Märzenbier für die Maßkrug – Krepples Brew Log

Grab your lederhosen and enjoy a Märzen/Oktoberfest!

Saflager W-34/70
- Rehydrate between 70° & 77° for 30 minutes prior to pitching.
- Ideal fermentation temperature is between 53° and 59°.

Collect water to allow chlorine to dissipate.

Heat 8 gallons of water to 156°. (2 gallons unfiltered Dover City water with chlorine removed, 6 gallons distilled water and citric acid.)

Gently dough in grains until all grain is covered by water.

Mash grains at 150° for 1 hour.

Remove “grain bag“, rinse, squeeze and allow grains to drain.

Bring wort to a boil.

Once wort is boiling, add 1.75 oz Hallertau hops and continue for 45 minutes.

Add 0.25 oz Hallertau hops and continue boil for another 15 minutes.

Reduce wort temperature to 68° and take OG reading.

Sufficiently aerate, transfer to primary fermenter and pitch yeast.

Allow beer 1~2 weeks in the primary at 50° to adequately ferment and cleanup any diacetyl produced during fermentation.

Bottle and wait another 2 weeks or keg and carb.

Enjoy!

September 02, 2019 Brew Day
- Did not collect water in advance and used campden to remove chlorine.
- Pitched wort at 70° and dropped to 63° over the next 3 hours by using a heat sink filled with water from the freezer. Final target temperature is 53°.
- Rehydrated yeast at 77° for 30 minutes prior to pitching. Stirred once when putting yeast into sterile water with 1 tsp Fermaid K and once prior to pitching into wort.
0 hours, 1.059 @ 70°
24 hours, 1.057 @ 53°, small white krausen, strong and consistent, but not violent airlock activity. Raised the fermentation chamber temperature 1° because it was regularly below the target of 53°.
48 hours, 1.046 @ 55° – Fermentation chamber is in the garage and the readings are taken in the afternoon, so this is the temperature high point of the day.
72 hours, 1.034 @ 55°
96 hours, 1.028 @ 55° started raising temperature to 68°
5 days, 1.022 @ 59°
6 days, 1.017 @ 63°
7 days, 1.014 @ 68°
2019-09-18 – Kegged – Initial taste is slightly bitter, but delicious.
After carbonating this beer had a strong diacetyl taste to it. It was along the lines of a thick caramel that would coat the mouth after swallowing. It was unpleasant. Transferred the keg into a room set around 80°~90°. After 4 days, allowed the keg and room to naturally cool to an ambient 68° and let it sit for another week. This completely cleared the diacetyl from the beer and it is now delicious.