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So... What is it?
The Oktoberfest Märzen is a traditional German beer made using a decoction mashing process, which involves boiling a portion of the mash and returning it to the main mash to increase the temperature in stages. This technique was historically used in Bavaria to achieve certain mash steps & help extract more flavor and fermentable sugars from the malt. Märzen, meaning "March" in German, was brewed in late winter and stored in cool caves for consumption during Oktoberfest. The decoction process enhances the malt complexity and depth of flavor, giving the beer its rich amber colour, moderate bitterness and signature rich, slightly sweet finish!
What's ours like?
Wow this brewday was a fail! But this beer was worth the pain! Showcasing an awesome amber to orange colour, decent mouthfeel and rich malty character and complex sweetness, we can call this beer an Oktoberfest success! The decoction mash has paid huge dividends despite the pain, creating a very complex sweetness, with flavors of candied prunes, deep caramel and rich delicious honey! Coming in at 6.3% its on the boozier side for a fest beer, but we absolutely love it and know you will too!
Batch Size & Stats
- 19L / 5 gal finished beer
- 22L (6.8 gal) wort
- Starting gravity – 1.064
- Final gravity 1.015
- ABV – 6.4%
- Brewhouse Efficiency 84%
- EBC - 28
- IBU - 23
What ingredients?
Water
With sparging
- 16L (4.2 gal) strike water
Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min
- 14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
Without sparging
- 27L (7.1 gal) strike water approx. 64°C (147°F)
Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min
Malts
Total Grain Bill 6.2kg (13.67 4lb)
- Joe White Pilsner malt – 2.883kg (6.35 lb) - 46.5%
- Light Munich - 2.48kg (5.47 lb) - 40%
- Dark Munich - 620g (1.37 lb) - 10%
- Medium Crystal - 217g (0.48 lb) - 3.5%
Hops & whirlfloc tablets
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh (3% Alpha Acid)
- 28g (1 oz) 8 IBU - 60 mins
- 70g (2.5 oz) 10 IBU - 15 mins
Whirlfloc
- 0.75g (0.026 oz) / 1 tablets – 15 minutes left in the boil
Water Profile
- Ca2+21
- Mg2+ 5
- Na+ 15
- Cl- 31
- SO42- 27
- HCO3- 57
Yeast options & fermentation temperatures
- 70 ml — White Labs WLP820 Octoberfest/Marzen Lager - Ferment at 14°C (57°F)
- SafLager™ S‑23 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
- Saflager W34-70 – ferment at 14°C (57°F) 23g (0.41 oz) / (1 packets) - Fermented under 10 psi pressure (not necessary but a great option)
Step by step process
Step 1 – Milling
- Mill grains to medium crush (set mill rollers to a gap of approx. 1.00mm / 0.039 inches (credit card width)
- Just keep in mind roller gap settings are not universal so as you brew more batches you will find the ideal crush size for your setup
- Alternatively if you don’t have a grain mill you can order your grains crushed from most homebrew stores, both online and in person
Step 2 – Mashing
Mash in with 16L (4.2 gal) for 95 minutes with the following step mash order (not whilst you pull out 1/3 of the mash for decoction keep the main mash going along with the set mash schedule simultaneously)
- Protein rest: 113F (55 C) — 10 min
- Decoction Step - scoop out 1/3 of the mash and heat to 65C (149 F) for 15 mins, then heat up to boil for 15 mins and add back to main mash
- Beta rest: 147F (64 C) — 30 min
- Alpha rest: 158F (70 C) — 30 min
- Mash Out — 170F - 77 °C — 10 min
- Set your strike water to a few degrees above the target mash temperature (you can use the calculator in our website for this)
- ensure you mix in the grains thoroughly with a mash paddle to prevent dough balls from forming (big spoons, spatulas or whisks will also work)
Step 3 (optional) – Sparging
- if your setup has the capability to sparge then do so with 14L (3.7 gal) sparge water at 78°C (172°F)
- if you are not sparging and using a BIAB (brew in a bag) method then remove grains from mash tun and twist and squeeze the bag to get as much liquid out of the grains as possible
- as you start sparging (or straining your BIAB bag) begin raising the temperature of your wort to a boil
Step 4 – Boiling
- once your wort begins to boil start a timer for a 90-minute boil
- After 30 mins of boiling (with 60 mins left remaining) add your bittering hops, 28g (1 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
- at 15 minutes left in the boil add 70g (2.5 oz) of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh and 1 whirlfloc tablet (OR granulated whirlfloc 0.7g (0.025 oz))
Step 5 – Whirlpooling / cooling
- After 90 mins of boiling turn off your heat source and start cooling wort down
- Once you’ve reached yeast pitching temperature take an original gravity reading of your wort
Step 6 – Yeast Pitching
- It is best to make a yeast starter before beginning your brew day (ideally 1 day before, UNLESS you are using liquid yeast! in which case ignore the below steps!) to ensure your yeast are as active and healthy as possible before pitching, but not completely necessary – you could also just rehydrate yeast 30 minutes before pitching.
- Wort Aeration (Optional) if you have a paint mixer give your wort a quick blitz before pitching yeast to help add more dissolved oxygen into the wort to help the yeast have a healthier kick start into fermentation
- Now add your tincture of Vanilla extract! (or you can wait till end of fermentation if you prefer)
- Pitch yeast in wort a degree or two higher than the target fermentation temperature to help yeast take off more aggressively
- To make a yeast starter you can use either:
- DME (dry malt extract) at a ratio of approx. 100g per 1L water (3.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) for gravity of approx. 1.040
- some unfermented wort kept cold and sanitary from a previous brew day
- 70g of table sugar per 1L water (2.5 oz per 33 fluid ounces) – however, it is best to use malt sugar (wort / DME) whenever possible to reduce the chance of shocking the yeast with a different food source from starter to wort pitching
- To rehydrate yeast
- Add yeast to approx. 10 times as much room temperature water as the weight of the yeast e.g. 10g yeast in 100 ml water (0.35 oz yeast in 3.5 fluid ounces water)
Step 7 – Fermentation
- Allow yeast to ferment over the next two weeks (aprox)
- If you have a temperature-controlled system keep the fermenter temperature to the recommended fermentation temperature for each yeast strain (stated in the yeast ingredients section above)
- It's important to note that fermentation times will vary based on your circumstances like temperature, amount of yeast pitched, the healthiness of yeast, the gravity of the wort, pH, etc. so don’t stress be patient and know that these times are just a rough guide
- If you have temp control then when there are 2 days left of fermentation raise the temperature by 2 degrees for a diacetyl rest (once gravity reaches roughly 1.01) & gravity is the same 3 days in a row move onto cold crashing and adding gelatin! (Dont worry cold crashing & gelatin are both optional steps to help clarify your beer)
Step 8 (optional) – Cold crashing & Gelatin
- begin cold crashing your fermenter (bring the temperature of your fermenter down to as close to 0°C (32°F) as possible, for 2 days to a week depending on how patient you are, and add 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool a bit to your fermenter
- If you don’t have a temp-controlled fermenter, you can cold crash by putting your fermenter in a fridge or temp-controlled chest freezer
- After you have finished cold crashing it's time to keg/bottle your beer! If you are bottling your beer from the fermenter uncarbonated, remember to add about 5-7 grams (0.17 - 0.24 oz) of priming sugar to your bottles to carbonate your beer.
