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(M)Oktoberfest – Brewing an Oktoberfest Ale with Wyeast 1007

Traditional Oktoberfest beers are lagers. But there’s no reason you can’t take an Oktoberfest recipe and use Ale yeast. Which is exactly what I’ve done here. It was my first experience with Wyeast German Ale yeast. A yeast I will definitely use again. This was also the very fist beer that I kegged.


As you’ll see in the video I cam out with a side project IPA using the extra wort and .75# of DME. It turned out great. Much better than I expected.

I hope this encourages you to not dump your extra wort. You can still make a great beer out of it with some help.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5.5 gal 60 min 24.8 IBUs 11.6 SRM 1.057 1.013 5.8 %
Actuals 1.06 1.01 6.6 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Munich Malt 5.5 lbs 45.83
Pale Malt, Maris Otter 5.5 lbs 45.83
Crystal Malt I 1 lbs 8.33

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 1.5 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 4.3

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Baking Soda 1.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Yeast Nutrient 5.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
German Ale (1007) Wyeast Labs 75% 55°F - 66°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 75 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

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Music By:
Kevin MacLeod
No Spam Polka
https://incompetech.com/

Double IPA Brew Day with With Citra, Simcoe, Ekuanot, Centennial and WLP095

This time out I brew up a double IPA using a new recipe. I chose Citra, Simcoe and Ekuanot hops because they seemed to be the most common hops used in many of the big IPA’s I sampled earlier in the summer. I added in Centennial because I had it on hand and it’s one of my favorites.


I once again had priming and carbonation issues. This was the last piece of the puzzle that pushed me in to kegging. I’m very frustrated with putting in all of the hard work it takes to make a great beer. Only to be let down by priming and carbonation issues.

There is one more beer in the pipeline that went in to bottles. Then it’s kegging from here on out.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 75 min 135.5 IBUs 7.6 SRM 1.084 1.010 10.0 %
Actuals 1.072 1.01 8.3 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel 13 lbs 76.47
Victory Malt 1 lbs 5.88
Wheat Malt, Bel 1 lbs 5.88
Corn Sugar (Dextrose) 2 lbs 11.76

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
HopShot 0.35 oz 75 min Boil CO2Extract 65
Centennial 1 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 10
Citra 1 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 12
Equinox (HBC 366) 1 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 15
Simcoe 1 oz 5 min Boil Pellet 13
Centennial 1 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 10
Citra 1 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 12
Equinox (HBC 366) 1 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 15
Simcoe 1 oz 30 min Aroma Pellet 13
Citra 1 oz 10 days Dry Hop Pellet 12
Equinox (HBC 366) 1 oz 10 days Dry Hop Pellet 15
Simcoe 1 oz 10 days Dry Hop Pellet 13
Citra 1 oz 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 12
Equinox (HBC 366) 1 oz 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 15
Simcoe 1 oz 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 13

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
California Ale (WLP001) White Labs 77% 68°F - 73°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 150°F 75 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

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Music By:
Silent Partner
Sleepy Jake
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=silent+Partner

Brewing a Belgian Wit (V. 2.5) with WLP500

I have been on a quest to clone Hoegaarden for more than a year. It’s my favorite Summer beer and one that I would really like to make my house beer. The one that I always have on hand. My first attempt was a tasteless extract version that missed the mark. Version 2.0 came about a month later when I made my first attempt at a partial mash version. By the time I brewed this version (2.5) partial mashing was gone and it was all grain.


Changing to all grain doesn’t mean you can’t still make mistakes. Too much coriander. Yeast that is too old. Not using enough orange zest. All contributed to an end product that is no where close to tasting like Hoegaarden.

Since this brew, I have upgraded to creating starters for all brew days. Version 3 of this beer is coming. I’ll be changing out the flaked wheat for German wheat and adding some acid malt. 4 Oz. of orange zest instead of 2. Hopefully that creates a well rounded beer.

Till that brew is ready, here is the recipe I used for version 2.5. The download link is at the bottom.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5.5 gal 90 min 44.6 IBUs 3.1 SRM 1.046 1.008 4.9 %
Actuals 1.047 1.01 4.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner (2 Row) UK 4.5 lbs 45
Wheat, Flaked 4 lbs 40
Oats, Flaked 1 lbs 10
Munich Malt 8 oz 5

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 1 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 4
Sterling 1 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 7.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Orange Zest 2.00 oz 10 min Boil Flavor
Chamomile Tea Bags 3.00 Items 10 min Boil Other
Coriander Seed 1.00 oz 10 min Boil Spice

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Trappist Ale (WLP500) White Labs 78% 65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 150°F 90 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Download

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Music By:
Nicolai Heidlas
Real Ride
https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas

Brewing a Belgian Dubbel with WLP611 – New Nordic Yeast Blend

I first heard about the White Labs Yeast Vault back in September of 2017 from the Brew Dudes. At that time I ordered several different yeast strains, including WLP611. The first strain I received was WLP066 which I used in the Sherman’s Planet IPA recipe.

WLP611 as described by White Labs

Isolated from spontaneously fermented apples on a remote island off the coast of Denmark in the fall of 2009, this culture is a unique blend of three yeast strains (two belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and one Torulaspora delbrueckii).

My original thought on a brew for this yeast was to brew a traditional Finnish Farmhouse Ale. It is unbelievably hard to find juniper branches. A main ingredient in the boil for a Finnish Sahti/Farmhouse Ale. At least I couldn’t ind them any where around central Pennsylvania in April. I settled on a Belgian Dubbel. I had been wanting to brew with Belgian candy syrup for a while. And I felt the style would lend itself to the originating nature of the yeast.


The recipe below references WLP500, Monastery/Trappist Ale yeast.  I picked that up when I purchased the grain. I was not sure the delivery from White labs was going to arrive in time.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5 gal 60 min 21.0 IBUs 24.6 SRM 1.074 1.010 8.4 %
Actuals 1.073 1.013 7.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pale Malt, Maris Otter 5 lbs 35.4
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 4 lbs 28.32
Munich Malt - 10L 1 lbs 7.08
Victory Malt 1 lbs 7.08
Wheat Malt, Bel 1 lbs 7.08
Cara-Pils/Dextrine 8 oz 3.54
Special B Malt 8 oz 3.54
Black (Patent) Malt 2 oz 0.88
Candi Sugar, Dark 1 lbs 7.08

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 1 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 4.4
Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 0.5 oz 20 min Boil Pellet 4.4

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Trappist Ale (WLP500) White Labs 78% 65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 150°F 75 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Notes

Originally From: https://beerandbrewing.com/make-your-best-belgian-dubbel/

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Music By:
Scott Buckley
Homeward
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/

Bringing all of the Hops to the table – Oldtown Standard IPA Brew Day

Purchasing hops in bulk is the only way to go. It’s cheaper in the long run. It come with one downside. You end up with more hops than you can use in the recipe you purchased them for. You can vacuum seal them and store them in the freezer. They don’t’ last forever. The only option is to brew up a big IPA.


I came up with this recipe after looking at several of my older ones. Knowing I wanted something lighter in color I used the Blizzard of Hops recipe as a start.. That gave me pilsner as a base. I liked the Munich from the Zombie Dirt recipe. Having not used Vienna, I wanted to get some of that in there. An IPA needs some crystal malt. I settled on crystal 40. A little research gave me the correct amounts.

The Hop profile is based mostly on the Blizzard of Hops recipe with influence from the Sherman’s Planet recipe.

I picked Burlington Ale Yeast (WLP095) because it was available at my LHBS. Though I would have selected  WLP001 if I had not seen anything else I liked.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 71.9 IBUs 6.4 SRM 1.060 1.017 5.7 %
Actuals 1.059 1.01 6.4 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner - US 11 lbs 78.57
Vienna - US 1.5 lbs 10.71
Crystal 40L - CA 12 oz 5.36
Munich Light - DE 12 oz 5.36

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Idaho Seven 1 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 11
HopShot 0 oz 60 min Boil CO2Extract 8
Chinook 1 oz 20 min Boil Leaf 13
Centennial 1 oz 10 min Boil Pellet 10.5
Centennial 1 oz 0 min Aroma Pellet 10.5
Chinook 1 oz 0 min Aroma Leaf 13
Idaho Seven 0.5 oz 0 min Aroma Pellet 11
Centennial 2 oz 5 days Dry Hop Pellet 10.5
Chinook 2 oz 5 days Dry Hop Leaf 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 1.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.00 tsp 60 min Boil Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.20 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 5.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
White Labs California Ale WLP001 70% 64°F - 69°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 10 days 65°F
Secondary 10 days 65°F
Aging 7 days 65°F

Download

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Music:
Concerning Hobbits
Scott Buckley
http://www.scottbuckley.com.au/