Ottoberfest (Marzen Lager)

[philm00x]

After much research, taking suggestions from other Borgies' recipes, and thinkin' cap time, I finally drew out a plan for Ottoberfest. This beer is named for my furry badger hound, Otto. There were certain factors that really decided how this brew was going to draw itself out:

1) Munich was definitely going to be the majority of the base malt because I always liken Oktoberfest beers to that sweet, but not too sweet, malty flavor.
2) I felt the need to try to make this beer as true to style as I could. Thus, I forewent the route of an infusion mash using specialty grains to get the malty, raisiny flavors Marzen is known for, and decided to do a single decoction.
3) I have never done a decoction mash before, and a standard triple decoction is something I'm sure I could do, but I wanted to take a smaller step just to see how I fared.
4) Because I was doing a decoction mash, I wanted the grist to be very simple. Roughly 70%/30% Munich to Pilsner. A pinch of carapils to boost head formation/retention.
5) Lager yeast was a must. My chest freezer has a temp controller on it, so I can ferment cold the way lagers are supposed to be fermented.

The one thing I forgot to add when I brewed this was a whirfloc tablet to help drop gunk out of suspension in the wort, but I'm going to fine with gelatin when it comes time to package. Plus, with this beer fermenting cold and lagering cold, that should help drop anything I missed out of suspension anyhow. I updated the recipe to have the whirfloc in it, for future reference.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Ottoberfest
Brewer: Mr. Rufus Brewing Co.
Asst Brewer:
Style: Märzen
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
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Boil Size: 6.63 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated Color: 7.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7.50 lb Munich Malt (6.0 SRM) Grain 1 68.2 %
3.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 27.3 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.5 %
0.50 oz Brewer's Gold, US [9.00 %] - First Wort Hop 4 21.2 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 5 -
2.0 pkg Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) Yeast 6 -


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Single
Total Grain Weight: 11.00 lb
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Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Protein Rest Add 23.40 qt of water at 137.7 F 130.0 F 20 min
Saccharification Decoct 6.83 qt of mash and boil it 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.45gal) of 168.0 F water
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It should be noted that my brew day was not as smooth as a typical brew day where I do a single infusion mash (and I expected it not to be). When I pulled my decoction, boiled it, and added it back to the main mash, the temperature did not reach my target sacch rest temperature. I had to boil water and add it into the mash tun in order to raise the temp the rest of the way. Should this happen to you, remember that you need to subtract the volume of water you added from your sparge volume. Otherwise, you will end up with too much volume of wort that has diluted to a much lower specific gravity than it should be. Fortunately, I did remember to take this into account, and only had to sparge with 2 quarts of water in order to get to my target volume, and my target preboil OG was spot on.

[mashani]

I had to boil water and add it into the mash tun in order to raise the temp the rest of the way. Should this happen to you, remember that you need to subtract the volume of water you added from your sparge volume.

This is why I typically decoct 20% more then the calculator says I need. That way, I just add it back in until the temps are what they are supposed to be in, and then just add any leftovers back in at the end of the mash.

[philm00x]

I know this now for future reference. Although after I added all my water to bring the temp up, it got me a quart n change off to my boil volume, and my numbers were right on target. I saw the airlock bubbling last night so I must've done something right.


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[MadBrewer]

I have always wanted to brew an Oktoberfest to have ready come October. Last year was the first time I did that in many years of brewing. I do not think I'll get to that this year...I'm way behind and many beers to brew. Hope yours turns out well.

[ScrewyBrewer]

Phil thanks for posting. I love a good Okoberfest/Marzen, although it's been at least 3 years since I last brewed one. I've been reading about decoction mashing too lately but I'm still not sure of where to start using my eBIAB system.

[mashani]

Hey, Screwy: If your eBIAB lets you program in a step mash, then I'd say just program in the rests/temps with the same timing you would have done your decoction... maybe add a couple of minutes to each rest so it doesn't fire up the burner instantly...

Then pull your decoctions and boil them during the rests, and add them back in right before the program would have fired up your burner. Your system should see that the temps are where they are supposed to be at or very near, and then not really run the burner much if at all.

I think that should work?

[philm00x]

@MadBrewer Thanks! For whatever reason, Oktoberfest this year starts September 17. But that's about the time I like to start finding commercial brews in stores.

@Screwy Mashani's got a great idea there. Although next time I brew this I might just try his pseudo-decoction technique where you pull a quart or so of the wort and reduce it to almost a syrup and then add it back to the main wort while it boils. It'll caramelize some so as to provide the melanoidins that a decoction would. You could try this same technique with your eBIAB.


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[philm00x]

Several days of checking SG and it has remained at 1.013. This is actually the expected FG but I also did start two points higher than expected on my OG so perhaps the beer was pretty highly fermentable given my sacch rest temp. Anyhow, the temp has been set to cold crash, so toward the end of the week I'll add gelatin and bottle over the weekend.


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[Jon]

I think this is going to be a damn fine beer, even with (maybe especially with) the decoction brew-day issues.

Can't wait to hear how it turns out!

[ScrewyBrewer]

Hey, Screwy: If your eBIAB lets you program in a step mash, then I'd say just program in the rests/temps with the same timing you would have done your decoction... maybe add a couple of minutes to each rest so it doesn't fire up the burner instantly...

Then pull your decoctions and boil them during the rests, and add them back in right before the program would have fired up your burner. Your system should see that the temps are where they are supposed to be at or very near, and then not really run the burner much if at all.

I think that should work?

@mashani my controller is programmable and I can set it up to do step mashes, although to date I haven't tried it. Instead for a Scottish Wee Heavy or an Oktoberfest/Marzen I had been adding a small amount of Melanoidin malt to the grain bill.

If I have this right for a decoction mash using 23 lbs. of grain at 2:1 mash thickness I would mash at....

122F for 30 minutes then draw off, boil and add 3 gallons of boiling wort to the mash..

140F for 30 minutes then draw off, boil and add 3 gallons of boiling wort to the mash..

158F for 30 minutes

I also read that the 140F and 158F rest times, determine the fermentability (maltiness/dryness) of the finished beer.

From How To Brew "For example, a 20 minute rest at 60°C, combined with a 40 minute rest at 70°C produces a sweet, heavy, dextrinous beer; while switching the times at those temperatures would produce a drier, lighter bodied, more alcoholic beer from the same grain bill."

[mashani]

Yeah the idea is that after you draw off and boil that amount and re-add it that your mash temps will end up at that next step. So what you will want to do is think about how long it might take you to boil 3 gallons (and also how long you are going to keep boiling it, IE 20-40 minutes to develop some character). That's how long your rest at that current step will actually end up. Sometimes you pull the decoction just 10 minutes into a rest (IE say you might want to do that for the 140 rest) - you don't wait for the whole rest duration - that allows for the extended boiling time while keeping your rest at whatever duration you want it at.

So anyways, if that made any sense whatsoever, you actual rest duration will end up as:

(intended rest length) + (how long it takes to boil) + (how long you actually boil it) - (how many minutes into the rest it was before you pulled it)

And then I'd add a few minutes to that just to be safe.

So if you really want your (actual rest length) to be something specific you actually have to adjust what I am calling (intended rest length) above it based on those things. So that the actual rest length ends up as "intended". If that makes any sense whatsoever?

In theory your temp will end up at the next step just by adding the decoction back in and the heat will never fire up anyways. It's just a backup.

Note the part I underlined above. That is what gives the decoction much of its special character. If you simply boil it for 1 or 5 minutes and then add it back in, it will work but the resulting beer won't be much different then a single infusion mash, maybe just a bit more fermentable depending on your single infusion mash temps. Folks who did that sort of stuff as "is a decoction mash worth it" type of experiments decided that it wasn't. That link somewhere above talks about stuff like this, and shows various examples of points in time to pull, etc. The old world brewers were doing this over open fires in big copper kettles, and the wort was pretty certain to have been at least slightly caramelized because of it. Being "dainty" isn't really a good thing here if your looking for character.

Anyways, the longer you hold your 140 step the more fermentable it will be yes, it's just like a single infusion mash or a step mash - what type of enzymes are working at their best depends on what temps.

That said, regardless you might end up with a more fermentable wort then your normal single infusion mash, because believe it or not the amylase is actually active during the 122 rest along with a bunch of other enzymes (phytase, beta-glucanase, peptidiase, protenase for example responsible for giving you clearer wort / less haze, etc.). The amaylase is not working at its best, and will be working slow, but it is working. Amylase works at human body temps, it is what lets you eat starch and convert it to sugar. If you chew on a bit of raw potato long enough it will start to taste sweet. Because your saliva has amylase in it.

The homebrew places that talk about what temps types of amylase are "active" at are basically oversimplifications, only telling you when they work the fastest and where they start to denature, because single infusion mashing is about "efficiency" - getting it done as you intended as fast as possible. And even they are a bit wonky - IE beta amylase is actually starting to denature at the same temperature it works at the fastest. It's like a high powered engine that's slowly shaking itself apart.

FWIW, too long at the 122 rest might actually reduce mouthfeel/body/head retention too because some of what it helps get rid of in your final beer actually help to increase those things (vs. simply causing haze). If you limit your time at 140 then you can make up for that by creating bigger sugar chains to replace those compounds. But then end up with a more malty/less fermentable wort too. It's a balancing act.

I hope all that made some sense, I'm just blathering everything I can think of at you.

[philm00x]

I think this is going to be a damn fine beer, even with (maybe especially with) the decoction brew-day issues.

Can't wait to hear how it turns out!

I'm anxious to see how it turns out, as well! It's looking like it's going to be more golden in color than coppery, but that's ok since fest beers run the range of both colors. The first day into the diacetyl rest I could taste it a little in the gravity sample. By the third day, I couldn't pick it up anymore but it seemed a tiny bit boozy. No worries, it'll condition out in time!


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[ScrewyBrewer]

Once again you guys have given me a lot of great information to digest, @mashani special thanks for taking the time to expand on the idea of stepped decoction in such detail and @philm00x inspiring this resulting discussion by sharing your Oktoberfest Marzen brewing experience.

[philm00x]

Quality control pour. Clarity is looking great. Flavor is spot on with what I wanted. Slight malty sweetness that isn't overpowering. Crisp and light on the tongue, the way a lager should be. I'm very pleased with the results and will be brewing this again next year just as the recipe is designed, decoction mash and all (even if it was a pain in my arse).


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[Jon]

If it tastes half as good as it looks, that's a fantastic beer! Nicely done!

Did you fine with gelatin, or just whirlfloc in the boil and time?