Red Oktoberfest Maerzen

Source: Brian Connors
Recipe added: 05/25/99
Email: connorbd@yahoo.com

Just a gratuitous Tom Clancy reference, really. This is a steam Oktoberfestbier based on (okay, maybe stolen from) George and Laurie Fix's Traditional Maerzen/Oktoberfest recipe. I have made a few changes based on availability of ingredients. The result is a bit on the bland side, or at least it seems that way at bottling, but it's not bad, really (though I have been overheard saying the only thing really festive about this is the 6% by volume alcohol content). This is one of the most frustrating beers I've done so far, as the Wyeast 2112 California Lager yeast needs considerable coaxing to get the job done. I'd be particularly interested if someone has better luck with this than I did; I suspect that wort oxygenation might have been the biggest problem here. The end result seems decent a week after the fact, but as a rather inexperienced brewer I don't know if it was worth the effort.

Specifics

Recipe type: Extract
Batch Size: 5 gal
Starting Gravity: 1063
Finishing Gravity: 1020
Time in Boil: 60 min
Primary Fermentation: 1 week
Secondary Fermentation: 3 weeks

Ingredients:

1 4-lb can Alexander's pale malt extract
4 lb Munton and Fison pale DME
6 oz 20L crystal malt
6 oz 70L crystal malt
6 oz Weyermann Carahell crystal malt
1 oz Hallertau hop pellets (bittering -- start of boil)
.75 oz Saaz hop pellets (aroma -- shutdown - 5 min)
Wyeast 2112 (because I don't have the equipment to do a proper lager)

Procedure:

<li>Step up yeast to a 2-qt starter before brewing. <li>Put crystal malts in a bag and steep in brewpot (using as much water as possible; a 5-gal pot should have about 2.5-3 gallons) until water comes to a boil, then remove. <li>Add extract and boil 60 min, adding hops as appropriate. <li>Add to primary, topping up to 5 gal, and pitch yeast when cool. <li>Ferment about a week in primary, then rack to secondary and lager until it's time to bottle (total time should be around a month; if you use a more conventional lager yeast, it will be longer). Prime with 3/4 c dextrose or 2/3 c sucrose (or, if you're crazy enough, stay loosely Reinheitsgebot compliant and use DME or kraeusen.) Me, I used the dextrose; I'm not going to let the Reinheitsgebot make my life difficult for no good reason.

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