25 replies to this topic

[shaggaroo]

Oh, I agree. I want a festbier not an Oktoberfest. I want something like I drank in the tents.

It's all good! My fav is the Paulaner Festbier. Though I do enjoy their Märzen here at home too.

[HVB]

This is pretty similar to Gordon Strong's Modern Oktoberfest, which is a Wiesnbier - ie, what they serve in the tents at Oktoberfest. His has less Vienna and less late hops. Personally I like the late hops but if you're really aiming for a Wiesn, you might dial them back.

Thanks, I guess I will make a game time decision on the hops but I have a feeling they will fall in the kettle. I will also have to look for Gordon's recipe.

[HVB]

This one got kegged Sunday and I took a  sample last night.  Nice beer but I will need it to condition a bit to see if I created what I was looking for.  Glad I have 2 kegs of it though.

[

[Big Nake]

Yeah, that looks nice Drez. As an aside... a local place that has GREAT glassware carries that tall stein and I've been tempted.

I always feel like the key to this style (other than a nice, simple and straightforward recipe) is water. When a festbier or other "soft" beer get to their prime drinking condition, I sometimes feel like I want to slightly bump the sulfates to keep the beer from getting too malty and soft. Does that make sense? You have all that Munich, probably a lower hopping rate because of the style and so I feel like the water could help to give the beer a bit of crispness. I realize the style is supposed to be soft and malty but I don't want it TOO soft and malty. So what did you do with your water here?

[HVB]

Yeah, that looks nice Drez. As an aside... a local place that has GREAT glassware carries that tall stein and I've been tempted.

I always feel like the key to this style (other than a nice, simple and straightforward recipe) is water. When a festbier or other "soft" beer get to their prime drinking condition, I sometimes feel like I want to slightly bump the sulfates to keep the beer from getting too malty and soft. Does that make sense? You have all that Munich, probably a lower hopping rate because of the style and so I feel like the water could help to give the beer a bit of crispness. I realize the style is supposed to be soft and malty but I don't want it TOO soft and malty. So what did you do with your water here?

I understand what you are saying.  I think I could have pumped up the sulfates a bit in this beer but I want it to get fully carbonated before I make that decision.  As for the glass - get it you know you want to!!  Here is what I did for water.

 

Ca - 54ppm

SO4 - 78ppm

Cl - 38ppm

 

pH- 5.38 - I need to take a  final pH.

[Big Nake]

Okay, so you're already leaning quite a bit towards the sulfate side which I would think would be great. My chloride and sulfates are closer together so I should really try to change the ratio a little bit. I have tasted some of the German Oktoberfests (one that stands out is Spaten) where it's actually too malty. The hops are low and the water is too low on sulfate for my tastes. It may be perfectly acceptable but for me the balance is off a little bit. It's a very subtle fine-tuning and you don't want to overdo it because deep, soft and malty is a part of the style. I feel like this could apply to a Vienna, a Dunkel and other similar styles. Nice work on that beer... looks delicious.

Okay, next time I'm at that store... I'll pick up that glass. Like I need another beer glass!