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.

Smoked Helles Brewday

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Smoked Helles 2018
Style: Munich Helles / Smoked
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
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Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 6.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 17.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt              Name                                             Type          #          %/IBU         Volume       
9.12 gal         Medford, MA                                      Water         1          -             -            
26.25 ml         Phosphoric Acid 10% (Mash)                       Water Agent   2          -             -            
5.50 g           Calcium Chloride (Mash)                          Water Agent   3          -             -            
3 lbs 8.0 oz     Smoked (BestMälz) (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         4          35.9 %        0.27 gal     
3 lbs            Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                            Grain         5          30.8 %        0.23 gal     
3 lbs            Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)                    Grain         6          30.8 %        0.23 gal     
4.0 oz           Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM)                       Grain         7          2.6 %         0.02 gal     
1.00 oz          Tettnang [3.70 %] - Boil 75.0 min                Hop           8          13.1 IBUs     -            
1.00 oz          Tettnang [3.70 %] - Boil 10.0 min                Hop           9          4.5 IBUs      -            
1.0 pkg          SafLager West European Lager (DCL/Fermentis #S-2 Yeast         10         -             -            


Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 9 lbs 12.0 oz
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Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step         Add 13.19 qt of water at 163.5 F        150.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.76gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
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8/25/18: Rehydrated yeast in preboiled water at room temp. After a few hours, crashed to 35F.

8/26/18: Brewday. Mash temp was spot on at 150F. Preboil OG was 9.6B / 1.038 SG
Post boil OG was ~ 1.045, so pretty good.

Cooled to 80F with CFC, cooled wort pumped straight into fermenter. Placed in chest freezer overnight to chill to 45F.

8/27/18: Oxygenated ~30s, pitched yeast slurry.

8/29/18: Fermentation going well. Still going as of 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.