Whats so special about Oktoberfest Beer?

[Matt28]

Hey there folks,

i'm new to the hole brewing stuff and i have one question. We were last year in Munich to drink a lot of beer at the famous oktoberfest and the beer was so fine. We booked a [url]Oktoberfest Package[/url] - it was great.
The Question is: what is so special about the oktoberfest beer? I heared it gets brewed just for the oktoberfest - right?!


regards,

matt28

[Elbone]

One word- FRESHNESS. You were drinking German beer in Germany. By the time that beer makes it to the U.S. as an import, it's been on a boat at who-knows-what temperature, then in a warehouse and hot on a shelf, and probably in a green bottle..........

Incidentally, that's also what's so special about homebrewing!

If you want commercially-brewed, fresh, authentic German-style lagers in the U.S., grab some Gordon-Biersch anything. In the bottle or at one of the brewery-restaurants. It's the closest you can get to Germany without your passport. or brewing it yourself.

EDIT: I just realized that I'm assuming, perhaps incorrectly. that you're in the U.S., as well. If not, my apologies.

[ajdelange]

In days of yore German brewers ceased brewing in the spring in order to avoid infection by the airborne flora that appear when the weather warms. Thus there was a flurry of activity at that time of year in order to have an ample supply of beer stashed away in ice caves to supply the needs of the burghers during the summer months and into the fall when brewing could resume. Strong beers benefit from longer lagering and, being well aware of this, they prepared beers of higher strength reserving them for festivals with the big one, of course, being the annual affair on the Theresienwiese. So what made an Oktoberfest "special" was that it was a biggish (14 - 15 °P) beer brewed in March and lagered until September (for the Oktoberfest) and referred to as Märzen-Oktoberfest and if you want to brew an authentic one that's what you do. But apparently this is not widely known or observed by homebrewers. When March rolls around and I go to the LHBS to get the yeast (Wyeast 2633) he always has to special order it because he doesn't sell any in March (except to me). Most people, he says, brew that style in the fall. According to the Fixes, the traditional had a slightly fruity quality which was, they suggest, possibly responsible for the demise of the style in Europe. The 2633 definitely has that quality in my opinion and I think it makes the beer more interesting but that is an opinion.

Being a larger (I do mean larger - not lager in this context) beer it is darkish in color - around 12 SRM and this comes from large amounts of grain, the use of darker grains, decoction mashing and the long boil. At the time the Fixes wrote their monograph they were recommending English crystal malts for the color because dark lager malts of sufficient quality were not available. Today we have the Weyermann's Vienna and Munich malts available and I find approximately equal portions of those two with an equal portion of Pilsner malt makes a fine beer. Noble hops, of course! This means almost any water except water that contains sulfate will do.

Today what you get at Oktoberfest is (from all accounts - I've never been) a somewhat diminished (12 - 13 °P ?) product which is more likely the result of modern German brewing practices (no or fewer decoctions, much shorter lagering times) than of over the summer storage in a cave in the alps.

[mediumsk]

Hey there folks,

i'm new to the hole brewing stuff and i have one question. We were last year in Munich to drink a lot of beer at the famous oktoberfest and the beer was so fine.
The Question is: what is so special about the oktoberfest beer? I heared it gets brewed just for the oktoberfest - right?!

regards,

matt28

In days of yore German brewers ceased brewing in the spring in order to avoid infection by the airborne flora that appear when the weather warms. Thus there was a flurry of activity at that time of year in order to have an ample supply of beer stashed away in ice caves to supply the needs of the burghers during the summer months and into the fall when brewing could resume. Strong beers benefit from longer lagering and, being well aware of this, they prepared beers of higher strength reserving them for festivals with the big one, of course, being the annual affair on the Theresienwiese. So what made an Oktoberfest "special" was that it was a biggish (14 - 15 °P) beer brewed in March and lagered until September (for the Oktoberfest) and referred to as Märzen-Oktoberfest and if you want to brew an authentic one that's what you do. But apparently this is not widely known or observed by homebrewers. When March rolls around and I go to the LHBS to get the yeast (Wyeast 2633) he always has to special order it because he doesn't sell any in March (except to me). Most people, he says, brew that style in the fall. According to the Fixes, the traditional had a slightly fruity quality which was, they suggest, possibly responsible for the demise of the style in Europe. The 2633 definitely has that quality in my opinion and I think it makes the beer more interesting but that is an opinion.

Being a larger (I do mean larger - not lager in this context) beer it is darkish in color - around 12 SRM and this comes from large amounts of grain, the use of darker grains, decoction mashing and the long boil. At the time the Fixes wrote their monograph they were recommending English crystal malts for the color because dark lager malts of sufficient quality were not available. Today we have the Weyermann's Vienna and Munich malts available and I find approximately equal portions of those two with an equal portion of Pilsner malt makes a fine beer. Noble hops, of course! This means almost any water except water that contains sulfate will do.

Today what you get at Oktoberfest is (from all accounts - I've never been) a somewhat diminished (12 - 13 °P ?) product which is more likely the result of modern German brewing practices (no or fewer decoctions, much shorter lagering times) than of over the summer storage in a cave in the alps.
In days of yore German brewers ceased brewing in the spring in order to avoid infection by the airborne flora that appear when the weather warms. Thus there was a flurry of activity at that time of year in order to have an ample supply of beer stashed away in ice caves to supply the needs of the burghers during the summer months and into the fall when brewing could resume. Strong beers benefit from longer lagering and, being well aware of this, they prepared beers of higher strength reserving them for festivals with the big one, of course, being the annual affair on the Theresienwiese. So what made an Oktoberfest "special" was that it was a biggish (14 - 15 °P) beer brewed in March and lagered until September (for the Oktoberfest) and referred to as Märzen-Oktoberfest and if you want to brew an authentic one that's what you do. But apparently this is not widely known or observed by homebrewers. When March rolls around and I go to the LHBS to get the yeast (Wyeast 2633) he always has to special order it because he doesn't sell any in March (except to me). Most people, he says, brew that style in the fall. According to the Fixes, the traditional had a slightly fruity quality which was, they suggest, possibly responsible for the demise of the style in Europe. The 2633 definitely has that quality in my opinion and I think it makes the beer more interesting but that is an opinion.


hahahaha
im sure that answered his question