ve been looking and haven’t found any myself. I use Munich extract in my single-hop test batches and it’s a PITA to waste half a can of the LME every time. I would definitely buy a bunch if I could get my hands on some.

9

You could try diluting the LME, hot packing it in mason jars, and freezing when cool. Won’t stay fresh for long, so might not work for you and your testing.

10

Okay so here’s how I’ll play it:

I’m going to steep 20 minutes at 150F:
1 lb. Dark Munich Malt
0.5 lb. Caramunich Malt II

Then bring to a boil adding 6.6 pounds of Munich LME

Hops stay the same:
1 oz. German Tradition @ 60 min
1 oz. German Hallertauer @15 min

At the 15 minute mark also add another 6.6 of Munich LME

Cool and pitch Wyeast 1007

It won’t taste the same but I’ll get something to tweak down the line. I think it’s a good starting spot.

Thoughts?

11

Those two additions of LME should be 3.3lb (i.e., 1 can) apiece, for a total of 6.6 lb.

Otherwise, everything looks like a solid plan to me.

12

Right, my bad. I ran the numbers in BeerSmith and it seemed to pan out well.

13

Yeast was pitched about 20 minutes ago!

2 lbs Pilsen dry malt extract (60 min)
6 lbs Amber malt syrup late addition (15 min)

HOPS

  • 1 oz German Tradition (60 min)
  • 1 oz German Hallertau (15 minutes)

I used Wyeast 1007 German Ale

I will try and remember to post as soon as a can about the flavor. I also tried using poland springs bottled water to eliminate the SUPER high iron flavor I got from a previous irish red. I posted about water in the general forums.

We shall see!

14

I also steeped 1 lbs Weyermann Caramunich II at 150 degrees F for 20 minutes. I then used some water approx at 150 to rinse the grains into the pot.

15

Well, I would say I have a hell of a healthy fermentation so far. Before I could catch it, it blew straight through the airlock (nothing too bad but enough to make a mess). Just put the blow-off hose on it now.

Welp. At least it was on cement and not a rug :slight_smile: