Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

Oktoberfest 6.3% Dry finish with malty sweetness.

Heat 3.5 gallons brewing water to about 165°F (74°C). This allows for a mash-in temperature target of 150°F (65.5°C) after adding grain (account for grain temperature).

Heat strike water

Add crushed grains (Pilsner, Munich, Vienna, Caramunich, CaraPils, optional crystal) to the strike water while stirring to avoid dough balls. Target mash temperature 150°F (65.5°C). Hold the mash for 60 minutes to develop fermentable sugars while retaining some body and malt character.

Mash-in

Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes if you want to stop enzymatic activity and aid lautering. This is optional; many brewers skip it for traditional lagers.

Mash out (optional)

Sparge with ~2.5 gallons of water heated to 170°F (77°C), rinsing grains until you collect enough wort for a 5.5–6.0 gallon boil (pre-boil volume ~6.5–6.75 gal to account for evaporation and trub loss).

Sparge

Collect wort in the kettle and bring to a rolling boil. Watch carefully for boil-over as wort with lots of light malts can foam aggressively.

Bring wort to a boil

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 0.75 oz Hallertau (bittering). Boil for 60 minutes total.

Bittering hop addition

With 15 minutes left in the boil, add 0.5 oz Hallertau (or substitute Tettnang/Herkules) for flavor and light aroma. Also add Irish moss (1 tsp) at 10–15 minutes left if using, and yeast nutrient according to package directions (0.5 tsp) at 10 minutes left.

Flavor/aroma hop addition

At flameout, chill the wort quickly with a wort chiller to ~50–55°F (10–13°C) for lager yeast pitch. Minimize oxygen pickup while cooling. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind.

Cool wort

Aerate or oxygenate the cooled wort well (aim for 8–10 ppm O2 if oxygenating). Pitch the German lager yeast (one properly propagated pack or smack pack) at ~50–55°F (10–13°C).

Oxygenate and pitch yeast

Ferment at 50–55°F (10–13°C) for 7–10 days, or until primary activity slows and specific gravity is approaching terminal. Typical attenuation should produce an FG consistent with a 6.3% ABV target depending on original gravity.

Primary fermentation

Raise temperature to 62–65°F (17–18°C) for 48 hours once active fermentation slows to encourage diacetyl cleanup by the yeast.

Diacetyl rest

After the diacetyl rest, gradually lower temperature (over 2–3 days) to ~35–38°F (2–3°C) and lager for 4–6 weeks. This develops the clean, dry finish and polishes malt profile. Longer lagering (6–8 weeks) will further smooth the beer.

Lagering (cold conditioning)

Rack or siphon the lager to a bottling bucket being careful to leave sediment behind. If priming with corn sugar, dissolve 3.5 oz dextrose in 12–16 oz boiling water, cool and add to bottling bucket; gently mix with beer to evenly distribute priming sugar.

Prepare for bottling

Bottle and cap. Condition at room temperature for 10–14 days for carbonation, then move bottles to cold storage for at least 1–2 weeks to mellow. Alternatively, keg and force-carbonate to ~2.4–2.7 volumes CO2 for a traditional Oktoberfest mouthfeel.

Bottle and carbonate

Serve cold (around 45–50°F / 7–10°C). The lager should present a malty sweetness balanced by clean lager fermentation and a dry finish.

Serving

Pilsner malt (2-row base)

Munich malt (20L)

Vienna malt

Caramunich I (or CaraMunich 20–30L)

Dextrin / CaraPils

Liquid amber or crystal (optional, 40–60L)

Hallertau (4–5% AA) — bittering

Hallertau (or Tettnang / Herkules) — flavor/aroma

German lager yeast (Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager or White Labs WLP830)

Water (brewing)

Water (sparge)

Irish moss (optional, clarifier)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Corn sugar (dextrose) for priming

OKTOBERFEST

Make OKTOBERFEST Recipe in just 72h . Oktoberfest 6.3% Dry finish with malty sweetness.

OKTOBERFEST

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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