Octoberfest 2011

It was a little late in the season to be starting an Octoberfest when my friend Chassie asked me if I would brew a beer for her Halloween party. I didn't have time to lager a beer but I did have a pouch of Kolsch yeast and thought I would make a cheater version. Hopefully there is enough left over from the party to give some to my buddy Matt, who would probably drink Marzen's or Alt's everyday if he could.

The beer turned out with a nice blend of bittering hops and malt. This could be described as a malty California Common without finishing hops. Actually, the beer would be a better all around ale with some aroma/flavor hops. In retrospect I would have rather be drinking an Alt right now, but the beer is good in its own right. I think I will employ hybrid yeasts to cheat on lagers in the future, they are easier to use, quicker, and are forgiving at higher temperatures. I will try over the next few months to brew a few traditional lagers with hybrid yeasts as an experiment. 

Octoberfest 2011 Recipe:

Specifics:
5.25 gallon batch
OG: 1.053
TG: 1.013
SRM: 10.97
IBU: 27.9
60 minute boil

Grain:
4 lbs. Pils
2.5 lbs. Munich 10L
.5 lbs. Golden Naked Oats
.5 lbs. Oat Malt
.25 lbs. Biscuit
.25 lbs. Carapils
.25 lbs. Carawheat

Hops:
.75 oz Nothern Brewer @ 60 min
.5 oz Saaz @ 30 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 2565 Kolsch

Notes:
Single infusion mash at 158F. Drew nearly 7 gallons of wort and boiled to 5.25 gallons. Chilled to 65, pitched yeast. Primary at ambient basement temp 60-70 for 7 days. Secondary in fridge at 55F for 21 days.