First AG - Altbier?

Hi-
With a few extract brews under my belt, I'm going to take the leap into all-grain, and I was considering making an Altbier for my first attempt.
The next time I'll have a chance to brew will be the first weekend in november. I want to brew something that is good for the winter, and have it ready for the holidays.
I see lots off different recipes for alts with respect to both the mash steps and the cold conditioning time.

Would this be a good beer for my first AG? Or is it too complicated?

It'd be a rush to have an altbier properly lagered and carbed for the holidays, I'd think, unless you did it as a straight-up ale. Perhaps a brown ale might be a bit easier for your timeframe?

I agree with elkdog, keeping it simple is your best bet for your first AG. It's better to have a nice pale ale than a bad lager.

abracadabra said:

I agree with elkdog, keeping it simple is your best bet for your first AG. It's better to have a nice pale ale than a bad lager.

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Hmmm, ok-
can anyone recommend a similar style? Looking for something slightly more malty than hoppy, but low gravity - not like a brown ale or stout. Not so fruity.
Something that will appeal to non-craft beer folks as well.

Scottish/Irish/British pale ale?

bringitonhome said:

Hmmm, ok-
can anyone recommend a similar style? Looking for something slightly more malty than hoppy, but low gravity - not like a brown ale or stout. Not so fruity.
Something that will appeal to non-craft beer folks as well.

Scottish/Irish/British pale ale?

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I make a lot of altbier and its about 6 weeks from brew day to drink (2 weeks in primary and 4 weeks cold conditioning in a keg) ... my favorite style.

barring that, you might want to try southern english brown. its malty, not hoppy at all and the OG was 40 or so. I made 10 gallons 3 weeks ago ... i have 4 gallons on tap now, am aging 3 gallons on an ounce of oak chips, and
another 3 gallons just aging by itself. A tasty, versatile beer.

bringitonhome said:

Hmmm, ok-
can anyone recommend a similar style? Looking for something slightly more malty than hoppy, but low gravity - not like a brown ale or stout. Not so fruity.
Something that will appeal to non-craft beer folks as well.

Scottish/Irish/British pale ale?

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I'd brew up Jamil's Mild Bitter. It's fantastically malty. Low ABV and and easy brew. I just call it an English Ale for my uninformed friends cuz the "bitter" tends to be a misnomer.

BierMuncher said:

I'd brew up Jamil's Mild Bitter. It's fantastically malty. Low ABV and and easy brew. I just call it an English Ale for my uninformed friends cuz the "bitter" tends to be a misnomer.

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If you mean Ordinary Bitter, I completely agree. It's a great beer, and the OP could have it ready in plenty of time. If you mean Mild Ale, well, I agree there as well. I guess you're just right.

BYO (Brew Your Own) magazine has a clone issue where they list both AG and extract methods for many commercial beers. They sell copies at their web site *********** You just pick a brew you like. For my first AG I did the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but used 1/2 as much hops as the recipe called for because I knew it was a bit hoppy for my taste reduced hops allows the malt flavor to come thru.

also so check out:https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31494

An IPA could be a nice winter beer. You get it nice and hoppy and it would be delish.

+1 on cutting it close brewing in November to have by the holidays. I would say that giving a beer 8 weeks between brewday and drinking day is a good time to age the beer. And even 2 or 3 more after that if you can wait will make a big difference as well.

Make Kolsch! it ages to peak flavor quickly, and likes a cooler fermentation (pseudo-lager yeast basically).

Kolsch vs. Altbier...its a hot debate if you're in Germany...depending on what part of the country you're in

malkore said:

Make Kolsch! it ages to peak flavor quickly, and likes a cooler fermentation (pseudo-lager yeast basically).

Kolsch vs. Altbier...its a hot debate if you're in Germany...depending on what part of the country you're in

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I 100% percent intend to do a kolsch - but i think that's more of a warm-weather beer, so i'm saving that for march. I read the description of it and was intrigued, then someone happened to hand me a harpoon summer beer. I thought it was delicious. Lo and behold, it's a kolsch! (don't know how authentic it is, but I was sold.)

In the meantime, I'm trying to find a good winter beer. I like the idea of the crispness of a german pilsener mixed with a little toasty malt flavor, which is what drew me to the Alt.

I'll figure something out - i can always come back to it later!