squiggy
Well-Known Member
Back in the day I was pretty passionate about brewing true to style Altbier. Here is the result of my passion: http://www.magnusschwanzspritzer.com/?p=332
Classic Dusseldorf Altbier Recipe.
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jekeane
Well-Known Member
Enjoyable read. I just brewed my first Altbier in October. It's heading out for competition soon but I'm pretty sure it will get dinged for not having the "assertive hop bitterness" the guidelines describe.
Radboud
Well-Known Member
Hehe cool post. Did you try 'Diebels Alt'? Mass produced, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. It's my go-to stuff whenever I am in Germany and want do drink cheap stuff.
I made an Alt a few months ago which turned out a bit too malty.
I made an Alt a few months ago which turned out a bit too malty.
Back in the day I was pretty passionate about brewing true to style Altbier. Here is the result of my passion: http://www.magnusschwanzspritzer.com/?p=332
Fun story. Thanks for the link.
squiggy
Well-Known Member
That sounds very familiar. I would have to dig out my notebook, and look to be sure.
Weezy
Well-Known Member
I was surprised to read that you're also a porn star!!
My favorite alt, stateside, had just a hint of chocolate. I really liked that. Never tried brewing one yet though.
My favorite alt, stateside, had just a hint of chocolate. I really liked that. Never tried brewing one yet though.
Back in the day I was pretty passionate about brewing true to style Altbier. Here is the result of my passion: http://www.magnusschwanzspritzer.com/?p=332
Cool story. Thanks for the link. The research sounds just terrible.
I have the urge to brew an Alt again after reading this.
squiggy
Well-Known Member
Well, know this. With exception to Zum Uerige (it was quite bitter), I would not describe most alts as having Assertive hop bitterness". 35-50 IBUs is not right. The BA has it closer at 25-52 IBUs. Zum Uerige is an outlier. My memory is that most alts fall between 25-30 IBUs. Perhaps it was 25-35. I recall Jamil speaking about this on one of his podcasts.
Perhaps the folks writing style guidelines need to take a plain ride. Maybe I do. It has been 10 years since I was in Dusseldorf. Maybe things have changed?
Steveruch
Well-Known Member
I used K-97 yeast on my last alt which I think turned out pretty good.
Good post. I find many American beers too malty (even if they are bitter / hoppy at the same time). I like beers to be fairly dry and moderate in body, so I get the thing you mention about German alts. It's the same with bitters. When you get a proper bitter it's a very similar thing to alt: has a definitively bitter edge, some malt of whatever persuasion to go with the hops, and then a dry, drinkable finish. Belgian beers, again, have a good sense of body / drinkability.
Great read. I've been looking at doing an alt for a while and the recipe looks interesting. I scaled it down to 6 gal and ended up with a few questions. First is the whirlpool additions, I end up with about 3oz total...does that sound about right? For some reason that just seemed high.
The second was on color. Hitting to og with the same grain bill and percentages as in the original recipe and Beersmith gives me 8.9 SRM....pretty far from 23. Trying to figure out what I'm missing. Should I just increase the carafa special II? Any input would be appreciated, thanks.
The second was on color. Hitting to og with the same grain bill and percentages as in the original recipe and Beersmith gives me 8.9 SRM....pretty far from 23. Trying to figure out what I'm missing. Should I just increase the carafa special II? Any input would be appreciated, thanks.
TX_Brewing
Well-Known Member
I have the same issue/question on srm.
I spoke with a brewer at Fuchschen and got some good inside info. I was so excited that I didn't really ask all the right questions, but I did get some recipe info (read text in 1st post). Loads of info, pics, and video here if anybody is planning on brewing one and wants another data point.
Dusseldorf Altbier Brewery visit - Fuchschen - Pics & Youtube
Dusseldorf Altbier Brewery visit - Fuchschen - Pics & Youtube
secondbase
Well-Known Member
Maybe it's dark munich? Would that put you closer to the target?
Don't make this beer too malty. Munich might make it malty if you're trying to get to a darker color.
Fuchschen uses carafa (of some kind) to darken it. That's it. Here's a picture I took myself. Brewer is holding malts used in their beer, carafa and pilsener:
Finally getting around to brewing this this weekend. I've kicked around changing the hop schedule or using spalt hops or brewing the JZ version but I'm just going to go with Magnus' original. Everything will essentially be the same with a couple minor exceptions. Still can't bring myself to change it enough to get close to 23 SRM, so I'm just increasing the carafa special II to hit 13.5 (right in the center of the style). The second is the yeast, for some reason none of the 5 LHBS' within 50 miles of Pittsburgh carry 1007 so its WLP036.
For hops I'm going with what I originally converted from the #/bbl listing since it worked out to the 31 IBU listed in Magnus' post. Of course the Haullertau Tradition hops I have are 4.6% AA instead of 6.9% AA there's even more for the whirlpool.
I'll post an update when completed.
For hops I'm going with what I originally converted from the #/bbl listing since it worked out to the 31 IBU listed in Magnus' post. Of course the Haullertau Tradition hops I have are 4.6% AA instead of 6.9% AA there's even more for the whirlpool.
I'll post an update when completed.
squiggy
Well-Known Member
How did your brew day go? How did the beer turn out?
Weezy
Well-Known Member
Imho, I think the Germans are very willing to use carafa for color adjustments in several styles.
Brew day went well/uneventful except for a boil over, but no harm done. Everything was spot on. Mashed 90 min, boiled 90 min (original recipe called for 120 min). Ended up right at OG 1.050...thank you BeerSmith.
I had to adjust hop additions up as the AA% of what I ended up getting at LHBS were lower than the original recipe.
Fermented at ~60°F through 50% attenuation, ramped up to ~66°F for the remainder. Just got done ramping it back down and will transfer to keg tonight. F.G. looks like ~1.013 but I'll take another one.
Some comments:
- Ended up going ~2% (4.0 oz) Carafa Special II to get it to 13.7 SRM
- That being said it looks a little darker but I'll take another look and also post a picture once carbed-up and drinkable
- Tasted a gravity sample...I'm consistently bad at judging beers this way..so all I'll say is that it tasted like a gravity sample
- I'm interested in how the hops play out in finished product as my heavy late addition experience is all IPA/NEPA based (fruity)...not necessarily noble hops
I have almost zero points of reference to compare the final product to; I had a Dusseldorf Alt a while ago that Fat Heads puts out seasonally - can't remember the name but I liked it...that's it.
I'll probably end up cold crashing it, hitting it with gelatin, and burst carbing it. So I'll have another update next week. There a local competition later this month, so if its not terrible I'll send it in for some feedback to supplement my own "good beer/bad beer" analysis.
Best case scenario I'll post the complete recipe (FYI, it would only be the 12 Altbier recipe in the database).
I had to adjust hop additions up as the AA% of what I ended up getting at LHBS were lower than the original recipe.
Fermented at ~60°F through 50% attenuation, ramped up to ~66°F for the remainder. Just got done ramping it back down and will transfer to keg tonight. F.G. looks like ~1.013 but I'll take another one.
Some comments:
- Ended up going ~2% (4.0 oz) Carafa Special II to get it to 13.7 SRM
- That being said it looks a little darker but I'll take another look and also post a picture once carbed-up and drinkable
- Tasted a gravity sample...I'm consistently bad at judging beers this way..so all I'll say is that it tasted like a gravity sample
- I'm interested in how the hops play out in finished product as my heavy late addition experience is all IPA/NEPA based (fruity)...not necessarily noble hops
I have almost zero points of reference to compare the final product to; I had a Dusseldorf Alt a while ago that Fat Heads puts out seasonally - can't remember the name but I liked it...that's it.
I'll probably end up cold crashing it, hitting it with gelatin, and burst carbing it. So I'll have another update next week. There a local competition later this month, so if its not terrible I'll send it in for some feedback to supplement my own "good beer/bad beer" analysis.
Best case scenario I'll post the complete recipe (FYI, it would only be the 12 Altbier recipe in the database).
Does anyone have access to the New Brewer article referenced in the link provided by the OP? I believe it was August or September 2011. I've been wanting to read it.
The Uerige Brewer might have been Dr. Frank Hebmuller. Denny interviewed him a long time ago. Maybe that will help you in your search.
Ok, follow-up. Crashed, finned, and burst-carbed it. Tried it today and it's pretty good. As I said before, I don't have a good reference point to compare it to but it's clean, balanced, smooth, and very drinkable...dare I say lager-like?
Pretty clear at this point and carbed up well (great off-white head and lacing) I suspect both will get better of the next couple weeks.
It's a winner in my book. I'll send it in to the local club comp and get some feedback. I'll post the final recipe I ended up with later this week.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1489350936.319304.jpg
Pretty clear at this point and carbed up well (great off-white head and lacing) I suspect both will get better of the next couple weeks.
It's a winner in my book. I'll send it in to the local club comp and get some feedback. I'll post the final recipe I ended up with later this week.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1489350936.319304.jpg
FYI, posted the recipe at:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=7931624#post7931624
Thanks Magnus, great beer! Couldn't stop drinking it, definitely adding it to my standard line-up!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=7931624#post7931624
Thanks Magnus, great beer! Couldn't stop drinking it, definitely adding it to my standard line-up!
Steveruch
Well-Known Member
Hot dang, that is pretty!
Still Brewn
Well-Known Member
Back in the day I was pretty passionate about brewing true to style Altbier. Here is the result of my passion: http://www.magnusschwanzspritzer.com/?p=332
That link just brought up an ad for realtor dot com.... third twice
I finally found the article. A friend who owns a brewery logged me on to he Brewers Association account and let me search the New Brewer archives. It was in the August 2007 issue.
