Almost Oktoberfest

This was my attempt at a German Oktoberfest. It uses German Grains and
hops, including a large amount of munich malt. It is very malty and
has a nice hop balance. However, I can't lager, since I lack a
dedicated refrigerator. I used the Yeast Labs San Francisco lager yeast.
There is some lager character, but is has too much fruitiness and the
richness of the malt character needs to be increased. I suspect that
cold lagering would accomplish this along with a decoction mash. If
you are able to do these things, this recipe should be amazing. Let
me know if you make a true lager with the recipe.

Brewer:	Christopher McMath		Email:	mcmath@colorado.edu
Beer:	Almost Oktoberfest		Style:	Oktoberfest-Marzen
Type:	All grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	22 HCU (~12 SRM)		Bitterness:	31 IBU
OG:	1.061		FG:	1.018
Alcohol:	5.5% v/v (4.3% w/w)
Water:	Declorinated 10 gal of Boulder, CO water. Added gypsum to the mash.
Grain:	2 lb. German Pilsner .5 lb. Wheat malt 1 lb. German Vienna 6 lb. German Munich .5 lb. Belgian CaraMunich .5 lb. Belgian CaraVienne .5 lb. toasted pale ale malt
Mash:	75% efficiency
	Step mash with a 90 beta glucan rest for the munich for 30 min, followed by a 122 protein rest for 30 min, 155 saccrification rest for 70 min.and a 170 mash out for 20 min. Sparge with 5 gallons of 170 degree water. Decoction mashing might improve the malt profile.
Boil:	90 minutes	SG 1.051	6 gallons
	Irish Moss last 20 minutes of boil.
Hops:	.3 oz. Hallertauer Hersbrucker (5% AA, 60 min.) .75 oz. Northern Brewer (7% AA, 60 min.) .3 oz. Hallertauer Hersbrucker (5% AA, 30 min.) .3 oz. Hallertauer Hersbrucker (5% AA, 15 min.)
Yeast:	Yeast Labs San Francisco Lager. I think I like the Wyeast #2112 better. 1 qt starter at high krausen. I would highly reccomend using true Bavarian Lager yeast and fermenting at 50 degrees, followed by a 2 month cold lagering at 35-40 degrees for this beer if you can. The beer will be smoother with a richer malt character.
Log:	Brewed Sept 20th, 1997. Fermented at 60 degrees for 2 wks, then aged for 1 month.
Carbonation:	Bottle conditioned with 3/4 cup of dextrose to achieve medium high carbonation typical of German lagers.
Tasting:	This is a very enjoyable beer. The Munich and toasted malt give a nice rich and toasty malt character. The hops are well balanced, without overpowering the malt flavors. It is very easy to drink and my only complaint is that it is fruiter and not as rich and smoothe as a true Oktoberfest. This would be great, as I have stated above, with a decoction mash and a period of cold lagering with a malt emphasizing lager yeast. Prost!

Recipe posted 10/24/97.