Hey all. I need to brew an Oktoberfest for a party in a little over a month. I have been plagued by a variety of issues with timing and equipment, etc… Anyway, I’m using the Oktoberfest yeast from Omega. I realize that it’s not going to get the benefit of extended lagering, etc., but I’m going to move forward anyway. I have used this yeast before and fermented at 50F for 14 days plus a day for D-rest.
Because of the time issue, I’m considering two approaches and would appreciate any opinions - 1) do it as before with 14+1 day and lager it out for two more weeks or 2) ramp up the fermentation temp to maybe mid 60’s to shorten the fermentation and give me some extra lagering time. In either case, I plan to add gelatin to the keg to speed up clarification.
Maybe it doesn’t make any difference and the beer will be lacking in either case. In any event, I appreciate any insight you may have.
well I would ferment as usual. Definitely don’t raise the fermentation temperature with that lager yeast. I think the best thing is to do a good week cold crash at 32 deg. I never use gelatin and have no trouble getting clear beer. I’ve done quick turn over beers but not a lager style. You could do a mocktoberfest ale but really the process would be similar just using an ale yeast. Of course if you have the ability to ferment under pressure you can shave time because it will be carbonated already
I’m right along with Brew Cat… and then when in the keg, force the carbonation… set the psi higher, make sure it’s cold, and shake the keg. I’ve put the gas on the liquid post so as to carbonate, or supply gas, up through the brew… I always thought it helped…
Sneezles61
Yup, me too. Make sure to switch the QD to a liquid with ball locks. Can’t screw up with pin locks. You can really hear the gas run through with this method. Chill it, turn up the pressure and roll it around or bounce it is an easy way to “cheat” for fast carbonation.
Mine are pin locks… seems I wasn’t smart enuff to keep my posts correctly identified when they were ball locks and I had problems… AND I have all my fittings 1/4” flared…
Sneezles61
Even though I ended up with ball locks, pin locks seemed like a better idea because you could not mix them up. Black for beer, gray for gas lol.
Back to topic. I’m not really helpful with lager threads. Like some but like ales better. Did a few lagers years back and they were ok but nothing like you guys brew I’M sure.
I enjoy Ales more, has character…
When my freeze-menter died, that was about the end of Lagering for me… I believe I have a couple Lager yeast packets left… should I send them to you? (:
Sneezles61
Haha no thanks. Need to find someone who will use that lager yeast.
I find with Kveik yeast and minimal temp control ales come out very nice. Currently still working on last summers Porter so new batch that big will have to wait for 2025.
I’m going to dissent here with the others. I would start my fermentation at ~50° and let it go for about 4-5 days of ACTUAL fermentation. Then start ramping up your temps by 2° per day. Before you know it you’ll be at d-rest temps and will only need a rest for a day. Check to see if any Diacetyl is present. If not cold crash it to as close to freezing as possible. Remember that most light American lagers will freeze at ~28° so you’ll be fine at 32° with a higher ABV. Once to temp, hit it with your gelatin and give it some time to clear. Then keg and force carb.
Edit: dump your yeast after your d-rest, if possible.
Thanks Loopie (and thanks everyone). What you describe is pretty much my plan. I had some maturity issues on a Czech lager I did a while back, I think because it was heavy on pilsner malt and there was no place for maturity flaws to hide. In this case, since there is a fair amount of malt with some extra character - munich, vienna, melanoidin, I’m hoping any “greenness” to the beer won’t be accentuated. I’ll know how it works in a few weeks.
Just a follow up on what’s transpired and what I think I learned. This batch is now 30 days old and I am pleasantly surprised at how good it is. I fermented at about 60F (Omega Oktoberfest) and did a D-rest and then cold-crashed for 2 days and kegged on Day 14. It’s cleared up decently, though not great. I opted to not use gelatin and just kegged at 34F.
This is by no means my best beer but I would classify it as really good on Day 30. Definitely worth serving at our party. Having brewed Marzens, Viennas, Dunkels, and Pale Czechs, my experience is that the first three, having more robust grain bills, have required less time to mature and become flavor-refined, whereas the lighter lagers have definitely needed that extra time to even be drinkable. At least in my experience, the idea that all lagers need 2-3 months to become presentable doesn’t necessarily apply across the board. I have no doubt that this beer will get better with age, but pretty good is sometimes good enough.
That’s interesting take. In my experience it’s been the opposite. I see you mention it above, and I think you’re correct, that lighter lagers have nothing to hide behind. So hitting that balance can be difficult and might take more time. It might need age for the bitterness to tame down, or polyphenols to settle out so you don’t recognize them as much.
Perhaps there’ll be some brew left after your party. Maybe hard to do, but leaving pressurized and cold for at least a month and you’ll definitely know, or, yer taste buds will.
I just wonder, for the old days, alot of bottle conditioning or carbing a keg, cold, was the real reason to sit and age?
Sneezles61
