Altbier what do ya think?

[Jaybird]

I have done some reserch and with the help of you all this is what Im gonna do
What do ya think
8# German pils
8# munich
1# 40 L

610 total GU x .85 Eff/11 gal batch EST OG of 47.13 or 1.047
3.5 oz Hallertauer @3.8 aau 20.5 IBU @ 22% utl
1 oz Hallertauer @3.8 aau 3 IBU @ 11% utl
overall target IBU of 23.5

90 min boil
upward infusion mash with a rest @ 132 for 30min and 152 for 30 min
cold ferment with Calif ale yeast @ 62 - 64 DEG F for probably 3+ weeks
cold condition for 4+ weeks in secondary
then crash cool and carb for 3+ weeks and enjoy @ the end of October

any input would be helpful as I have never done a Alt before
Cheers
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

No Alt brewers out there eh?
JJ

 

[Beerrific]

I have never brewed an Alt either but it looks like you might want more bitterness, maybe closer to 35-40 IBUs?

 

[jezter6]

A good alt is nice and malty with a little hop balance. I'm not a fan of some of the style guides that say alt is almost like a german dark IPA.

The use of California Ale yeast seems a bit odd for this as well. Does california ale yeast do colder temps? I dislike the flavor that seems to come from it. I use kolsch yeats in mine.

Also, that seems like a lot of specialty malt. Now, we only do 5g batches, but really are only around 2-3# per 5g batch. You may get more flavor out of it, who knows.

 

[attitude]

Here is a recipe i got from someone ( sorry i don't remember). I brewed it seems o k. not real familiar with the style , but a tasty beer.Hope it might be a starting point . Anyways good luck

View attachment Altbier.txt

 

[Joe028]

I just brewed one of these and I'm just about to rack it to secondary for cold conditioning. When doing my research for a recipe I found the most helpful was the altbier podcast from the Jamil Show, and the section on altbier in the book Designing Great Beers. One thing I do remember just offhand is that you may want to use just a touch of black malt. I think as well some of the recipe's don't even incorporate any crystal malts. I ended up using pilsner, munich, debittered black malt, and carafa special II.

 

[Jaybird]

Here is a recipe i got from someone ( sorry i don't remember). I brewed it seems o k. not real familiar with the style , but a tasty beer.Hope it might be a starting point . Anyways good luck

thanks for the help.. I think I might boost the IBUs a bit.
Cheers
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

I just brewed one of these and I'm just about to rack it to secondary for cold conditioning. When doing my research for a recipe I found the most helpful was the altbier podcast from the Jamil Show, and the section on altbier in the book Designing Great Beers. One thing I do remember just offhand is that you may want to use just a touch of black malt. I think as well some of the recipe's don't even incorporate any crystal malts. I ended up using pilsner, munich, debittered black malt, and carafa special II.

ya know I never thought about Jamills pod cast. Great Idea man that guy brews everything dosent he??
Thanks
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

just sampled it flat and @ 50 deg F I cant wait till this beer is finished WOW what a nice clean beer. The lightest beer I have brewed to date and Its real YUMMY even flat and warm I LIKE IT
JJ

 

[jezter6]

just sampled it flat and @ 50 deg F I cant wait till this beer is finished WOW what a nice clean beer. The lightest beer I have brewed to date and Its real YUMMY even flat and warm I LIKE IT
JJ

I see in your sig you did a pale/blonde, and you say THIS is the lightest beer yet?

Are you sure you didn't make a Kolsch?

 

[Glibbidy]

IMHO The upward infusion mash, and cold conditioning of this style are two very critical components in making a good Alt. I also add some Calcium Chloride for this beer
I shoot for 45 IBU's with mine

 

[Joe028]

forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is an "upward infusion." Is that just another way to say "step" mash?

 

[Glibbidy]

Basically, yes.

 

[Jaybird]

I see in your sig you did a pale/blonde, and you say THIS is the lightest beer yet?

Are you sure you didn't make a Kolsch?

nope its an ALT the pale blonde turned out a bit on the dark side more of a pale ale than a blonde I was talking more on flavor profile than color though, that said this is the lightest in color also that I have ever brewed as well.
Cheers
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

IMHO The upward infusion mash, and cold conditioning of this style are two very critical components in making a good Alt. I also add some Calcium Chloride for this beer
I shoot for 45 IBU's with mine

I agree so far I havent let this beer sit long enough to really tell what flavors are going to impart when conditioned fully or carbonated I am guessing the carbonation will really bring out some aroma as well
What temp do you ferment yours at Glibbidy??? I stuck to 60 to 62
Damn good thing I brewed 12 gallons of this stuff.. I brewed it as my Octoberfest beer I just put it in the Keggorator last night to start carbonating
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is an "upward infusion." Is that just another way to say "step" mash?

yes but its a mash where you use HOT H2O to make the step. Thus starting with a fairly thick first infusion and a fairly thin second step. I started at 134 and it took 3 gal of 207 DEG F H2o to get me to 152-154 and this is in a 12 gallon batch
JJ

 

[jezter6]

nope its an ALT the pale blonde turned out a bit on the dark side more of a pale ale than a blonde I was talking more on flavor profile than color though, that said this is the lightest in color also that I have ever brewed as well.
Cheers
JJ

Well, flavor profile (specifically good maltyness) is a profound feature of the Alt. In another Alt thread I posted both of our Alt recipes, both that used a number of malts and multiple hops for character.

Color wise, I still can't believe (well, looking at the recipe I guess I can) that this is the lightest beer you've done. All our Alts have been a deep copper/brown, but we've used a lot of malts darker than Crystal 40.

I'm sure it'll taste just great, but if you try again, check out some of our recipes that I posted. (i'll get to posting them up on the recipe DB sometime soon) So far, nobody has disliked the deep malty Alt.

 

[Glibbidy]

Last time I couldn't get my basement cold enough so I did
Primary Fermentation 10 days at 68f
Secondary Fermentation 14 days at 68f

and 21-28 days at 38-42f conditioning in the keg. This makes a huge difference
Ideally I'd shoot for 60-62f for fermentation temps. I use American ale yeast 1056 for this beer and have found that it works really well at the low end of the temp range.

 

[Jaybird]

Last time I couldn't get my basement cold enough so I did
Primary Fermentation 10 days at 68f
Secondary Fermentation 14 days at 68f

and 21-28 days at 38-42f conditioning in the keg. This makes a huge difference
Ideally I'd shoot for 60-62f for fermentation temps. I use American ale yeast 1056 for this beer and have found that it works really well at the low end of the temp range.

I used the WPL001 calif ale yeast and it too seemed to work really well at the lower temps it was the 8th Generation of that yeast and I washed it really well before I used it.
JJ

 

[Jaybird]

I'm sure it'll taste just great, but if you try again, check out some of our recipes that I posted. (i'll get to posting them up on the recipe DB sometime soon) So far, nobody has disliked the deep malty Alt.

O I am sure I will try this brew again I really like the malt flavor of this type of brew and YES post some recipes I would love to see them
Cheers
JJ

 

[teu1003]

dusseldorf altbier is my house beer and it got 44 points last yr in a contest. equal parts pils and munich, a little light crystal (20L) and 2 oz of black malt -- OG 54.
mt hood hops (about 54ibu). the key is using wyeast 1007 at 58 degrees ... you have to keep the esters out. what a great beer.