Well I am going to do some fine tuning and i I am in town this saturday I will be brewing it. Is there a way to test the hops for the alpha %? I really don't want to over hop this one but on the other hand I do want a little hop flavor. If there isn't a way to test maybe I will just buy new hops for this batch.

Thanks
John

The spalt selects should be close to 1.5% still. That is pretty low too so it will be more flavor & aroma & not bitter much.
I think if they were a little lower the amount wouldnt make a much difference.

Hey John,

Normally when you purchase hops, they'll be packed in an oxygen barrier bag, with the alpha % rating written on them.

If I understand correctly, you purchased these hops from Jeepguy...they are the Spalt Select, no?

Looking at his website (also, I purchased 5 oz. of these hops from jeepguy a few months ago), the alpha rating is 1.5%.
http://flatfenderbrewing.com/hops.html - Link:

If you didn't purchase these hops from jeepguy, then you could call the place where you purchased these hops and inquire with them as to the alpha %.

As for testing for alphas....you certainly CAN send your hops to a lab to test them, but the cost is way higher than cost of simply purchasing new hops. It's far better to purchase your hops with this in mind. I usually have a coupla ounces of higher alpha hops around for bittering, and a coupla ounces of low alpha, noble hops around for flavor and aroma.

Cheers
Dave

Yes these are the hops that I got from him. I was just curious about being able to retest them after a while to see what they actually are. If not that's cool. Just one of those useless knowledge questions lol. I am gonna work on the recipe a bit tonight and I will post it and see what it looks like.

Thanks

John

Seeing as how you know the starting alpha (1.5%), you can use Beersmith's Hops Age calculator to figure out how much alpha loss your hops may have experienced, during the time that you've had them.

Cheers
Dave

Ok, so I have grown up around too many women lol. I think I have changed this recipe 12 times so far. Part of the problem is coming up with ingredients that my LHBS has. There is a new store near by me that I am going to go look at today but their website is a little weird. I put in grains and it is listing grains and hops and everything else. I am going to check them out though. I am going to brew tonight so the race is on for the recipe. So far I have decided that I am going to have to use DME to get the gravity I am looking for. Now I am just going through recipes on line looking at what grains were used and trying to figure out what they would taste like. I am thinking of using crystal for the color. Also thinking of some smoked malt and munich malt. Maybe just a half a pound of the smoked but I am not sure how much really I would need. I don't want it way too smokey but it does need a little. Anyway, here is what I have come up with so far using beer smith. I would like to get the gravity up just a little more but I think this is about good. Can anyone see anything that is missing or that would be a nice addition?

Prost

John


No lager Octoberfest
Oktoberfest/Marzen


Type: Extract
Date: 9/27/2008
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Heavenlyfire Homebrew
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 59.09 %
2.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 18.18 %
2.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 18.18 %
0.50 lb Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
1.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 17.9 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
1 Pkgs German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.09 %
Bitterness: 20.8 IBU
Est Color: 11.2 SRM Color: Color



Steep grains as desired (30 minutes)

Ok, went to a new homebrew store tonight (new to me). I think I really like them. There was a younger guy helping me and he really tried to teach me a few things that I am going to try to remember. It is The Homebrew Depot on S. Alma School for you guys in AZ here. Anyway, he helped me out with the grain bill a little and taught me why we needed to change a couple things. Fementable sugars and all that stuff that I knew nothing about lol. Also he did no have the Tett hops so we went with hallertauer instead. The alpha is a tad higher but that should be ok. Time to brew, be back soon with an update.

Prost

John

So, what recipe did you end up going with? Personally, I would have left off the smoked malt. I can't really imagine drinking a "smokey Oktoberfest", but hey, it might be good.

Good luck with the brew, and keep us posted.

Cheers
Dave

That is exactly what we did, took them out. Also we cut down the crystal 10 to 10oz and added 6oz of crystal 60. So we basically did 2lbs munich and 1lb crystal. I am at the boil now and just added my first batch of hops and it really is smelling good. The color so far is almost perfect.

Prost

John

Woohoo!!! (i think lol). Well it is in the primary. The FG was 1.056, just about where I was shooting for. The flavor was real good but kinda hard to tell with it not cold and after 5 Sam Adams Oct. Fests lol. Really though, it had a great flavor to it. Just a little sweetness and not real hoppy. The color was right on the mark as well. It may not be an Octoberfest but I am exited. Can't wait till it is ready. Here is the final recipe, or as close as beer smith can get with the weights.

Prost

John


No lager Octoberfest
Oktoberfest/Marzen


Type: Extract
Date: 9/27/2008
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Brewer: Heavenlyfire Homebrew
Boil Size: 3.25 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.50 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 68.42 %
2.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 21.05 %
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 7.89 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2.63 %
1.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.3 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
1 Pkgs German Ale/Kolsch (White Labs #WLP029) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.056 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.93 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.65 %
Bitterness: 21.3 IBU
Calories: 245 cal/pint
Est Color: 11.0 SRM

What was the alpha of those hallertauer?

I'm glad you're digging your brew. Looks like an oktoberfest to me! Hope it turns out well!


Cheers
Dave

I thought I changed that in there, must have been one too many Sams lol. They were 4.8% so like I said, not really enough to change it a whole lot.

Well I was getting a little worried about the yeast, no activity for 2 days. Got home tonight and went to look. WOOHOO, we got bubbles lol. so far so good.

Just thought I'd chime in here... I'm brewing an Oktoberfest tonight as well! I brewed it two weeks ago, but see "Tragedy" on "Random Roundtable Chit Chat". Although it's to little-to late, I used home-toasted malt to give it a "toasty" flavor, which I think might have been what Heavenlyfire was going for with the smoked malt idea. In four or five weeks, we should both be drinking some excellent Oktoberfest. Cheers!

You might be right about the toasted. I did read your tragedy and shed a tear for ya. I hate it when things go way wrong. Glad to here you are doing another. Maybe next week I will try a new one with some toasted malt in it.