Menu Icon


Looking for homebrewing gift ideas? Check out our previous gift guides here or here!
Also, if you enjoy BrewUnited, please consider doing your Amazon shopping via our affiliate link!



You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Brewing Discussion --> festbier frustration

Jump to: [First Page] [Prev] 1 2   
Stonehands
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
59 Posts


I love that beer. I hate trying to make it. I think it's damn near impossible to clone. My latest one is too dark, looks more like last years Sierra Nevada (which was awesome). 
I think I'll actually try more Munich than you Olan, next time. Thinking 60% pils, 30% Munich I, and 10% carahell. Lodo. But hell, I don't know.
I love this time of year because festbier is available, drinking that beer makes me feel like a hack though. 




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


I wonder if my floor malted bopils was a contributor to the fruitiness?

When I meet you to give you this flash back, I should bring you some of my fruitifest. Try it and see if you agree that it's a miserable failure.

Again, it's not a bad beer... just a bad ofest.




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Flask, not flash.




Posted 34 days ago.

KidMoxie
Charter Member
San Elijo Hills, CA
405 Posts


Though the Br�bois will claim it doesn't have any affect, what temp did you pitch/ferment?




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by KidMoxie

KidMoxie
Charter Member
San Elijo Hills, CA
405 Posts


BTW, your system stripped out my umlaut from "Brubois".




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


I weep for the umlaut.

Pitched at around 53 F, fermented at 48F.

For the record, I got a very similar result the last time I brewed this recipe, only that time, I used WLP820. I changed yeast thinking that was the issue, but I'm pretty certain now that it cannot be.




Posted 34 days ago.

brulosopher
Charter Member
Fresno, CA
167 Posts


I wouldn't claim that...




Posted 34 days ago.

recovering_engineer
Albuquerque, NM
1 Posts


I have some anecdotal evidence pointing to Munich II as the source of fruitiness. I've been working my way through different lager styles this year, all using Wyeast2308/WLP838. I have gotten a similar fruity aroma and flavor in both recipes that have Weyermann Munich II. These were a maibock with 15% Munich II and a festbier with 10%. I have a baltic porter fermenting and it also had this aroma when I cracked the fermenter to check on it. Two other lagers (amber, pilsner) that did not have Munich did not have this characteristic aroma/flavor at all.

Recipes: MaibockFestbierAmberPils

Some process notes: I partial mash with a single decoction, balance with DME. Casual LoDO procedures (SMB, minimize splashing) and healthy yeast starters. My fermentation starts at 46 with a slow ramp to the mid-50s, and a D-rest in the low 60s. Then I transfer to a lagering vessel and krausen with 16 oz. of actively fermenting yeast/wort for 3 days at 50F to clean up and drop those last 2-5 gravity points (78-82% attenuation total). I lager in the same vessel just above freezing for 4 weeks.

I remember reading online somewhere that Munich malt has no place in a festbier. The person sharing this info was passing it on from a German brewer - I just can't remember who or where this was coming from. Regardless, thinking back to last September in the Augustiner festhalle, I think this guidance is correct. Now that I have a better taste of Weyermann Munich II, it just doesn't jive with the flavor of that beer. I don't think it belongs in a festbier. Some combination of Pilsner/Vienna(5-15%)/CaraHell(like 1-2%) is what I would try next. Munich I could be in the mix as well, I just haven't used it yet. 




Posted 34 days ago.

Matt
Charter Member
Normal, IL
341 Posts


Id be incredibly surprised if the fruit character you mentioned was from floor malted bo pils. I use that as my lager base malt exclusively, ive never had fruity characters from it or that sort of feedback from a competition





Posted 34 days ago.

ingoogni
nl
314 Posts


German beers, actually most continental beers are extremely simple, one base malt that covers at least 90%-95% of the grist, one for an accent if at all. In the classics seldom caramalt, in the "Landbiere" there can be quite a lot. No wheat in anything beyond Weizen and Weisse. Darker beers ofcorse have the extra malt component for colour.

Fruitiness does not come from Muenchner, you won't find any in a Dunkles or Schwarz

Festbier in general is just a somewhat stronger version, ~1%, of the local bier, so in Muenchen that is just a stronger Helles.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by ingoogni

Jump to: [First Page] [Prev] 1 2