Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: festbier help  (Read 6994 times)

Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
festbier help
« on: August 22, 2017, 08:12:48 am »
Can anyone refer me to a solid festbier recipe for reference? The best I can come up with is majority pilsner malt with a decent amount of vienna and perhaps some munich. Should I include any specialty malts such as carahell, caramunich, melanoidin, etc?

One of the few recipes I found was:
63.6% pilsner
36.4% vienna
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

The Beerery

  • Guest
Re: festbier help
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2017, 08:33:02 am »
Recipe guidelines according to Narziss, who is basically the German Jesus.

Festbier - OG 13.5 Plato
60-80% Pilsner malt at 3.5 EBC
0-30% Vienna malt at 8 EBC
0-30% Munich malt at 15 EBC
0-5% caramel malt at 25 EBC (Carahell)
20-24 IBUs

My fest this year is 60% pils, 30% Vienna and 10% carahell

Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
Re: festbier help
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2017, 08:39:07 am »
Extremely helpful. Thank you.
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

Offline blatz

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 3513
  • Paul Blatz - Jupiter, FL
Re: festbier help
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2017, 08:41:53 am »
My marzen is going to be kegged this weekend and start lagering, I'm going with the following for fest on my next brew session:

65% Pils
30% Munich I
5% carahell

was thinking of cutting the munich with Vienna 50:50, but still toying with that.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

BJCP National: F0281

The Beerery

  • Guest
Re: festbier help
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2017, 09:17:04 am »
In case anyone wants the Marzen it's:

Marzen - OG 13.5 Plato
30-50% Munich malt at 15 EBC (aka Weyermann Munich I)
30-50% Pilsner malt at 3.5 EBC
0-30% Vienna malt at 8 EBC
0-10% caramalt at 25 to 120 EBC (aka Weyermann Carahell to Caramunich 2)
20-26 IBUs

« Last Edit: August 22, 2017, 09:20:54 am by The Beerery »

Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
Re: festbier help
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2017, 09:23:14 am »
Right off the bat I'm at
72.7% pilsner
11.4% vienna
11.4% munich 9L
4.5% carahell

A beer that I just brewed on Sunday was very similar to this minus the carahell.
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

Offline erockrph

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7788
  • Chepachet, RI
    • The Hop WHisperer
Re: festbier help
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2017, 03:58:27 pm »
I've been dialing in my Märzen over the years, and here's where I'm at:

1.052 OG
25 IBU

38.6% Light Munich
38.6% Pils
19.3% Vienna
3.6% Aromatic

Wyeast 2633 (Octoberfest blend)

I used to have CaraMunich rather than the Aromatic, but I made a swap several batches ago and thought it was an improvement. I'm tempted to try CaraHell, though.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
Re: festbier help
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2017, 03:59:27 pm »
Just for my own clarification, Festbier and Marzen are different styles right?
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

Offline HoosierBrew

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 13031
  • Indianapolis,IN
Re: festbier help
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2017, 04:02:54 pm »
Just for my own clarification, Festbier and Marzen are different styles right?


Yep, two different styles. Separate flavor profiles, color, and BJCP subcategories.
Jon H.

Offline JT

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1556
  • Bloatarian Brewing League - Cincinnati, OH
    • Bloatarian Brewing League
Re: festbier help
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2017, 04:40:20 pm »
I wish I had more days in the month.  Munich Dunkel and either a Festbier or Märzen are coming up.  Also, the thirsty crowd at Beer & Sweat crushed my keg of Kölsch, so i need another of those... not to mention I still have Brett and Sacc Trois to use... So much to brew, so little time. 

  "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."


Offline dannyjed

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1496
  • Toledo, OH
Re: festbier help
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2017, 08:02:54 pm »
I was happy with the Festbier that I made last year. 45% Pils 35% Munich I 20% Vienna and 1-2 oz Carafa. Last year, I made it with Wyeast 2124. This beer is my next brew, but I'm going to make it with Wyeast 2206 this time.



Dan Chisholm

Offline JT

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1556
  • Bloatarian Brewing League - Cincinnati, OH
    • Bloatarian Brewing League
Re: festbier help
« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2017, 09:02:17 pm »
Recipe guidelines according to Narziss, who is basically the German Jesus.

Festbier - OG 13.5 Plato
60-80% Pilsner malt at 3.5 EBC
0-30% Vienna malt at 8 EBC
0-30% Munich malt at 15 EBC
0-5% caramel malt at 25 EBC (Carahell)
20-24 IBUs

My fest this year is 60% pils, 30% Vienna and 10% carahell

I really like this type of guideline.  Not a specific recipe, but an outline.  Is this from Abriss der Bierbrauerei, Die Technologie der Malzbereitung, Die Technologie der Würzebereitung, or something else?  Does he cover all German styles with this type of structure? 

  "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."


Offline Iliff Ave

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4507
Re: festbier help
« Reply #12 on: August 22, 2017, 09:57:10 pm »
Recipe guidelines according to Narziss, who is basically the German Jesus.

Festbier - OG 13.5 Plato
60-80% Pilsner malt at 3.5 EBC
0-30% Vienna malt at 8 EBC
0-30% Munich malt at 15 EBC
0-5% caramel malt at 25 EBC (Carahell)
20-24 IBUs

My fest this year is 60% pils, 30% Vienna and 10% carahell

I really like this type of guideline.  Not a specific recipe, but an outline.  Is this from Abriss der Bierbrauerei, Die Technologie der Malzbereitung, Die Technologie der Würzebereitung, or something else?  Does he cover all German styles with this type of structure? 

  "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

I agree. Gave me a solid starting point from the start. All the recipes i have seen are all over the board.
On Tap/Bottled: IPL, Adjunct Vienna, Golden Stout, Honey Lager
Fermenting: IPA
Up Next: mexi lager, Germerican pale ale

The Beerery

  • Guest
Re: festbier help
« Reply #13 on: August 23, 2017, 07:15:25 am »
Recipe guidelines according to Narziss, who is basically the German Jesus.

Festbier - OG 13.5 Plato
60-80% Pilsner malt at 3.5 EBC
0-30% Vienna malt at 8 EBC
0-30% Munich malt at 15 EBC
0-5% caramel malt at 25 EBC (Carahell)
20-24 IBUs

My fest this year is 60% pils, 30% Vienna and 10% carahell

I really like this type of guideline.  Not a specific recipe, but an outline.  Is this from Abriss der Bierbrauerei, Die Technologie der Malzbereitung, Die Technologie der Würzebereitung, or something else?  Does he cover all German styles with this type of structure? 

  "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

It's from Kunze, and Die Bierbrauerei and I think it may be in abriss as well.

Offline wobdee

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 235
Re: festbier help
« Reply #14 on: August 23, 2017, 12:44:16 pm »
Here's some more recipe guidelines in the first post I like to follow.


http://forum.germanbrewing.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=323