All Grain Mr. Beer Octoberfest with Wyeast 2112

This is part 3 of 3 in my all grain Mr. Beer Series.   If you have a Mr. Beer, LBK, you have the perfect fermentation vessel for small batch brewing. Many of you haven't really delved into all grain brewing yet.   You probably think:

1. It's too complicated - not true
2. The equipment is too expensive - not true
3. It takes too long - how can something that is so much fun take too much time?
4. You have to be a complete beer nerd to do all grain brewing... No, no you don't.  But what's wrong with being a complete beer nerd?

The truth:  If you have the equipment you need for an extract batch of beer, and you have an LBK,  you can make all grain beer on your stove top.

sadly, the fraulein doesn't come
with the beer.

On Sunday,  I will be brewing 2 batches of beer in my kitchen, while I watch football and eat too many corn chips.   I will brew an Oktoberfest all grain for the LBK, and I will be brewing a partial mash belgian dark strong ale, a quad with WLP 530, yummy!

I'm really not kidding about
aerating Steam Yeast!

My Oktoberfest is a lager fermented at ale temperatures with Wyeast 2112.  Before I get ridiculous comments about 2112 not being a real lager.  White Labs assures me that their version of  2112, which is called San Francisco Lager 805 is in fact a strain of Saccharomyces Pastorianus.  In other words, it's a lager.  A lager yeast that ferments at ale temperatures.  Home brewer's have even won NHC awards in standard lagers with 2112.

But, There is a trick when you use 2112 (or WLP San Francisco) to make it come out clean and crisp.   You have to aerate the heck out of it.   If you are an extract brewer and you don't have aeration equipment, you'll need to shake the ever living bejezus out of this one, for like 10 minutes or more. But don't shake it in the LBk, unless you put a piece of saran wrap under the lid.  The beer will come out of the LBK vents if you don't.  But guys, come on... an aquarium pump with a hepa filter is like $9.00 at walmart. A stainless aeration stone is less than $10.00 and you don't have to have one.  You can just plug the end of your tube and use a hot needle to make a bunch of tiny holes.

Here's the recipe for the Octoberfest.

2.25 Gallons

2.5 # Pilsner Malt  (Cargil,  if you've never tried their malts,  you should)

.6 # Vienna

.6 # Munich

.4 # Melanoid

.4 # CaraMunich

.2 # Abbey Malt

Mash at 154,  Mash out.  I do these batches BIAB stove top.  

1 oz of Tettnanger at 60 Minutes

.25 oz of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh at 10 Minutes

Whirlfloc tablet

Wyeast Nutrient

Wyeast 2112 California Lager Yeast.   

That's it.  Easy peasy   I should have brewed this in late July or early August... But it will still be ready by Halloween.    It's a great beer.   Ill probably make another 2112 lager based beer on the yeast cake of this one.   Maybe a bock, or a 5 gallon Champagne Lager... always delicious.

Ill post the brew day.

Prost!