In the Fermentor: Oktoberfest

Believe it or not, Oktoberfest is just around the corner. This year, the festivities in Munich start September 22nd. In beer brewing terms, it means I better get a Fest beer going. This time around, I'm going to be experimenting a bit. As I've posted before, I can't lager. However, I've been using a Kölsch yeast for pseudo-lagers to great effect. To see if I get a little more of the lager experience, I've cleared out enough space in my fridge to cold-condition half of the beer for four weeks after bottling. The rest will have to make due conditioning in a basement. I have no idea if there will be all that much difference between the two, but experimentation is what makes homebrewing fun, right?

You'll also notice a new base-malt in the mix. Colorado Malting Company is only a few hours away from me, so I've decided to start buying local and will be using their malts as much as possible.

Grains:
5 lbs Colorado Pilsner
4 lbs Munich
8 oz Cara Pils
8 oz Cara Munich III

Hops:
0.5 oz Northern Brewer: 90 min
1 oz Smaragd: 20 min
1 oz Smaragd: 5 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 2575-PC - Kölsch II

Mash Schedule:
Saccharification Rest: 152F for 60min
Mashout: 168F for 15 minutes

Original Gravity:
1.052
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.010

IBU: 26
SRM Color: 11

Fermentation Schedule:
1 Week Primary
2 Weeks Secondary
4 Weeks Cold Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $15 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Samuel Adams Octoberfest: $32
Savings: $17

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