Oktoberfest Homebrew - Satchel Kits Review
We started our homebrewing process years ago with a kit, and since then we have evolved to developing our own recipes. But there really is nothing like opening a kit, having everything labeled in place, and following the instructions front to back for a great final product.
Having used and enjoyed Satchel Kits’ products before, we decided to give their Oktoberfest all-grain kit a try. It comes with malt, hops, yeast, two sanitizer packets, priming sugar, Irish moss, and a muslin bag. If you’re just getting into brewing, Satchel is a good place to start. Their kits come with everything you need so you’re not scrambling on your first brew day for something that might not be easy to attain in your hometown.
Here’s a list of the process and the ingredients we got in the kit.
Process and Ingredients:
Mash (60 min.):
Mix of malted barley weighing 2 lb. 4oz. (36 oz.).
Mash in 1 gallon of water at 150℉ for 60 min.
We then sparged with 3 quarts of 170℉ water.
Boil (60 min.):
Add 0.25 oz. Tettnanger hops at the start of the boil (60 min).
Add 0.25 oz. Saaz hops with 15 minutes remaining.
Add Irish Moss (clarifying agent) with 15 minutes remaining.
I contacted Satchel Kits and they said that they use US-05 ale yeast, so it does veer from the traditional lager-style of Oktoberfest beers, but this is the way that many craft breweries in America imitate this beer today. They sent us approximately 3 grams of yeast and we preactivated it in 30 ml of water (heated to 95℉) for thirty minutes.
We cooled our wort, added the yeast, and waited two weeks before we added our priming sugar (0.88 oz. corn sugar boiled in one cup water for five minutes). We bottled it, then let it sit for another two weeks.
Brewing Note: Try cold crashing your beer. This is the process of cooling the beer in the fermenter to just above freezing temperature for 24 hours before bottling. This is not a necessary part, but it does drop the yeast from suspension so that less is picked up during bottling. It is worth saying that this practice can also cause chill haze (when the proteins huddle together) which is something you may not want, but we do it.
After those long, patient two weeks, we refrigerated our beer, and here are our first impressions.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Golden color, slightly hazy (likely from chill haze), and topped with a cream-colored head.
On the Nose--Malt forward, as expected, with some great bready character. It is rather crisp, and I think that comes from the choice of hops, which add spice and herb character. It smells light and approachable, so let’s see how it tastes.
On the Palate--The bread character comes through the strongest. It is apparent that this is an ale, which is worth noting because most Marzen-style beers are brewed with lager yeast, adding little in terms of flavor, but this has a clear ale taste. The hops are herbal and spicy, which is nice, and that adds to the crispness. It has a medium-body and great effervescence, helping the hop aroma come through. In my opinion, it lacks a bit of that caramel/toffee/roasted flavor typically seen in the Marzen-style, though I like mine pretty sweet, so it might be more to the taste of others, being that it does have more caramel character than the typical lager.
Verdict:
We love the ease of use with Satchel Kits, especially when considering how stressful brewing can be the first few times. These kits are great for beginners or for trying a new style, as we did with this Oktoberfest beer. Everything is nicely packaged and labeled with when to use in the process. This makes brew day less stressful and more fun. Overall, the most important thing is the beer, and we always make a good one when we order from Satchel Kits. And for that, we are grateful.
Prost!
Mr. Brew
P.s. Check out our favorite food pairing of the month: Pepper Jack and bratwurst broiled on top of our spent grain pretzel. Check out the recipe for the pretzel linked below and see the note about using your own spent grains to make that pretzel pop with a nutty sweetness!