Want to uncap your very own Oktoberfest brew?
We tapped homebrewer Roko Peros for this all-grain home brew recipe. A
longtime fan of the German Märzen, or Oktoberfest, style of lagered beer, Peros
developed this recipe based on the classic attributes he loves most about the
style—a malty, toasted taste with a dry finish.
Grains
6 lbs. German Pilsner Malt
2 lbs. Munich Malt
2 lbs. Vienna Malt
1 1/4 lbs. Cara-Pils/Dextrine
1/2 lb. Caramel/Crystal 120°L
Note: Peros mills his grains himself, but you can also buy premilled
grains.
Hops
1 1/4 oz. Hallertauer (Pellets, 4.80 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1/2 oz. Hallertauer (Pellets, 4.80 %AA) boiled 15 min.
1/2 oz. Hallertauer (Pellets, 4.80 %AA) boiled 0 min.
Yeast
Wyeast Labs Bavarian Lager Yeast (1 smack pack) or Wyeast
Labs Octoberfest Lager Blend
Note: Peros uses a two-day starter with a stir plate, to get the
yeast ready for the month-long feast.
Mash Instructions
Start the mash by placing milled grains in a clean, sanitized
10-gallon mash tun. Add 2.6 gallons of water that’s been heated
to 132 degrees F. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Add 2.3 gallons of
water that’s been heated to 197 degrees and let sit for another 30
minutes. Add 2 gallons of water that’s been heated to 205 degrees
and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain all the water (wort) through a
sparge filter into a clean, sanitized 10-gallon brew pot. Sparge the
grains by adding 1.4 gallons of water that’s been heated to 170
degrees to the grain mixture, let sit for 15 minutes, then drain the
water (wort) through a sparge filter into the brewpot.
Boil Instructions
Bring the wort to a boil and maintain the boil for 90 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add 1¼ oz. Hallertauer hop pellets. After 75
minutes, add ½ oz. Hallertauer pellets. After 90 minutes, turn off
the heat and add the remaining ½ oz. Hallertauer pellets. Cool
the wort quickly using a wort-cooling system. When it reaches
55-60 degrees F, drain the wort into a clean, sanitized carboy
and add the yeast.
Fermentation Instructions
Ferment between 53–56 degrees F for four weeks, then siphon
into another clean, sanitized carboy and ferment for another three
to four weeks at 53-56 degrees. Caution on the fermentation: It
should be held in a temperature-controlled environment. This can
be achieved by using a chest or upright freezer power-regulated
by a temperature controller.
Bottling Instructions
Prime the beer by combining 3/4 cup corn sugar with a pint of
water, bringing that mixture to a boil in a stainless steel saucepan,
stirring slowly for five minutes, then allowing the priming solution
to cool to room temperature before adding it to a clean, sanitized
bottling bucket along with the fermented beer. Bottle the primed
beer and let it condition in bottle for at least two weeks.
Makes 5 gallons. Final measurements should be around 1.050–
1.057 original gravity, 1.012–1.016 final gravity, 20–28 IBU, and
4.8–5.7% ABV.