If you’re drinking Maibock, it’s time to brew your Marzen!
Ales are great in that you can turn them around quite quickly if you’re trying to brew one for a certain time of the year. I’ve cranked out a Hefe in 2.5 weeks and even a higher ABV stout in 3 weeks. However, lagers don’t have that flexibility, unless you have found a Kveik yeast that you feel produces a solid lager (I’m not there yet).
Since I’m more old school on my lager fermentations, I need to be a bit more diligent thinking about my brewing schedule. I have not started 2022 out on the right foot – instead of Maibock on tap, I have Munich Dunkel. It’s really good, but it is not the 80+ degree thirst quencher I’ve been seeking after cutting the grass or tilling the garden. I would need to start about now to make a Munich Helles or an American lager for that to be ready in July, so I’m already behind on that.
However, I have not missed the spot to brew my Marzen for Oktoberfest season at the end of August! If folks remember, in March 2021 we had a Zoom session with Ron Smith from FBI (Foam Blowers of Indiana) who has deep knowledge on German and Belgian beers. He talked about the Marzen and Festbier styles (“Oktoberfest” beers fall into one or the other from a BJCP perspective), and I wanted to revisit some of those key learnings for folks that are interested in making one for the end of summer.
Whether you are aiming at a golden Festbier or an amber Marzen, there are some common characteristics. Shoot for 6% ABV, so slightly stronger than a session beer. It’s really important that the wort is highly fermentable – you want the final gravity (FG) to be around 1.010 so that the beer is not filling. These are festival beers intended to be consumed in quantity. A big portion of fresh Pilsner malt and a step mash starting at 144F for 30-40 minutes will help you get there. Decoctions will develop extra malt complexity, but you can use a sparing amount of melanoidin malt if you don’t have the time for decoction mashing. Use German noble hops (Hallertau Mittelfruh, Saaz, Spalt, Tettnanger, etc.) for either style.
Speaking about Festbier specifically, a simple description is – it’s a stronger Munich Helles. If you’ve had Hofbrau Original, that’s a Helles. Festbier is now the official beer of Oktoberfest in Germany, and it is golden in color. You don’t need to get too complicated on the grains – 90%+ Pilsner malt with a little Vienna and/or Munich and maybe a touch of CaraHell. Decoction is not crucial here, so you can probably skip that.
Marzen is an amber lager which is closest to the American version of what is touted as Oktoberfest. Sam Adams is the most popular US option, though I find it a little sweeter and filling than it needs to be. The grain bill for a Marzen is where many folks struggle because Munich, Vienna and Pilsner are all in play, but what’s the right mix? And what about CaraMunich? If you haven’t brewed it before, start out with the same amount of M/V/P – a five gallon batch may require about 3-4 lbs of each. If you want to push towards a more malt forward beer, increase M/V while reducing P. My last effort was 45% Munich, 33% Vienna and about 15% Pilsner with the remainder being Aromatic which is a 20L Munich variety. If you feel compelled to use CaraMunich, a little goes a long way – 8oz per 5 gallon batch is a good starting point. Melanoidin in place of a decoction around 4oz is a good starting spot.
I love these beer styles, so if you ever want to chat about brewing one, please reach out! Prost!
