Oktoberfest Lager Kit

I have brewed this kit twice. I followed the directions and both times my results were excellent. My buddies and I had a little Oktoberfest of our own. :)

This was my first brew outside of trying Mr Beer kits. So, obviously it was also my first true lager. It's winter so I took advantage of the weather and gave it a try. I fermented in my garage at 45°, then lagered in the garage with the carboy in a ice bath. I followed the direction to a T. This past weekend marks 2 weeks since I bottled and I had to give it a try. It says carbonation can take longer, and it appears it will. The cap pops with a nice sound, but the beer pours without any head no noticeable carbonation. The taste is sweeter than expected and has a slight bitter aftertaste. My final gravity never reached what it was supposed to be. It was supposed to reach 1.014 and it stayed constant at 1.020 for a week, so gave up and bottled. That may be cause for the sweetness? The first swallow wasn't completely satisfying, semi disappointed. After half a glass, I was starting to like it and even followed up with another bottle even though I don't think it is ready. The rest of the bottles are resting \ carbonating at room temp and I will try another one this weekend. I am expecting to have a very decent beer when it finishes. Either way, it is better than any Mr beer kit I made.

Great beer after conditioning for a month and keeps getting better with age.

First homebrew kit I ever did. Seasoned neighbor and his veteran brother-in-law walked me through all the steps. Kegged it and waited 3-months. First tasting: Very-Very Good. It then sat in my cool basement for a year. Asked my neighbor if it was possible that the beer was still good. "Only one way to find out," he said. Iced it down, tapped the keg, poured ourselves tall ones and toasted to our health. When the glasses came down...we both had big grins and my neighbor said, "Damn, better now than ever!!!" He immediately bought the same kit.

My recommendations: Buy two kits. They beer only gets better with time.

Tasting background: I've lived in Germany for extended periods of time...all my relatives are from Bavaria (Murnau, Starnberg, Munchen) and this beer brings back all those happy memories with friends and family. Closest you can get to Germany without buying a plane ticket...is what I always say to my friends about this beer.

Enjoy

This is the best kit Midwest sells! My friends love it! I love it! It is a tradition. I brew it in early June and by October it is time to party!

This was only my second home brew and i'm sure i still have some things to learn. Having said that, I am very pleased with this beer. I would recommend it and will make it again.

This was my first attempt to brew. I followed the directions and kept the secondary carboy in my basement on the floor for 2 1/2 months. I followed the bottling directions and bottled. I waited 3 weeks after bottling and tried one. When I opened it, I heard a small release of CO2. When I poured it, it was flat. I'm not the wasteful sort so I drank it anyway. It was excellent. I was hoping that maybe I had a bad cap. I opened a second with the same results. Excellent flavor, but flat. I looked at the forums and saw that my most likely issue was insufficient time for carbonation. I rocked the bottles to get the yeast off the bottom and moved them back up into the warm part of the house. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, I'll have the beer I've been working on since January.

This was my first lager, so I was very reluctant to pat myself on the back (even though I enjoyed the final product very much). I took a few bottles to my brew club and asked them for feedback. Everyone heaped praise on it with several stating that this kit had trumped the Sam Addam's Octoberfest.

Lagering without a lagering fridge is not fun, but the product made it worth it. This is a good kit.

Not much else to say. WOW!!! First lager style OG--81, FG --10!!!

Gave it 2 rest cycles, conditioned in the keg for 3 weeks, hit it with CO2 and the rest is history. I opted to NOT filter this batch, but I will try that next time. As is, it's very clear, VERY smooth and has a ton of kick to it.

I'll say it again...WOW!

1st off, midwest puts together GREAT kits!

Having said that, this varies a little from what I reference as an oktoberfest.

My experience was that same as Rabit's. Could only coax 1.020 out of it so the beer is quite sweet. Also, a fairly pronounced spiciness (like pepper). Terrific mouth feel. This feel like a big beer. Lots of roasted and carmel flavors. A little hoppier than I like my oktoberfest to be.