Thoughts on my first brew? Altbier

[famouslastworts]

Hi everyone,

First brew, first post ... how exiting is that?

I’ve been reading here for quite some time, and thought the time has finally come for my first homebrew.

I’ve decided to try an Altbier because, well thats what I’ve drank all my life and im right here in Düsseldorf, so regarding water chemistry that seemed like an no brainer. I would really appreciate if someone were to have a look at my grainbill and technique. Because anything other than metrics gives me a major headache I’ll just give you the percentages.

OG: 1.048 FG: 1.011 ABV: 4,8% SRM 12,55 IBU (Rager): 34

Pilsner (Weyermann): 75%
Munic I (Weyermann): 15%
Caramunic II (Weyermann): 5%
Wheat Malt: 3%
Carafa Special II: 2%
(powdered and added after the maltosis rest)

Dough in at 45c (113F)
55c (131F) for 15 minutes
63c (145F) for 30 minutes
72c (162F) for 25 minutes
Mashout at 78c (172F)

90 minute boil with following additions:

30g of Northern Brewer at 70 min | 30 IBU
10g of Halltertauer Mittelfrüh and 15g of Spalt at 10 minutes wich should give me the remaining 5 IBU’s.

Wyeast 1007 German ale at 61F followed by lagering for 4 weeks near freezing point (at least that’s the plan).

What do you guys think? This first beer must turn out decent, or else I might get in trouble. When I pitched my girlfriend this idea I already got the “great, so thats another thing that your in to?” look
Any suggestions are welcome.

Alex

 

[specharka]

That’s a hefty brew for your first attempt! Altbier is a personal favorite of mine, though I haven’t been fortunate enough to experience it firsthand in Düsseldorf.

The recipe looks great, but you really don’t need rests at 45c / 55c, especially if you’re using fully modified Pilsner (standard Weyermann Pilsner). Resting the mash at those lower temperatures will result in deficient head retention and body. The 63c / 73c / 78c mash schedule is perfect, but if simplicity strikes you, you can make a great Alt with a single rest at 67c for 60 min. I recommend ramping the fermentation temperature to 20c after high krausen to encourage the yeast to finish quicker — WY1007 is a beast but can take a long time to attenuate at lower temperatures.

 

[jrgtr42]

Welcome to the forum and to the obsession of homebrewing.
That's a pretty ambitious recipe for a first brew. Honestly, I'd probably recommend something simple as a first brew, a pale ale or something, not too many different grains, certainly a single rest mash, and probably an ale, so not to worry about lagering and so forth. (with an ale yeast you really shouldn't have to lager it.)
The recipe and procedure looks good, the trick is hitting all those numbers your first time out of the gate.
once you're more comfortable with the procedures and your setup, you can try that one.
But, that's just my opinion.

As a more general idea, the things that will help you be successful in brewing are sanitation, temp control, sanitation, yeast management, sanitation and sanitation.
You will have a failed brew or three somewhere along the way. I can promise that as well. What I recommend is to keep notes of what you are doing, what your expected numbers and actual results are, and determine what went wrong so you don't do that again (see the 'don't do that' thread) and don't get discouraged if a brew doesn't come out exactly how you planned.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Great replies!

Minor nitpick: I would add the bittering hops at 60 min instead of 70. Boiling longer may impart off-flavors.

 

[famouslastworts]

Big thanks for all the replies!

Yeah I know, but for my first attempt I wanted to brew something close to my heart, plus I’m brewing already not just for myself at this early point

A single infusion at 67c would make the whole thing a lot easier, especially given my beginners brewing equipment, but I will see if I can pull off the 63c/73c/78c step mash.

Your right about hitting the numbers, I hope I will get somewhere in the ballpark. If I’m a few points over I’ll still have a sticke at least.

Do you think it’s safe to ramp up the temperature 10 days after pitching? I’m in Germany only once a month so I need to leave clear orders before I go
Maybe that’s a good thing because I won’t be tempted to mess with the beer before it’s done.

What about open fermentation? When I was in college we’ve had a guided tour through the Brewery “Zum Uerige” (biology class) wich is my favorite Alt. I vividly remember how the fermenter looked like the world biggest and dirtiest futon. Just tradition or ...?

Ok, I will go with the 60 minute addition.
Should I go full hallertau on the bittering, or will the Northern Brewer do the job? I’ve ordered some because the Hallertauer was really low alpa (2,7).

Alex

 

[specharka]

Big thanks for all the replies!

Yeah I know, but for my first attempt I wanted to brew something close to my heart, plus I’m brewing already not just for myself at this early point

A single infusion at 67c would make the whole thing a lot easier, especially given my beginners brewing equipment, but I will see if I can pull off the 63c/73c/78c step mash.

Your right about hitting the numbers, I hope I will get somewhere in the ballpark. If I’m a few points over I’ll still have a sticke at least.

Do you think it’s safe to ramp up the temperature 10 days after pitching? I’m in Germany only once a month so I need to leave clear orders before I go
Maybe that’s a good thing because I won’t be tempted to mess with the beer before it’s done.

What about open fermentation? When I was in college we’ve had a guided tour through the Brewery “Zum Uerige” (biology class) wich is my favorite Alt. I vividly remember how the fermenter looked like the world biggest and dirtiest futon. Just tradition or ...?

Ok, I will go with the 60 minute addition.
Should I go full hallertau on the bittering, or will the Northern Brewer do the job? I’ve ordered some because the Hallertauer was really low alpa (2,7).

Alex

Open fermentation is typically associated for yeast strains that are sensitive to back pressure like Weissbier and Saison. Though the German ale strain will produce a massive krausen, it’s not going to stall from using an airlock. For sanitation reasons, you really don’t want to emulate an open fermentation (unless you happen to have an industrial air filtration system handy).

I like Northern Brewer for bittering, and reserve the classic noble hops (Hallertau, Spalt, Tettnang and Saaz) for aroma and flavor additions. It’s cheaper that way.