Zeltzeit (Version 2)
German Festbier
Brewed August 8, 2026
The second coming of the crisp lager brewed in the traditional style of Oktoberfest. Ostentatious version of a classic. Prost!
Ingredients
Malts
11 lbs German Pilsner Malt
2 lbs Vienna Malt
4 oz Victory Malt
Hops
3 oz Tettnang hops (4.2% AA)
Yeast
1 package Imperial Labs Harvest Yeast (L17)
Other
15 drops FermCap
2 tbsp BSG Fermax Yeast Nutrient
1 tablet Whilfloc
1 Campden Tablet (water additive)
Brewing Instructions
1. Add 6 gallons of water to the kettle and add 1 Campden Tablet
2. Heat 6 gallons of strike water to 159°F
3. Add 6 gallons of water to the mash tun
4. Add all grains to the mash tun and confirm mash temperature of 151°F
5. Steep grains for 60 minutes
6. While steeping grains, add 4 gallons of water to the kettle and add 1 Campden Tablet
7. Heat 4 gallons of water for lautering to 170 °F
8. Fly spage until wort volume of 7.4 gallons is reached
9. Begin boil and wait for hot break
10. At 0 minutes, add 15 drops of FermCap to reduce foaming
11. At 0 minutes, add 1 oz Tettnang hops
12. At 50 minutes, add 1 tablet Whirlfloc
13. At 50 minutes, add 2 tbsp of yeast nutrient
14. At 50 minutes, add 2 oz Tettnang hops
15. At 60 minutes, chill the wort to 68°F
16. Shake fermenter to aerate wort
17. Move wort to primary fermenter
18. Pitch yeast
19. Ferment at 52°F for 7 days
20. Ferment at 65°F for 4 days
21. Ferment at 52°F for 4 days
22. Lower temp by -4°F daily to reach 34°F over 7 days
23. Condition at 34°F for 14 days
24. Move to keg and carbonate
Starter & Notes
Add 3L of water to Ehrlenmeyer Flask
Add 8 oz Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
Begin boil
Add 2 drops FermCap to reduce foaming as needed
At 10 minutes, chill wort to 72°F
Add stir bar to wort
Pitch yeast
Place on stir plate
Allow yeast to multiply for 48 hours
Chill to 36°F for 24 hours
Brewer's Notes
Second Time Around
I liked it the first time and will do it again!