Oktoberfest recipe

I’m brewing an Oktoberfest for the first time. Wanted to get your thoughts on a recipe. 4.5 - 5 gallon batch size.

3lbs Weyermann German Pilsner
4lbs Munich
4lbs of Vienna
1/2lb Carafoam
1lb carared

1oz Tettnang -60mins
0.5oz of hallertauer - 15 mins

WLP810 - San Fran Lager - I don’t have the ability to truly lager, but I’ve read that this yeast does pretty well, even in the low 60’s.

My sulfate to chloride ratios are around 0.6, so I’m not sure if I should adjust that with a little gypsum?
I’ll use a little lactic acid in the mash to bring the pH down as well.

Thoughts!? Thanks ahead of time!

There are as many answers to the question as there are stars in the sky. Purists and Experimentalists will both have issues.

This is a good point but takes you even further into left field (but I can understand his reasoning): Make Your Best Oktoberfest | Craft Beer & Brewing

My goal is complex without complication. This is what I’ve settled on as my festbier:

We just studied O’fests and Festbier at my club meeting a night ago. One thing that was apparent from the samples from Germany was that they were much more Pilsy and less Munichy than most of us expected. US homebrewers and drinkers expect those styles to be richer, munichy, or crystally.

I’m concerned that your Munich content is getting on up there.

Paulaner keeps it simple with the marzen getting 70% light munich, and 30% pils (sinamar to color), and the fest getting 70% pils and 30% light munich. 24 ibus 60 minutes.

I know that caramel malts are generally not favored in either a Festbier or Märzen style under BJCP Style guidelines

Too much Carared.  Take that down to 1/4 lb or less, or zero.

No salt additions necessary or recommended.

Noted! Thanks for the feedback

I originally had 1/2 lb, but I’ll certainly consider taking it out all together. Thanks for the feedback!

Noted!

I’ve made this style with and without crystal type malts (usually Caramunich I or III - don’t ask me why no level II).

While the contribution stands out when it is young, I think it becomes really subtle after 30 days of lagering.

If you think you want to try it with Carared, do it. This is how we learn.

If you notice years worth of Homebrew Con award winning recipes, you’d find out that there isn’t as much of a standard template as people might think. Sure there are trends, but when we speak in absolutes (you must use _____ or you must not use ______, there tends to be examples of people winning decent awards without that advice).

Listen to advice, but make the beer you want to make and see if you like it.

I agree 100%. I say zero. I don’t care for caramel, sweet flavor in these styles.

+1
Remember, these beers – the old, amber Märzen and the modern, pale Festbier – have always been brewed to encourage you to pound down the liter mugs until they have all your money.  They should have a distinct malty aroma, but a very light palate.  100% light Munich, or a blend of base malts including it, no specialty malts.  Mash for good attenuation.

^^^Great advice. One pound of carared? Go for it, it’ll turn out just fine. Half pound? Yup, it’ll still turn out fine. Too Munichy? Not Munichy enough? It’ll be fine. Sulfate:chloride ratio “too high”? Will still be fine. Start somewhere, take notes on fermentation and taste, go from there. The recipe you originally posted looks great to me. Ignore everyone, including me, who says, “I personally do/don’t like that ingredient so you should use more/less of it.” Go forth and conquer, I’ll bet this Oktoberfest will turn out great.

I don’t think the above is such great advice.  A post or two with this sentiment usually shows up in a recipe thread.

Its terrific advice for an experienced, accomplished brewer who knows ingredients and processes very well.  It is bad advice for beginner and even most intermediate brewers.  A new brewer can wander in the woods of malts, yeasts, and waters for a very long time given this advice.  Frustration would be the natural outcome.

‘Throw whatever you want into it. it’ll turn out great.’  Usually turns out tasting brown.

I’m not in a bad mood, not a d*ck, and definitely not wanting to start a fight, I just honestly think this is bad advice which will lead to frustration and poor beer.

I don’t disagree, Steve.  So then, what would you recommend as fixes to the proposed recipe?

Cheers.

The question should maybe have been asked, do you want a German version or an American version?

Haha!  I don’t have any recommendations.  I am not experienced enough with the style.  I opened the thread to learn.  I just have experienced the frustration of willy nilly experimentations.  Doing experiments correctly is laborious, involving many iterations of a recipe, changing one variable at a time.  When one wants to make good, drinkable beer in 5 gallon batches… Well it militates against the scientific method.

My bottom line: teachers are wonderful shortcuts to excellence.

I am in the middle of this do what you want talk. Part of me says, it’s your beer. Do what you want. If you want a pound use a pound. Also, part of me says heed the warning, 1/4# is not that much so if you want some, start small before going big. I know in my experience I usually go big and then I’m like, chit, over did it and now I have to deal with this. So I’m startin to learn that I can start small and do the opposite. Chit, I under did it, next time I’ll use a little more.

I think the Pilsner and Vienna is a good combo, it’s taste will be there but I personally would only be adding Munich for color and a little flavor (same with Cara) , I might scale that back if it were my beer and raise the pils Vienna ratio equally.

You may not have the ability to lager but can keep your beer cool with other methods, wet T-shirt for example, or in a tub of water.

I come to the forum to have it help me make up my own mind. Sometimes people say do this, and I’m like nah, and post my results later and share. Sometimes people say do that, and I had never thought of that before.

Cheers.

I appreciate your perspective. But my point was, and I don’t mean to pick on anyone here, “don’t use carared because I don’t like it” is bad advice that should be ignored. Just because you personally (not literally referring here to you personally) don’t like an ingredient doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t like it. I love simcoe, for example. Many hate it. Am I wrong to use it? Of course not. Advising me to not use simcoe would be absurd. And if I’ve never used simcoe before, and don’t yet know that I like it, then saying “don’t use it because I hate it!” would be doing me a disservice. Better advice: “if you use that much of that ingredient, your beer might have such-and-such character and/or might be a little out of style.” Granted, if the OP was planning to use 50% carared for the grain bill, I think we’d all go “whoa whoa whoa there tiger…” But the originally posted recipe was within range of an o-fest and is a perfectly good starting point.

Good to know. Paulaner Marzen in one of my all-time faves. I’ve been gradually dialing the specialty grains back on my Marzen over the years, but I might just try eliminating them completely next time except for some color adjustment.