Brew Day: Oktoberfest

I used some birthday money to buy a Johnson controller for my keg and since it was empty and I had room to fit a fermenting bucket I decided to try my hand at a lager.  I have always wanted to brew a true Oktoberfest since I started brewing but never had all the equipment that I need.  Being a lager it needs to ferment at around 50 degrees and then be stored close to freezing to "lager" for at least 4 weeks.  I also have learned how picky lager yeast can be.  They need lots of Oxygen in addition to a much larger volume of yeast to ferment the same 5 gallons.


Since this was my first lager I decided to keep the actual boil easy and just use extract instead of all grain. 

 Here I am steeping the grains for 30 minutes.

 And finally here is the wort boiling. 

 

Finally on 9/10 after 5 weeks of lagering, the Oktoberfest is finished!