Ecktoberfest

THE PLAN:
I had a goal this year to brew an Octoberfest for our Halloween party this fall... I probably should have brewed it in March if I were going to stay true to the style, but oh well... next year. So, I got together with my friends Ernie Kelly and Dave Magnanelli to brew this bitch up. I based the recipe off of one made by Don Osborn called Better Late Than Never Oktoberfest... I just rounded up the grain bill since my efficiency is still pretty low (60%?), and I used Wyeast 2633 Octoberfest Activator pack (2L starter + 36 hrs on a stir plate) rather than the Bavarian Lager strain. Ernie schooled me on a double infusion & fly sparging... up til this point I have just been doing batch sparging.

THE RECIPE:
5# 2 Row Pils (Ger)
4# Munich (Dark)
3# Vienna
1# CaraMunich
1 oz Hallertau (60)
1 0z Hallertau (30)
1 oz Tettnang (homegrown) (10)
Wyeast 2633 - Octoberfest Lager Blend

4/16 YEAST SLURRY:
Used a big Activator 2633 Octoberfest yeast pack from Wyeast... 2L starter. OG was around 1035-1040. Stir plate til brewday.

4/18 BREW DAY:
Double Infusion Mash, engineered by Ernie
11.7 qts @ 140F --> 125F for 20 min.
0.3 qts @ 205F --> 140F for 20 min.
10.4 qts @ 198F --> 155F for 20 min.
Sparge - 1 gal @ 188F --> 168F
First runnings - 13/1.053
Pre-boil gravity - 9/1.036
Boil - 60 minutes, hops at 60 (Hallertau), 30 (Hallertau), and 10(Tettnang)
Post-boil/OG - 11.5/1.046

5/16 RACKED TO KEG FOR LAGERING:
While brewing my wit, I cleaned and sanitized another one of my ancient kegs to lager the oktoberfest in. Brix reading = 5.5/1.008... whoa! Nice!

Took pic at left. The OG was a little low to begin with, so this is actually right on the mark. Color was very orange, almost like a pumpkin, kinda wishing it was more red than orange. Very cloudy, I could see sediment whirling around in it, hopefully that will all clear out. Taste was very nice, smooth, very balanced, no astringencies or anything.... this will be good, can't wait til October!