On creationism...

No, I'm not talking about creationism in the theological sense. I'm talking about creating a new beer style! So here's the deal...

Every year we brew three beers for Novemberfest, and one of them is an Oktoberfest/Märzen style. Well, it occurred to me that since the party is called Novemberfest, not Oktoberfest, we should come up with a unique style to declare the official beer of Novemberfest (a Spätjahren--"late year" or autumn beer--if you want an analog for Märzen). Now I've already brewed an Oktoberfest, as well as a Schwarzbier, for this year's Novemberfest. Initially I was planning on making the third beer an Altbier, and then I thought of making it a Dampfbier (since it's a little more of an easy-drinker than the Alt). But now my inclination is to go brew the inaugural Novemberfest/Spätjahren. So what should it be?

Here are my initial requirements:

1. It must be German-inspired in its ingredients, techniques, etc.

2. It must be relatively light (i.e. it won't scare off casual beer drinkers).

3. It must be an ale (I might have time to brew one more lager before Novemberfest but I'd prefer to have the flexibility of brewing an ale).

So there we have it. Somewhat restrictive, but not overly so, right? Well, I have a few ideas up my sleeve. I figured I'd post them now and see if anybody has other ideas (or suggestions regarding mine). Here are the two I'm considering right now:

Prototype #1: Grain bill of 90% pilsner, 5% Munich, 5% wheat. Starting gravity around 1065. Around 30 IBU's. Fermented with WLP 380 (American Hefe yeast). The idea here is to make a beer that's part Kölsch (the ratio in the grain bill and the fact that it's an ale), part Maibock (the higher gravity and the more aggressive hopping), and part Kellerbier (the American Hefe yeast, which was originally an Alt yeast and is fairly similar to a Kölsch yeast but doesn't flocculate well, thus giving it a cloudy appearance).

Prototype #2: Grain bill of 55% pilsner, 25% rye malt, 15% Munich, 5% carapils. Starting gravity around 1048. Around 35 IBU's. Fermented with WLP 029 (German ale-Kölsch yeast). The idea here is to basically make a light version of a Düsseldorf Altbier but adding rye to add some complexity to the malt profile. I had an awesome Belgian tripel brewed with rye at the now-defunct Mattlingly brewpub in St. Louis that opened my eyes to what rye can do in lighter ales so I think this could be quite interesting. My only concern is that it might be too hoppy for many people there.

Thoughts? Warnings? Anybody else have an idea for this new style?

P.S. I stole the above image from these guys. Just figured I should give credit where credit is due.