Decemberfest Lager
Brewed: 11/24/2024 Kegged: 12/8/2024
2020.
Around September, I thought I should brew an Oktoberfest lager. I never got around to it.In October, I thought maybe a Novemberfest lager would be a good idea. I never got around to it.
In November, I thought maybe a Decemberfest lager would work. I never really got around to it until mid-December.
It probably won't be ready to drink before January, but I thought I could still call it Decemberfest as I was brewing it in December. And ... I might drink some of it before the end of the year.
Rather than the Marzen style, I went with more of a "Festbier". My first attempt at this style.
Batch #1 of this beer was my 6th batch that I brewed on my Anvil Foundry.
This is one of those beers that both the Brew Master and the Beer Model like.
It is a beautiful golden lager. Not too light. Not too heavy.
Not too malty. Not too hoppy.
Not too sweet. Not too bitter.
Just an awesome easy drinking lager. At 5.5% ABV, it isn't sessionable, but at the same time, it isn't a beer that will mess you up if you drink one or two.
Pretty much a beer-drinker's beer.
Awesome.
I brewed it again in 2021 using local maltster Root Shoot's Vienna malt, which has a significantly higher Lovibond.
The 2023 version went back to using "regular" Vienna malt.
For more information about this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Decemberfest.
| Decemberfest Lager --- Batch 4 (366) |
| Style | Festbier | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.57 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 65.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.056 SG | Estimated FG | 1.011 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 22.9 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 5.9 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.412 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 6.9 SRM |
|
|||||
| Measured OG: | 1.056 | Measured FG: | 1.013 | ||||
| ADF: | 76 | Measured ABV: | 5.9 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.53 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 6.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 7 lbs | Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 53.8 % | 0.55 gal |
| 5 lbs | Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 38.5 % | 0.39 gal |
| 1 lbs | Caravienne Malt (20.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 7.7 % | 0.08 gal |
| 1.000 oz | Magnum [12.60 %] - Boil 25.0 min | Hop | 8 | 21.5 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 9 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) | Other | 10 | - | - |
| 1.000 oz | Tettnang (Tettnang Tettnager) [2.10 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 1.5 IBUs | - |
| 1.0 pkg | Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) [50.28 ml] | Yeast | 12 | - | - |
| 0.50 tsp | Gelatin (Bottling 1.0 days) | Fining | 13 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 30.10 qt of water at 157.5 F | 150.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 156.0 F over 10 min | 156.0 F | 20 min |
If steeping, remove grains,
and prepare to boil wort
Make 1.4 liter (6 cups) yeast starter a day before brew day.
Brewing salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=119,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=169,Cl=92,HCO3=104
Acid addition to bring calculated pH around 5.4
Brew as directed from recipe.
Cool wort to as close to 50 degrees as possible.
Ferment in 50's for about 5 days, let rise to high 60's for another week.
Keg carbonate.
After the keg is chilled, add geletin to keg.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.049 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.57 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
Brewing Notes
11/11/2024 Updating the recipe a bit for 2024. Need to get this brewed for December.
11/13/2024 Ordering ingredients from The Brew Hut, and I might brew this weekend.
11/18/2024 Picked up ingredients yesterday. Didn't brew,so I'll probably do it next weekend.
11/24/2024 Starter yesterday. Brew Day today. Interrupted by church. Pre-boil gravity and volume right on track.
11/24/2024 Rest of the Brew day went great. Perfect OG. Pitched in low 50's.
11/25/2024 Bubbling strong. Got started sometime overnight. Tilt says 1.054 at 53 degrees.
11/26/2024 Tilts says 1.046 at 53 degrees.
11/27/2024 Still going strong. Tilt says 1.023 at 54.
11/28/2024 Starting to slow down, but still bubbling. Tilt says 1.025 at 55. The reading I put in for yesterday was an outlier for the day. The gravity was reading more in the 1.030's on all other readings.
12/1/2024 Not much bubbling today. Last night I set the controller to 60 and today tilt says 1.020 at 60. Unplugged the pump this morning, so we're officially in "warm fermentation" now.
12/4/2024 According to the Tilt, the gravity has not fallen at all since I unplugged the pump. 1.021 at 65. The one thing I don't like about this Stainless Brew Bucket is that I can't see how the clarity is coming along. I'll probably keg this coming weekend.
12/5/2024 Took a tiny little sample. Looks pretty clear. Love the color. Love the flavor. Tilt still about the same with 1.020 at 65. Will keg this weekend.
12/8/2024 Kegged today. Measured FG at 1.013, which is a tad high, but ok. Puts ABV at 5.7, which is just a touch below the style guidelines, but I'm certainly not going to complain. Sample tasted absolutely wonderful. Nice gold color. Needs some clarification, but not nearly as bad as the yeasty mess 1519 was when I first kegged it. Can't wait to drink this beer.
12/10/2024 Added Gelatin and then set the psi to 25. I'll give it a couple days before giving the beer a try. Looking forward to drinking this beer by the liter.
12/12/2024 First pour from the tap is fantastic. Great gold color. Wonderful malty flavor with a touch of Tettnang in the finish. Awesome head with decent carbonation already. Turned down the pressure to around 20psi, but I'll leave it on for at least a couple more days. Clarity actually pretty good for the first pour, but certainly needs more settling.
12/15/2024 Loving the flavor. Clarity getting close. Carbonation pretty good, but might benefit from a little more. Wonderful beer.
12/25/2024 Seems to be the favorite of the people we had over for Christmas. Wonderful. Nice and clear.
1/5/2025 This is by far the favorite of the Beer Model right now, so I am mostly saving this for her. But, trying one with Broncos game. Tasting and looking wonderful
1/9/2025 Checked in to untappd. Gorgeous gold beer. Nice bready malt with enough bitterness to balance perfectly. A little noble hop flavor in the finish. Crisp and clean. Wonderful beer.
1/19/2025 Golden beauty. Wonderful clean malt flavor. Nice cracker character. Still has that awesome noble hop finish. Yummy. 😋
2/1/2025 Wonderful golden beer. Smooth and malty. Nice noble hop finish.
2/7/2025 All my beers on tap are extremely clear, including this beautiful gold beer. I'm not sure how much of this is left. I've sort of been trying to save it for the Beer Model, but it has been on tap for two months now. Wonderful tasting beer. Going to miss it after it is gone. Might have to get another similar lager brewed. Maybe 1519 Barker or Michel-not.
2/20/2025 Wonderful smooth golden lager. Yummy 😋
2/28/2025 Surprising that this beer could last this long considering both the Beer Model and I both really enjoy it. Last year's also lasted into March, but it wasn't kegged until Dec 22. I have been basically trying to save most of this for the Beer Model, but now I need the kegerator spot for Oisin, so I'll try to kill it this weekend. Still looking and tasting fantastic. Great gold beer. Much better than last year's version.
3/6/2025 Still working on finishing this up for Oisin to take its spot in the kegerator. Nice bready malt flavor. Clean. Wonderful body. Gorgeous gold color.
11/11/2024 Updating the recipe a bit for 2024. Need to get this brewed for December.
11/13/2024 Ordering ingredients from The Brew Hut, and I might brew this weekend.
11/18/2024 Picked up ingredients yesterday. Didn't brew,so I'll probably do it next weekend.
11/24/2024 Starter yesterday. Brew Day today. Interrupted by church. Pre-boil gravity and volume right on track.
11/24/2024 Rest of the Brew day went great. Perfect OG. Pitched in low 50's.
11/25/2024 Bubbling strong. Got started sometime overnight. Tilt says 1.054 at 53 degrees.
11/26/2024 Tilts says 1.046 at 53 degrees.
11/27/2024 Still going strong. Tilt says 1.023 at 54.
11/28/2024 Starting to slow down, but still bubbling. Tilt says 1.025 at 55. The reading I put in for yesterday was an outlier for the day. The gravity was reading more in the 1.030's on all other readings.
12/1/2024 Not much bubbling today. Last night I set the controller to 60 and today tilt says 1.020 at 60. Unplugged the pump this morning, so we're officially in "warm fermentation" now.
12/4/2024 According to the Tilt, the gravity has not fallen at all since I unplugged the pump. 1.021 at 65. The one thing I don't like about this Stainless Brew Bucket is that I can't see how the clarity is coming along. I'll probably keg this coming weekend.
12/5/2024 Took a tiny little sample. Looks pretty clear. Love the color. Love the flavor. Tilt still about the same with 1.020 at 65. Will keg this weekend.
12/8/2024 Kegged today. Measured FG at 1.013, which is a tad high, but ok. Puts ABV at 5.7, which is just a touch below the style guidelines, but I'm certainly not going to complain. Sample tasted absolutely wonderful. Nice gold color. Needs some clarification, but not nearly as bad as the yeasty mess 1519 was when I first kegged it. Can't wait to drink this beer.
12/10/2024 Added Gelatin and then set the psi to 25. I'll give it a couple days before giving the beer a try. Looking forward to drinking this beer by the liter.
12/12/2024 First pour from the tap is fantastic. Great gold color. Wonderful malty flavor with a touch of Tettnang in the finish. Awesome head with decent carbonation already. Turned down the pressure to around 20psi, but I'll leave it on for at least a couple more days. Clarity actually pretty good for the first pour, but certainly needs more settling.
12/15/2024 Loving the flavor. Clarity getting close. Carbonation pretty good, but might benefit from a little more. Wonderful beer.
12/25/2024 Seems to be the favorite of the people we had over for Christmas. Wonderful. Nice and clear.
1/5/2025 This is by far the favorite of the Beer Model right now, so I am mostly saving this for her. But, trying one with Broncos game. Tasting and looking wonderful
1/9/2025 Checked in to untappd. Gorgeous gold beer. Nice bready malt with enough bitterness to balance perfectly. A little noble hop flavor in the finish. Crisp and clean. Wonderful beer.
1/19/2025 Golden beauty. Wonderful clean malt flavor. Nice cracker character. Still has that awesome noble hop finish. Yummy. 😋
2/1/2025 Wonderful golden beer. Smooth and malty. Nice noble hop finish.
2/7/2025 All my beers on tap are extremely clear, including this beautiful gold beer. I'm not sure how much of this is left. I've sort of been trying to save it for the Beer Model, but it has been on tap for two months now. Wonderful tasting beer. Going to miss it after it is gone. Might have to get another similar lager brewed. Maybe 1519 Barker or Michel-not.
2/20/2025 Wonderful smooth golden lager. Yummy 😋
2/28/2025 Surprising that this beer could last this long considering both the Beer Model and I both really enjoy it. Last year's also lasted into March, but it wasn't kegged until Dec 22. I have been basically trying to save most of this for the Beer Model, but now I need the kegerator spot for Oisin, so I'll try to kill it this weekend. Still looking and tasting fantastic. Great gold beer. Much better than last year's version.
3/6/2025 Still working on finishing this up for Oisin to take its spot in the kegerator. Nice bready malt flavor. Clean. Wonderful body. Gorgeous gold color.