Marzen

Should be tasty. Maybe a bit sweet but marzens can be. Not many ibus to counter. Think it should be good though.
 
Mine is just Pilsner, dark Munich and some Carafoam, just Hallertau hops. I really use KISS for my German lagers.
 
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Should be tasty. Maybe a bit sweet but marzens can be. Not many ibus to counter. Think it should be good though.
The caramel % is small enough that I believe it will only add to the upfront sweetness and will dry out on the finish.
Time will tell!
Cheers
 
It'll be interesting to see how much roast flavor you get from the Chocolate malt. Personally, I think roast flavor detracts but if there's just the faintest hint, it may help balance an otherwise fairly sweet style.
 
I've discovered something in brewing my German lagers: It takes a lot but they come out better if I use the noble hops for bittering. The myth that bittering hops impart no flavor is exactly that, the noble hops give the beer its woody, herbal flavors. To my taste, the grain bill for that Maerzen is too complex. The biscuit and chocolate will impart flavors that don't belong there. Again, to my taste. My latest Maerzen, I used FWH only and came out with a very nice bitterness, lots of herbal-spice-wood flavors and really nice malt. We'll see next weekend what the staff at the Brew Hut thinks of it.
 
I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am getting thirsty for a good Märzen just reading your recipe! :D
Let us know how it turns out. I thinking of at some point dabbling in some bottom fermented beers and a Märzen might be a good place to start...
 
I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am getting thirsty for a good Märzen just reading your recipe! :D
Let us know how it turns out. I thinking of at some point dabbling in some bottom fermented beers and a Märzen might be a good place to start...
You can do a lot worse for a start in lagers! It's one of the more forgiving "untergaerige" styles with some wiggle room in the malt. I'm a purist when it comes to my Maerzen, modeled after Kloster Weltenberger's "Anno 1050". It consists of Pilsner (around 40%), dark Munich (around 58%) and Carafoam (the rest). Hop wise, it's all Hallertau Hersbruecker. FWH, about 25 IBU, no late hops needed (that's where the malt emphasis comes from). Long lagering really mellows it out. Result is a clean, malty brew with a long, clean, bitter hop finish, lots of woody-spicy notes from the hops. Give it a shot, I think you'll like it, but with Weltenberger just up the road, for me, it would likely be a waste of time....
 
You can do a lot worse for a start in lagers! It's one of the more forgiving "untergaerige" styles with some wiggle room in the malt. I'm a purist when it comes to my Maerzen, modeled after Kloster Weltenberger's "Anno 1050". It consists of Pilsner (around 40%), dark Munich (around 58%) and Carafoam (the rest). Hop wise, it's all Hallertau Hersbruecker. FWH, about 25 IBU, no late hops needed (that's where the malt emphasis comes from). Long lagering really mellows it out. Result is a clean, malty brew with a long, clean, bitter hop finish, lots of woody-spicy notes from the hops. Give it a shot, I think you'll like it, but with Weltenberger just up the road, for me, it would likely be a waste of time....
Nice thing is, even though I am not close, I still have some local sources for bottles of Weltenberger for comparison when it come time. :D
 
Nice thing is, even though I am not close, I still have some local sources for bottles of Weltenberger for comparison when it come time. :D
I love that beer! In fact, I owe my brewing career to Weltenberger. Wife and I were im Germany, she had a Weltenberger Barock Dunkel, asked if I could brew it and the rest is history.
 
Curious about the selection of mash temperature. 156 is on the upper end of the normal mash range. If you were down in the 150-152 range, would you get a little higher conversion? If so, this would result in a little lighter body, and maybe a little less sweet taste in the beer. Is this a normal mash temperature for a Marzen? This is not a style I make very often.
 
Curious about the selection of mash temperature. 156 is on the upper end of the normal mash range. If you were down in the 150-152 range, would you get a little higher conversion? If so, this would result in a little lighter body, and maybe a little less sweet taste in the beer. Is this a normal mash temperature for a Marzen? This is not a style I make very often.
Marzen/Octoberfest is usually a relatively less attenuated style with plenty of malt sweetness and body unlike some of the thinner, crisper lager styles. You can achieve that with plenty of conversion at lower mash temps and a yeast that attenuates in the 70-75% range or mash a little higher to accomodate a more common lager yeast with attenuation of 80%+.
 

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