This is the third time I have made an all-grain Oktoberfest with the same recipe. The first two times it was fantastic, smooth and deliciously malty in a balanced way. I just transferred it off the yeast where it has been on primary for the past month to start a 3-month long lagering period. I am a bit of a Marszen traditionalist.
As I always do, I tasted it after transferring it and found it to be -- kind of bland. This has never happened before.
I have strict temp control and used about 4 oz of melanoidin malt in the mash which has always worked out well in the past. It spent about 10 days at 53 F, then I raised it to 60 F slowly over a week, then did a diacetyl rest at 68 F for 3 days, then finally brought it down to 34 F to cold crash it - another week - before transferring it to the keg for lagering. The OG was 1.061 and it finished at 1.008. No off flavors at all -- just not that tasty. Bland.
OK - there was just one difference in the recipe. In the past I used Wyeast Oktoberfest yeast but my home brew store is going out of business and all they had in stock was Wyeast Bohemian which they recommended for Oktoberfests. I substituted for this.
I do not see this developing more flavor over the next 3 months as it lagers -- that process generally rounds out the flavors, it doesn't make it stronger.
So what to do if anything?
As I always do, I tasted it after transferring it and found it to be -- kind of bland. This has never happened before.
I have strict temp control and used about 4 oz of melanoidin malt in the mash which has always worked out well in the past. It spent about 10 days at 53 F, then I raised it to 60 F slowly over a week, then did a diacetyl rest at 68 F for 3 days, then finally brought it down to 34 F to cold crash it - another week - before transferring it to the keg for lagering. The OG was 1.061 and it finished at 1.008. No off flavors at all -- just not that tasty. Bland.
OK - there was just one difference in the recipe. In the past I used Wyeast Oktoberfest yeast but my home brew store is going out of business and all they had in stock was Wyeast Bohemian which they recommended for Oktoberfests. I substituted for this.
I do not see this developing more flavor over the next 3 months as it lagers -- that process generally rounds out the flavors, it doesn't make it stronger.
So what to do if anything?