Can anyone point me in the direction of a full step by step tutorial that's more advanced than say Mr. Beer but not extremely complicated?

Would really like to brew an oktoberfest. I've brewed about 2 batches before and both came out ok, but were quite sweet due to what I think is a misunderstanding about proper temperatures/etc.

Thanks!

http://howtobrew.com
Offers the best brewing how to on the web to me.  Start with steeping, then move to a mini mash, then an all grain batch sparge.  All grain batch sparge is really easy and makes a superior product to extract.

Lagers, like an oktoberfest, are probably going to be harder to do unless you have a dedicated fridge and temperature controller.  Stick with ales starting out and you'll get better results.

http://howtobrew.com/

Section 1 should take of your needs.

Good forum here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/

This

Home brew talk is a goldmine for any info you might have.

I did one a while back with pictures. Search in the archives for me and it should turn up.

HBT is the Arfcom of homebrewers.  
although they are not alway s nice to the forum noobs, but you should be allright if you search first.


If the OP does not have a local home brew store.  I suggest www.northernbrewer.com  
You can get starter kits for fairly reasonable, as well as extract kits and partial mash kits.

"The Joy of Homebrewing" is a good start. And you can build a setup to do all grain brewing with a 40 quart cooler, some copper tubing and a dremel. Cut slots in the tubing and run it in a grid on the bottom of the cooler (slots facing down) and it makes a fantastic mash tun. A 40 quart cooler is large enough to make 10 gallon batches. And once you realize how easy it is to brew from all grain, you'll never go back to extract kits again. You have much better control over your beer and can adjust recipies to your taste.

10 gallons, all grain Kolschy
14lbs 2 row
1lb wheat
2lbs carapils
an ounce and a half of Hallertau hops (whole hops preferably, but pellets will do)
White Labs WLP099 Kolsch yeast (make a starter the night before-2 cups of light dry malt extract with 1/2 gallon of water. boil malt to dissolve, cool to room temp, then pitch the yeast vial)

Mash at 144* for an hour, sparge with water at 168 to collect 13 gallons of wort.

At the start of the boil, add 1/3 of your hops, then at 40 minutes, add another 1/3, and add the final third at flame out.

Whirlpool the wort (don't splash it, you don't want to chance hot side aeration) to settle the break and trub in a cone at the bottom of the kettle.

Drop wort through a counterflow chiller (if you don't have one, you can buy or make one, but it's the fastest way to cool hot wort so you can pitch yeast) into your primary fermentor. I always used plastic for primaries because I've seen the aftermath of a clogged airlock on a carboy used as a primary-think giant, razor sharp shards of glass buried in the walls and ceiling. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the mess was spectacular.

Pitch your yeast and use a sanitized paint mixer and cordless drill to aerate. Wort should be about 70-75* when you pitch your yeast. Ferment at 70* for 7 days in the primary, then rack to a secondary, and back to 70* for another week. After fermentation is pretty well done (you should start at an OG of about 1.045 or so and finish at .090 or so), I always racked to a tertiary clearing tank and slowly dropped the temp down to 45* over the course of 10 days or so. Helps the yeast floc out and reduces a bit of cold haze.

Keg carbonate, and when the beer is carbonated, drink up. A Kolsch style ale is a very clean beer, not as dry as a lager, and it retains some of of the characteristic aromas and flavors of ales. It's just about the perfect summer beer. Because the style is so delicately flavored, flaws in your technique will be quite easy to identify-take notes and correct as needed.

I have other recipies, but they're packed away somewhere.

Above all else, RDWHAHB!

1) get papazian's book and read it, don't worry, have a homebrew.

Second, I use a place called grape and granary. Give them a call. They ALWAYS have a BHCP judge in the store. They are patient and knowledgeable and will tell you what you need to know. They CAN sell you what you need but my experience is they will give you the information without a hard sell.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_19/636081_Beer_brewing__Winemaking_and_Cidermaking______get_in_here___.html

I bought a used copy off of ebay for $5 many years ago. Get one. I even used a Mr Beer to make small test batches, I just used the container, and tossed everything else. Read every single page.

As always, the wealth of knowledge on this site is unmatched. Thanks guys!