It’s time for Oktoberfest…

not to drink them, but to brew them! Next time you’re at the beer store, check the bottles of Oktoberfest brews for the word Märzen. It’s on most of them somewhere. März is the German word for the month of March and in the days before refrigeration it marked the end of the brewing season. As the spring and summer seasons approached, the weather became too warm to ferment the traditional lager styles so the last of the winter brews were stored away in ice caves to lager for the summer months. Much like the seasonal and specialty brews which are common in breweries today, these final batches were brewed stronger to survive the months of storage. When fall arrived, these special kegs were tapped in celebration of the arrival of the new brewing season. The celebration became the Oktoberfest we know today.

This month I’ll be brewing 2 batches which will be stored away for the summer. The first is a Munich Helles, which will be brewed at the top of the ranges for color, specific gravity and hopping. It will be a golden lager, around 4.5-4.7% ABV and 20 IBUs. This should be similar to the beer you would find at Oktoberfest today. The second will be a more traditional style which is brewed to even higher gravity and hopping levels and includes some caramel malts as well. This one should be 5.25-5.5% ABV, 26 IBUs and the traditional amber color we get in the seasonal brews available here in bottles.

Once these these brews are kegged away for the summer I can get to work on finding some giant pretzels and an excessively large tent…

Tagged as: maerzen, märzen, oktoberfest