An American Marzen

[jswordy]

It should be about time to let this warm up, prime it and bottle it. It does not seem to be clearing as well as I had hoped, even with Brewer's Clarity in it. Heavy solids have fallen but it has a haze. I'll have to have a taste and see. Maybe this weekend I can get it bottled.

 

[jswordy]

My first lager is in the house from my farm shop fridge, transferred to a clean carboy and warming up for priming and bottling this weekend. Right now, it tastes remarkably like Samuel Adams Boston Lager and has about the same IBU. I won't call it a clone, but it does taste a lot like it as of now.

As predicted by the more expert folks here (thank you!), the fruitiness is gone now. Since it appears a success, here's the recipe.

AMERICAN MARZEN EXTRACT RECIPE (with conversions for all-grain)

6 gallon starting boil, yielded about 4 to 4 1/2 gallons to bottle for me.

In bag:

1.5 lb. Weyerman CaraRed
2 lb. Belgian Bisquit

Steep 30 minutes (All-grain: add to mash)

Remove from heat.

Add:

6 lb. Maris Otter LME (All-grain: Converts to ~ 8 pounds grain)
1 oz. Centennial hops (bittering)

Boil 45 minutes

Add:

1 lb. table sugar
4 oz maltodextrine (All-grain: Skip this addition)
1 oz. Centennial hops (aroma)

Boil 15 minutes.

Remove and cool. Once wort is cool to yeast pitching temp, transfer to fermenter and...

Add:

1 vial Clarity Ferm (Brewer's Clarity) - Optional. Clears & makes it low gluten.

Safale S-23 Lager Yeast (this is what I used, sprinkled on top; use your preferred yeast)

Ferment in a cool place or using a water bath or refrigeration to achieve 50-54 degrees liquid temperature.

When krausen falls and fermentation slows (it took me a week), transfer to carboy or gallon jugs and refrigerate for lagering. (I simply stuck mine in the fridge in gallon jugs.)

Lager 4-8 weeks.

Prime and bottle (I'll use 1 oz. table sugar per gallon), or transfer to keg and carbonate.

Notes:

1. ABV: 5% (German Marzen typically 5.8-6.3%; Samuel Adams Boston Lager, 4.9%)

2. Calories per 12 ounce serving: 168

3. By German law, a Marzen can only be made October through April, when temperatures are favorable in Germany.

 

[RevA]

It looks great! Brewing that tomorrow!

 

[LoveTheWine]

Hey Jim, I make a Marzen/Oktoberfest every year too! Mine is all grain and a triple decoction mash.
Did you use gelatin to clear? Works every time for me.

Here are some pics of my brew day and my assistant brewer.

 

[jswordy]

Nope, I use Clarity Ferm (Brewer's Clarity) to make it gluten free by US government standards. All my beers get it now.

Do you have a brew day uniform like your assistant is wearing? If not, you need one. Awesome.

I don't do all-grain because I do not want more equipment, so I am limited by my equipment. I like your sparge setup.

 

[LoveTheWine]

Nope, I use Clarity Ferm (Brewer's Clarity) to make it gluten free by US government standards. All my beers get it now.

Do you have a brew day uniform like your assistant is wearing? If not, you need one. Awesome.

I don't do all-grain because I do not want more equipment, so I am limited by my equipment. I like your sparge setup.

I need a Guinness onesie! I started all grain with BIAB which required no more equipment but drastically improved my beer.

 

[jswordy]

I need a Guinness onesie! I started all grain with BIAB which required no more equipment but drastically improved my beer.

Yep, BIAB is a good way. I'm happy. Got pro brewers telling me to enter contests, it must taste half good.

 

[jswordy]

OK, lager guys, help me out. One week in, opened a bottle, got CO2 escape, smoke in neck, beer is flat. My ales all carb well in 5-7 days, what do you think?

5 oz table sugar in one cup water in 4-1/2 gallons beer. Been at room temp from bottling onward.

Tastes great, nice and clear - just flat.

 

[RevA]

Hi,
Give it another week or two, should improve. Lagers tend to take longer, in all aspects. (Probably why most Homebrewers generally brew ale)

 

[jswordy]

Hi,
Give it another week or two, should improve. Lagers tend to take longer, in all aspects. (Probably why most Homebrewers generally brew ale)

Thanks. It threw lots of lees in the fridge so I didn't think the yeast was dead. Still, the reassurance counts for a lot. Helluva lot more work, though more equipment would solve a lot of that (of course).

I'm going to try an American ale yeast on my next ale. It is said to be very clean.

 

[RevA]

You could always just ferment ale yeast at near lager temps, gives it a more lager like taste. Also takes a bit longer than normal ale, but not as long as a lager.

 

[ceeaton]

Thanks. It threw lots of lees in the fridge so I didn't think the yeast was dead. Still, the reassurance counts for a lot. Helluva lot more work, though more equipment would solve a lot of that (of course).

I'm going to try an American ale yeast on my next ale. It is said to be very clean.

I agree with @RevA. All of my lagers have taken double if not triple time of ales to carbonate in the bottle. I remember a batch (a really long time ago, like in the late 1990s) that I made for my older brother as a Christmas gift. I left a month for it to carbonate in the bottle, and when we opened one up after I gave him the gift (wrapped one case, left the other cold), same thing you got, smoke in the neck, little if any carbonation, and you could taste the residual sugar from the refrigerated wort I had added to carbonate. A month or so later when it hung out at higher temps, he really liked the lager (as did his beer making friends), so in the end it was a good gift.

Ultimately it helped me noddle that I had to part with some cash to get corny kegs and force carbonate my lager batches. After that I got a device so I could bottle off of the keg when I wanted to be more mobile with my beer.

 

[jswordy]

You could always just ferment ale yeast at near lager temps, gives it a more lager like taste. Also takes a bit longer than normal ale, but not as long as a lager.

I have an old chest type Coke cooler. I ferment the ale at room temp (70), let it settle out a week, bottle condition a week, then put the bottles in the Coke cooler. It has a similar effect to lagering, I think.

 

[jswordy]

I agree with @RevA. All of my lagers have taken double if not triple time of ales to carbonate in the bottle. I remember a batch (a really long time ago, like in the late 1990s) that I made for my older brother as a Christmas gift. I left a month for it to carbonate in the bottle, and when we opened one up after I gave him the gift (wrapped one case, left the other cold), same thing you got, smoke in the neck, little if any carbonation, and you could taste the residual sugar from the refrigerated wort I had added to carbonate. A month or so later when it hung out at higher temps, he really liked the lager (as did his beer making friends), so in the end it was a good gift.

Ultimately it helped me noddle that I had to part with some cash to get corny kegs and force carbonate my lager batches. After that I got a device so I could bottle off of the keg when I wanted to be more mobile with my beer.

Thanks. With ya on all but the extra equipment. I can see where that all would be nice, but I really don't need more stuff in my life. I like ales, they make use of what I already have, so it's no biggie. This one is just an experimental lager.

 

[ceeaton]

... I like ales, ...

That was the side benefit of the "extra" equipment. I'd brew a batch of ale (bitter/pale ale/esb etc) on Saturday morning, rack it on Wednesday, keg it on Friday, and be drinking it when I made the next batch on Saturday. At that time I was reusing a White Labs English Dry Ale yeast that just motored through a batch in a few days, and dropped out in a few more. I found a great place to buy some Maris Otter on the cheap ($45 delivered for 55lbs). Did that for a few years in a row (hit my maximums each year here in PA) and gained 40 lbs. Only make a few batches of beer a year, mostly in the fall when it's cool for Christmas time sharing.

Wine making has made me lazier than I used to be. Soon will reach perfection when someone will have to pour my drink and position the straw so I can enjoy with as little movement as possible.

 

[RevA]

I have an old chest type Coke cooler. I ferment the ale at room temp (70), let it settle out a week, bottle condition a week, then put the bottles in the Coke cooler. It has a similar effect to lagering, I think.

Pretty much the same effect yes

 

[jswordy]

It's carbed. Hoppier than I really like, have to crank down the hop additions next time. Otherwise good. Other tasters have liked it.

 

[jswordy]

Cracked open a Marzen after bottling 6 1/2 cases of beer Monday, thereby declaring my independence from InBev!

The hops have mellowed more now. Nicely drinkable. The wife loves the stuff...

 

[jswordy]

Early review from a taste tester: "Bloody brilliant beer my friend!!! You need to brew 20 more cases asap!"