Meet Me At The Festzelt Festbier Recipe Kit - 5 Gallon All Grain

This is the Festbier we brewed live with JW from Asheville Brewers Supply this summer so it would be ready for Oktoberfest, packed as a 5 gallon all grain kit. It is a clone of Weyermann's "Meet Me At The Festzelt" recipe: Bohemian Pilsner as the base, a little Munich for bread crust, acid malt and Riverbend Great Chit to round it out, a half ounce of Magnum for bittering, and a whirlpool charge of Spalt Spalter for a soft, herbal German hop nose.

Festbier is what the big Munich breweries pour in the tents today. Think of a Helles with a little more strength: pale gold, clean, bready, and dry enough to drink by the liter. If you want the amber, maltier beer most Americans call Oktoberfest, look at our Oktoberfest Marzen kit.

What's Included?

• Milled All-Grain Malt (10 lb 2 oz Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner, 9 oz Munich, 5 oz Acidulated Malt, 5 oz Riverbend Great Chit)
• Sealed Hop Pellets (0.5 oz Hallertau Magnum, 2.25 oz Spalt Spalter)
• One Packet of Dry Lager Yeast (Fermentis SafLager W-34/70)

Description

The grain bill is 90% Bohemian Pilsner, which gives the beer a soft, bready malt flavor with more depth than a standard pils base. A small amount of Munich adds a touch of toast without pushing the color toward amber. Acidulated malt brings the mash pH down, and JW likes what it does to the flavor of a German lager: a light fruitiness you don't get without it. Great Chit is an undermodified malt that helps with body and head retention, so the beer holds a tall white collar. The Spalt Spalter goes in after the boil at 175°F, so it adds aroma (spicy, floral, a little citrus) without much bitterness. W-34/70 is the workhorse German lager strain, and it stays clean even when you ferment warm under pressure the way we did.

Specs

Brew Style: Festbier
Batch Size: 5 Gallons (19 L)
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 25
SRM: 4.5
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Brewing Instructions

Mash: Heat 7.2 gallons of water and mash the full grain bill for 60 minutes at 148°F. On brew day we ran a step mash instead (145°F, 154°F, 162°F, then a 172°F mashout), and either way works.

Boil: Bring the wort to a boil for 60 minutes. Add 0.5 oz Magnum at the start of the boil and a Whirlfloc tablet with 10 minutes remaining.

Whirlpool: At the end of the boil, cool the wort to 175°F. Add all of the Spalt Spalter and whirlpool for 15 minutes. Target 1.056 into the fermenter.

Ferment: Chill to the low 50s °F and pitch the W-34/70. Ferment at 52°F for about 2 weeks, then raise to 60°F for a 3-day diacetyl rest. We fermented ours warm under pressure instead: pitched in a keg in the low 70s °F with a spunding valve holding a few PSI. Both ways work.

Carbonate: Cold crash and lager near freezing for 3 to 4 weeks, then carbonate to 2.5 volumes of CO₂. Brew it about 7 weeks before you want to drink it.

Shipping is included. Kits are packed and shipped by our friends at Asheville Brewers Supply.