Searching for the line between "hobby" and "obsession"

Osktoberfest

Though my dog Leinenkugel gets most of the attention on this blog as Barking Dog Beer’s official mascot, what better time to give my other dog Oscar a shout-out than while naming my first attempt at an oktoberfest bier. Thus, “Osktoberfest” was conceived.

The recipe I used is basically one I pulled out of Brewing Classic Styles, the book I bought from co-author John Palmer when I met him at a book signing at Northern Brewer back in April. I think the only tweak was the yeast, as I had to use a White Labs and a Wyeast O-fest strain because Northern Brewer only had one White Labs O-fest vial left. I already know the FG on this one because I’m super behind in writing this post. I brewed this batch on May 12th, same day I brewed a hefeweizen, hence the two different types you see in the adjacent pic.

Here’s the recipe:

Osktoberfest


Batch size 6+ gallons
Boil size 8+ gallons
Boil time 90 minutes
Grain weight 13 pounds
Efficiency 90% calculated
Original gravity 1.053
Final gravity 1.008
Alcohol (by volume) 5.5%
Bitterness (IBU) 20
Color (SRM) 10.2°L
Yeast
2 liquid packs (1 of each, as I grabbed the last WLP820) that I built up on a stir plate for 40 hrs. prior to pitch
White Labs
    WLP820Wyeast
Oktoberfest/Märzen
Oktoberfest/Märzen LagerOktoberfest/Märzen
Grains/Extracts/Sugars
13 pounds
German Pils
    36ppg, 1.8°L
5 pounds
    38.5%
German Munich (Light)
    34ppg, 8.3°L
4 pounds
    30.8%
Vienna
    35ppg, 3.8°L
3 pounds
    23.1%
CaraMunich
    34ppg, 34°L
1 pound
    7.7%
Hops
2 ounces
Hallertauer hops
    4.4%, Pellet
2 ounces
Additions
0.25 ounces
Irish moss
    Fining
1 TSP
Mash
90 minutes, 9.1 gallons
Strike
    Target 151°F
4.9 gallons
162°F
90 minutes (+0)
Sparge
    Target 175°F
4.2 gallons
190°F
Boil
90 minutes, 8+ gallons
Hallertauer hops
    4.4%, Pellet
1 ounce
60 minutes (+30)
Hallertauer hops
    4.4%, Pellet
1 ounce
15 minutes (+75)
Irish moss
    Fining
1 TSP
15 minutes (+75)
Ferment
13 days @ 48-51°F
8 day diacetyl rest @ 58-64°F
Lagering began June 2nd
Planning to keg and bottle in early September

Primary fermentation in the “new” temp-controlled chest freezer/fridge:


A nice little Saturday hangin’ in the garage.

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