Creator: Will Lovell
In October 2013, my spouse and I met up with some mates for a street journey via the Bavaria area of Germany the place along with visiting many castles and monasteries, we attend the most important beer occasion on the earth– Oktoberfest. I noticed some fairly wile issues on that journey, from oxen rotating on a spit to pretzels that had been larger than my head. I additionally consumed a moderately massive amount of scrumptious beer.
Märzen was the normal beer served throughout Oktoberfest, however by the late twentieth century, it had been largely changed by Festbier, a paler lager with a bit extra power. The purported impetus for this shift was to supply drinkers a much less complicated and thus extra drinkable various, and whereas I stay a fan of Märzen, I undoubtedly affiliate the autumn season with Festbier, which the BJCP describes as:
A easy, clear, pale German lager with a reasonably sturdy malty taste and a lightweight hop character. Deftly balances power and drinkability, with a palate impression and end that encourages ingesting. Showcases elegant German malt flavors with out turning into too heavy or filling.
Since coming back from that journey to Bavaria, I’ve loved having a keg of Festbier on faucet to align with Oktoberfest, although time sadly obtained away from me this yr and I used to be unable to make one utilizing my normal method. It was the primary week of September, which gave me a couple of month to go from grain-to-glass, so I threw warning to the wind and determined to see what I might get away with in that timeframe!
| BREWING THE BEER |
I designed this Brief & Shoddy Festbier recipe primarily based off of previous batches I felt had been profitable and relying solely on the substances I had on-hand.
Brief & Shoddy Festbier
Recipe Particulars
| Batch Measurement | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 gal | 30 min | 20.4 | 6.2 SRM | 1.055 | 1.01 | 5.91 % |
| Actuals | 1.055 | 1.01 | 5.91 % | |||
Fermentables
| Title | Quantity | % |
|---|---|---|
| Llano Pilsner | 12.75 lbs | 85 |
| Munich Malt | 2 lbs | 13.33 |
| Victory Malt | 4 oz | 1.67 |
Hops
| Title | Quantity | Time | Use | Type | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saphir | 60 g | 30 min | Boil | Pellet | 3.5 |
| Saphir | 30 g | 5 min | Boil | Pellet | 3.5 |
Miscs
| Title | Quantity | Time | Use | Sort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) | 3 g | 0 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Gypsum (CaSO4) | 4 g | 0 min | Mash | Water Agent |
| Whirlfloc | 0.5 objects | 15 min | Boil | Fining |
Yeast
| Title | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest (L17) | Imperial Yeast | 74% | 32°F – 32°F |
Notes
| Water Profile: Ca 61 | Mg 0 | Na 0 | SO4 78 | Cl 51 |
The night time previous to brewing, I collected the total quantity of water and adjusted it to my desired mineral profile earlier than milling the grain.
Having set the water to begin heating up with a warmth stick whereas I used to be nonetheless in mattress, I woke as much as correctly heated water and included the grains at 6:36 AM, checking to make sure it was at my desired mash temperature.
Throughout the mash relaxation, I ready the kettle hop additions.
As soon as the temporary 30 minute mash was full, I rapidly sparged to gather the right pre-boil quantity then proceeded to boil for simply half-hour, including hops on the occasions acknowledged within the recipe.
When the boil was completed, I rapidly chilled the wort to 77°F/25°C, since that was as cool as my groundwater would get it, then I transferred it to a sanitized Kegmenter.
A refractometer studying confirmed the wort was at 1.055 OG, indicating I obtained about 56% brewhouse effectivity.
13.6 ˚Bx = 1.055 OG
Subsequent, I direct pitched a single pouch of Imperial Yeast L13 Harvest into the nice and cozy wort.
The stuffed fermenter was positioned in my chamber managed to 66°F/19°C, at which level I connected a spunding valve set to take care of 18 psi.
After simply 5 days, I seen an absence of exercise and took a hydrometer measurement indicating FG had been reached.
1.010 FG
With fermentation full, I cold-crashed the beer to 34°F/1°C then pressure-transferred it to a CO2 purged keg, which was positioned in my kegerator and burst carbonated in a single day earlier than the fuel was diminished to serving stress. After simply 2 weeks of conditioning, it was able to serve to blind tasters.
| RESULTS |
A complete of 20 folks of numerous ranges of expertise participated on this Brief & Shoddy analysis. Contributors had been knowledgeable of the precise beer fashion and offered the BJCP description previous to finishing the survey. Tasters had been then instructed to fee how hoppy, malty, and dry they perceived the beer to be on a 0-5 scale the place a score of 0 indicated “in no way” and 5 indicated “extraordinarily.”
Tasters had been offered a listing of widespread hop, malt, and yeast traits then instructed to pick from every the one they perceived as being most outstanding within the beer.
Hop Traits
Malt Traits
Yeast Traits
Subsequent, individuals had been requested to point whether or not or not they detected any off-flavors within the beer; those that did had been offered a listing of widespread off-flavors and instructed to pick the one they perceived as being strongest. Just one individual famous perceiving an ester off-flavor on this beer.
Tasters had been then requested to fee how effectively the beer represented the supposed fashion, primarily based on the offered BJCP description, on a 0-5 scale the place 0 meant “in no way” and 5 meant “precisely.”
Lastly, tasters had been requested to fee how a lot they loved the beer on a 0-5 scale the place 0 indicated they hated it and 5 indicated they beloved it.
My Impressions: I perceived this beer has having a wealthy malt spine with complimentary toasty traits. The bitterness was proper the place I anticipated whereas hints of floral hop notes poked via. General, whereas the looks left a lot to be desired, I believed this Festbier was scrumptious and extremely crushable!
| CONCLUSION |
It’s been a pair a long time since Festbier stole the Oktoberfest beer-of-choice torch, and whereas amber malty Märzen continues to be loved by many, the crisp drinkability of the previous is what trendy drinkers affiliate with this historic occasion. As a beer fashion, Festbier is historically brewed utilizing a lot of arguably arduous strategies, from prolonged step-mashes and prolonged boils to chill fermentation and extended lagering durations.
Whereas a “correct” Festbier can take anyplace from 2 to six months to make, I didn’t have time for that and brewed my newest batch utilizing a lot of corner-cutting strategies. Apparently, regardless of the abbreviated mash and boil, heat fermentation temperature, and temporary lagering time, the overwhelming majority of tasters not solely felt it was a superb illustration of the fashion, however they loved ingesting it as effectively.
I really like Festbier and have consumed fairly a bit in my day, and this one hit practically each mark– toasty malt, floral hops, and clear fermentation. The haze wasn’t completely surprising, particularly since I allowed simply 2 weeks of conditioning time, however I might have most well-liked extra readability. All in all, I used to be actually impressed with how this beer turned out and, aside from including some fining after fermentation, I can’t consider the rest I’d change within the recipe or course of.
If in case you have ideas about this Brief & Shoddy brew, please be at liberty to share it within the feedback part under!
Help Brülosophy In Type!
All designs can be found in numerous colours and sizes on Amazon!
Observe Brülosophy on:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
In the event you take pleasure in these things and really feel compelled to assist Brulosophy.com, please try the Help web page for particulars on how one can very simply achieve this. Thanks!
Associated
