Updated recipe! This is our classic Oktoberfester recipe that we have made a few minor changes to in order to create a bigger and slightly darker beer, like a traditional Oktoberfest marzen. We create the Oktoberfest flavor palette from lots of munich, toasty notes from biscuit malt and rich maltiness from melanoidin malt, as well as some caraamber for a slightly deeper color. This amber colored beer starts with a firm malt grasp that quickly gives way to a slightly dry finish with lingering hop flavor from the hallertau hops. You can ferment this with a traditional lager yeast, but using an ale yeast will still create an excellent beer. With the advent of Kveik yeasts, we have also added Omega Yeast Labs Lutra as an option, which creates a clean lagerlike profile, even at high temperatures!
Yeast Guide: If you can and would like to do a traditional lager fermentation which requires cooler temperatures for fermentation of 54-58F, you can use one of the lager strains, such as White Lab WLP820 Oktoberfest or Imperial Organic L17 Harvest yeast. For warmer temperatures, the new Omega Yeast Labs OYL071 Lutra Kveik yeast is a great yeast that can create clean, lagerlike beers at higher temperatures, even up to 95F! This beer will also do just fine fermented with an ale yeast, such as Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale or the dry Safale-04 English Ale yeast, though it might be a bit fruitier.
| Yeast Option | None - I have my own yeast or Omega Yeast OYL-071 Lutra Kveik or Omega Yeast OYL-071 DRY Lutra Kveik or Imperial Yeast L17 Harvest or Saflager W-34/70 German Lager |
| Alcohol by Volume | 4.9 - 6.% |
| Approximate ABV | Medium (6 - 8%) |
| IBUs | 25 - 30 |
| SRM | 9-11 |
| Starting Gravity | 1.053 - 1.063 |
| Final Gravity | 1.011 - 1.016 |
| Beer Styles | Lager, German Beer, Oktoberfest/Marzen |
| Beer Kit Type | All-Grain |
| Kit Yield | 5 Gallons |
| Yeast Starter | Yes |