[quote=“Steeler D”]I have all ingredients recommended by Ken on hand to make this beer. Plugging into BeerSmith gives me a color at the extreme low end for style (7.1 SRM). I suppose the significance of this is questionable, but I wanted to shoot for mid-range of the major style parameters for an O-fest.
Based on what I happen to have on hand, would it be objectionable to add 2 oz chocolate malt? That would bump the color up to middle of the range, at 10 SRM.
I would rather make the trip to the LHBS for a little carafa if the chocolate malt is a bad idea.
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
Use more dark Munich if you want more color. The use of dark roasted malt here is an iffy proposition IMO as even a small amount may impart some unwanted flavor.
I added some cara-fa II to an alt, but I added it in the last 10 minutes of the mash for color only. I did not get any roast character. My alt was quite a bit hoppier than a Festbier though so that may be something to take into consideration.
Authentic, modern festbiers, yes. As I mentioned earlier you can describe an “authentic” festbier pretty much any way you prefer nowadays. Who knows if there are any archived copies of some of the first recipes back from the early 19th Century. I can’t imagine those brews were as light in color as the contemporary versions.
Authentic, modern festbiers, yes. As I mentioned earlier you can describe an “authentic” festbier pretty much any way you prefer nowadays. Who knows if there are any archived copies of some of the first recipes back from the early 19th Century. I can’t imagine those brews were as light in color as the contemporary versions.[/quote]
Not sure how far back “authentic” goes, but my wife’s Bayerische grandfather remembers the Oktoberfest beers being darker in his younger days of messing around with fast women in Munich.
Though now he prefers the lighter in color version as most.
I brewed BryanH’s recipe 10 days ago and the color is a nice dark amber. I’ll have to remember to post a pic in a few months.
There seems to be a lack of consistency (at least where I shop) as to what constitutes “dark” munich. The LHBS referenced the Weyerman website to suggest that the dark munich or “munich II” is a color of approx. 10L. But on their own grain label in the grain storage room it says that it has a 20L rating.
Also on BeerSmith it lists munich as a color of 10L or 20L, to suggest that the “dark” munich might be the 20L.
I ended up going with the Munich II. THe darker of the available choices. Not sure if I got the suggested 10L or possibly a 20L product.
Following Ken’s recipe to the letter for the grain, H2O and yeast. Only change (because how could I possibly brew any well-thought and time-tested recipe without changing it!) is that I am adding ~25% of the hops as FWH.
Hoping this will make me look forward to the changing leaves and cooler weather in about 3 months. Thanks for the input.
[quote=“Steeler D”]There seems to be a lack of consistency (at least where I shop) as to what constitutes “dark” munich. The LHBS referenced the Weyerman website to suggest that the dark munich or “munich II” is a color of approx. 10L. But on their own grain label in the grain storage room it says that it has a 20L rating.
Also on BeerSmith it lists munich as a color of 10L or 20L, to suggest that the “dark” munich might be the 20L.
I ended up going with the Munich II. THe darker of the available choices. Not sure if I got the suggested 10L or possibly a 20L product.
Following Ken’s recipe to the letter for the grain, H2O and yeast. Only change (because how could I possibly brew any well-thought and time-tested recipe without changing it!) is that I am adding ~25% of the hops as FWH.
Hoping this will make me look forward to the changing leaves and cooler weather in about 3 months. Thanks for the input.[/quote]
Many German maltsers represent color in EBC’s, which is roughly twice the amount of lovibonds. So the 20EBC would be 10L.
[quote=“Steeler D”]There seems to be a lack of consistency (at least where I shop) as to what constitutes “dark” munich. The LHBS referenced the Weyerman website to suggest that the dark munich or “munich II” is a color of approx. 10L. But on their own grain label in the grain storage room it says that it has a 20L rating.
Also on BeerSmith it lists munich as a color of 10L or 20L, to suggest that the “dark” munich might be the 20L.
I ended up going with the Munich II. THe darker of the available choices. Not sure if I got the suggested 10L or possibly a 20L product.
Following Ken’s recipe to the letter for the grain, H2O and yeast. Only change (because how could I possibly brew any well-thought and time-tested recipe without changing it!) is that I am adding ~25% of the hops as FWH.
Hoping this will make me look forward to the changing leaves and cooler weather in about 3 months. Thanks for the input.[/quote]
What Dan said re Lovibond and EBC, however, if a Munich malt is truly 20L it is almost surely a domestic malt rather than German. The domestic Munich is more of a specialty rather than a base malt.
Brewed this one 12 weeks ago today and it’s a beaut!!
Please excuse the glass, just a taster. The beer has that perfect “Germanness” about it in taste and aroma. The body is medium full, but not cloying, which helps that it has no caramel malts in it.
I can sure as hell drink liters of it now, but plan on sitting on it till my official Oktoberfest party the first weekend in October.
That’s for the recipe BryanH, this one is a winner for sure. I’ll be sure to post back later on with a nice Krug pic.
[quote=“brewingdan”]Brewed this one 12 weeks ago today and it’s a beaut!!
Please excuse the glass, just a taster. The beer has that perfect “Germanness” about it in taste and aroma. The body is medium full, but not cloying, which helps that it has no caramel malts in it…
[quote=“brewingdan”]Brewed this one 12 weeks ago today and it’s a beaut!!
Please excuse the glass, just a taster. The beer has that perfect “Germanness” about it in taste and aroma. The body is medium full, but not cloying, which helps that it has no caramel malts in it.
I can sure as hell drink liters of it now, but plan on sitting on it till my official Oktoberfest party the first weekend in October.
That’s for the recipe BryanH, this one is a winner for sure. I’ll be sure to post back later on with a nice Krug pic.
It’s definitely a really nice beer. I had some friends over last night and already one wants to watch a brew session. They never thought commercial quality beer could be reproduced at home and have such authentic flavor and aroma from start to finish.
Funny thing is no matter how much I like it, I can’t see myself drinking it in non Oktoberfest parts of the year. Crazy thought.
It’s unfortunate that most of the general public and too many homebrewers seen to think that is true. Just because you make it at your house doesn’t mean the beer can’t be excellent. :cheers:
