Smoked Helles + Oktoberfest Review

Reviewed by Club Members:

Oktoberfest

Feedback: Flawed. Fruity nose. Too sweet and thick body. Needs more bitterness.  FG too high. Score range 25-30. But some positive comments on the malt flavor, in the right direction.

For next time: Use C60 instead, proper yeast health / pitch rate, use less Vienna and more Munich malt.  Get full attenuation, and allow to lager longer. 

Smokey Helles

Feedback: Most people felt that the smoke had the appropriate intensity in the aroma and was well balanced with the rest of the beer, though a few people recommended I back off the smoke. Several people found the beer too thick in body and a little too sweet for the Helles style. Some tasters detected inappropriate esters, astringency at the end, or acidity. Recommended to let more pilsner malt character shine through.

Recipe and Process Improvements for next time:

1. Replace Munich mal with pils malt
2. Use less phosphoric acid in mash and sparge water
3. Use a short decoction to get fuller malt character
4. Proper yeast handling and allow the beer to sit on the yeast longer to attenuate fully and clean up esters etc.
5. I do not plan to back off the smoke for the next time since the intensity of the smoke worked for me and I think was fairly similar to the Aecht Schlenkerla smokey helles, which I was trying to clone. But I may back off on the smoke if necessary for competitive purposes.

Oktoberfest Brewday

Recipe: Oktoberfest 2018

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 8.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 20.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt              Name                                             Type          #          %/IBU         Volume       
9.45 gal         Medford, MA                                      Water         1          -             -            
26.25 ml         Phosphoric Acid 10% (Mash)                       Water Agent   2          -             -            
5.50 g           Calcium Chloride (Mash)                          Water Agent   3          -             -            
5 lbs            Munich (BestMälz) (7.6 SRM)                      Grain         4          38.5 %        0.39 gal     
4 lbs            Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)                    Grain         5          30.8 %        0.31 gal     
3 lbs            Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                            Grain         6          23.1 %        0.23 gal     
8.0 oz           Munich 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM)                   Grain         7          3.8 %         0.04 gal     
5.5 oz           Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM)            Grain         8          2.6 %         0.03 gal     
2.5 oz           Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)            Grain         9          1.2 %         0.01 gal     
1.50 oz          Tettnang [3.70 %] - Boil 70.0 min                Hop           10         17.6 IBUs     -            
0.50 oz          Tettnang [3.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min                Hop           11         2.8 IBUs      -            
1.0 pkg          German Lager (White Labs #WLP830) [35.49 ml]     Yeast         12         -             -            
1.0 pkg          German Lager (White Labs #WLP830) [35.49 ml]     Yeast         13         -             -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step         Add 17.25 qt of water at 163.8 F        150.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.13gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

8/22/18: Made 2.75L starter w/ two packs yeast and used oxygenation wand. Started fermentation at 50F, then after two days moved to room temp. Cooled to 35F on brewday.

8/26/18: Brewed. Mash pH at room temp was 5.3. Mash temp was about 150.5F after 30 minutes of mashing.

Post-boil wort was around 6.5 gallons, at 1.062. I had boiled vigorously because I was over volume and under gravity pre-boil.

Chilled with CFC to 80F,  with cooled wort directly into the fermenter. Got about 5.25gal in the carboy, with a bunch of trub, so may end up slightly under 5 gal in the keg.

Placed carboy in chest freezer to chill to 45F.

8/27/18,  8am: Oxygenated wort for 60s, decanted most of the starter beer, and pitched.

8/28/18: By 8pm or so fermentation had started, some krausen was forming. Still going but slowly by 9/1/18.

Lager fermentation schedule - pitch at 45F, hold 12 hours, ramp to 50F over twelve hours, hold 2 weeks, diacetyl rest at 65F for a few days, cool to 55F, hold a day or two, then crash to 35F for extended lagering. Ramp temperature changes.

Oktoberfest Review

Appearance: Billowing tan off-white head with good retention and lacing. Deep mahogany body that's not quite crystal clear.


Aroma: I get a fairly intense nutty, toasty malt aroma, like bread crust. No hop aroma. Something is off though - a green apple aroma or maybe an overly roasty quality. In any case does not taste right.

Taste: Similar to the aroma, very malty with a dry, toasty character. Hop bitterness present but low. Maybe a slight hint of astringency. Also has a green apply quality and some type of tartness.  Off

Mouthfeel: Pretty creamy and dry. Moderate carbonation.

Well, fail. This one has an offer flavor. I suspect a fermentation problem or an infection.

Oktoberfest 2 Brewday

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: BCS Oktoberfest 2
Style: Märzen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 22.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -            
2.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -            
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -            
5 lbs                 Caramel Pils (BestMälz) (2.5 SRM)        Grain         4        38.5 %       
3 lbs                 Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM)           Grain         5        23.1 %       
2 lbs                 Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM)           Grain         6        15.4 %       
2 lbs                 Munich II (Weyermann) (8.5 SRM)          Grain         7        15.4 %       
1 lbs                 Caramunich II (Weyermann) (63.0 SRM)     Grain         8        7.7 %        
1.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           9        9.6 IBUs     
0.50 oz               Sterling [7.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           10       11.2 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Tettnang [2.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min        Hop           11       1.6 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Old Bavarian Lager (White Labs #WLP920)  Yeast         12       -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.25 qt of water at 162.8 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 10.40 qt of water at 203.6 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.53gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
-----

Brewed 8/14/16. OG was 1.061, a bit too high. Got ~5.5 gallons. Cooled to 45F overnight.

Pitched decanted starter on 8/15/16, 7pm. Aerated by shaking carboy as oxygen regulator was not working. May pitch a packet of S-34/70. The beer will slowly rise to 50F over a 24-hr period.

8/16/16, 7pm, about 24 hours after pitching, no visible signs of fermentation. Beer was close to the 50F fermentation temp.

8/17/16: About 48 hours after pitching, beer had been at 50F for ~24 hours, and despite lack of proper oxygenation there was a decent krausen and airlock activity going. Nevertheless to ensure complete and fast fermentation I pitched 1 packet of S-34/70 yeast after rehydrating it first in boiled water.

Oktoberfest Review

Appearance: Beautiful thick and persistent head with off-white brownish tinge. Color is deep brownish red. Some haze but this is one of the first few pours from the keg so the haze is likely to reduce over time. A pretty good-looking beer.

Aroma: Sweet, malty, bready and a little toasty. Hop aroma is none, and I don't get a sulfur, DMS or other smells of improperly fermented lager. It has a certain flavor note that has been common among all my lagers - I think a feature of the pilsner malt - and that I would describe as slightly corn-like but grainy malty and pleasant.

Taste: Pretty smooth. Malty, sweet and lightly toasty. Hop flavor is close to none but maybe a slight earthy or spicy noble-hop note. Clean lager taste. Flavorful but not intensely so. Bitterness is enough to balance the sweetness but the beer leans toward a malty, sweet note. Finishes a little more dry and malty than the initial taste.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is moderate, body chewy but not heavy. Good for colder weather.

Overall: I like it a lot. Not sure how it will stack up to the exemplars of the style, but I will do a side-by-side tasting at some point soon.
 

BCS Oktoberfest Brewday

Seasonally appropriate brewing, what a concept!

Oktoberfest Bier
5 gallons
Recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.

5# Pilsner Malt
4# Munich Malt
3# Vienna Malt
1$ CaraMunich 60

1.50oz Halltertauer, 60 min
.5oz Hallertauer, 20min

2 x S-34/70 packages

Brewed 8/29/15
Hit my mash temp @ 153F, got pre-boil OG of 1.045, right on target, volume ~ 7.5 gallons.

Brewday went fine. The wort had a wonderful amber-red color as it boiled.

Cooled to 110F, racked to carboy and placed in fermentation fridge with 45F on the temp controller to fully cool to pitching temps. ~6 gallons into fermenter.

The following morning, pitched 2 packs of re-hydrated S-24/70 yeast.

Fermentation schedule will start at 45F, ramp to 50F for 7 days, then ramp to 65F for a diacetyl rest of 4 days, then crash to 35F for lagering. About 2 weeks in primary, then crash, then keg for lagering.

8/31/15, 6pm
Few visible signs of fermentation, but the airlock was looking a bit like it would start bubbling soon.

 9/2/15, 6pm
Moderate krausen formed. Good bubbling in the airlock.