Traditional German beer in 4 weeks?

[maltbarley]

So I was tasked with brewing an Oktoberfest beer to be ready for the 9th. I know a Marzen or Vienna is out and I don't feel like a Hef so I'm thinking about an Alt or Kolsch. Any comments on what has been your fastest maturing German beer?

[backyard brewer]

You might try an Oktoberfest recipe fermented with US56 (or 05, i cant ever remember the current number) and ferment on the colder side of the range. Robert brewed a 'fest ale' and took a 1st with it entered as an Oktoberfest. Figure 1 week primary and 3 weeks cold conditioning, maybe fine it with gelatin and I think you'd have a pretty dang good beer.

[brahn]

I've got a (IMO) really good Alt recipe in the Recipe DB. However, I had it in cold storage at BB's place for a month before we drank it. Would it be as good without that time? I'm not sure... I don't know if 1 week primary would be quite enough, but 2 weeks in primary and 2 in cold conditioning might be sufficient.

[BrewMasterBrad]

Try making an O-fest with WLP001. Just ferment around 62F. Should be great and no one will know the difference.

[dhempy]

FWIW I've had relatively good Kolsch brews ready in 4-5 weeks. But they do seem just a bit better at 6-8 weeks. I typically ferment them in the low range (60-62) using the Wyeast 2565 strain ... if ferments a bit colder than the White Labs and then let them sit at the lowest end of the range for 10-14 days, crash to 34 and let 'em sit in the bright tank.

Dan

[maltbarley]

Thanks for the input. I ended up brewing a Marzen today and the WLP001 is growing on the stirplate to be pitched tomorrow. My efficiency was pretty sucky because the weevils really liked the Vienna I had on hand. I mashed at 152 (as opposed to the 154 I normally do on this recipe) so I hope it comes out OK in the end. The real test will be the half-hearted beer drinkers on the 9th.