Oktoberfest day

Sunday is brew day. I get to pitch that wonderful yeast that I've been culturing up into a full 5.5 gallons of wort. Here's the lowdown on the Oktoberfest:

10lbs Wyermann Vienna malt
.5 lbs Weyermann Melanoidin malt

Mash in at 122˚F for 20 minutes, 1qt:1lb liquor to grist ratio. Add in enough boiling water to rest at 152˚ for one hour. Sparge and collect 7.25 gallons. Boil down to 5.75 gallons, OG 1.054. Hops:

.75oz Polish Marynka pellets for duration of boil
.5oz Hallertau with 20 minutes remaining in boil

Add whilrfloc tab at 15 minutes remaining, 1/2tsp rehydrated yeast nutrient with 10 minutes remaining. Cool down to 50˚, O2 for two minutes, pitch lager yeast slurry.

As we brew, I dipped into the Maine stash again. Tried:

Andrew's English Pale Ale: Copper with a huge, rocky off white head. Soapy, perfumey, almost "Belgian" aroma. Pretty significant hop aroma, citrusy, earthy. Not much malt aroma. Flavor was hop balanced again, carbonation high. Medium-high bitterness. Interesting beer. I'd like to try it directly from the source and have the opportunity to ask the brewer what's going on here. The estery, yeasty aromas up front are confusing, but overall it's a pretty drinkable beer. Also love that the label slipped right off, making it easy for me to put the bottle into my homebrew stash.