My First Batch

[Ed S.]

Greetings all,

My first post here, regarding my first batch of home brew. I made a kit from Brewers Best - German Altbier, and am about to start my second - Octoberfest.

My first question - Does anyone know what Altbier is? Truthfully, I didn't know what it was when I selected it, but I liked the description. It turned out great, clear, good body, nice light bitter, and a fruity aftertaste.

This forum looks great - I look forward to learning from all of the experienced brewers here, Thanks

Ed S.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Welcome to the Forum, Ed! I love Alt beers. Unlike most German beers, which are lagers, Alt beer is one of the few German ales. August Schell in Minnesota makes a decent version, but you won't find too many American brewers' versions on the store shelf. More likely, you'll find some German imports, like Sticke Alt.

They ferment warm and are conditioned at cool temperatures. I brewed an extract version last December. I did the secondary fermentation in the garage, which was around 45-50oF at the time, since I don't have a dedicated fridge (yet!).

Here is a nice article on Alt beers from the BYO website.

 

[bikebryan]

This is copied from the LHBS that I order my stuff from:

""Altbier" means "Old Beer" in German. This name comes from the fact that it's fermented with an ale yeast; which lager-loving Germans consider old-fashioned. This beer has a clean, crisp taste, especially for an ale. Hop bitterness and aroma are moderate, with malt being the primary flavor. "

Does that help?

I've got two cases of this stuff bottle conditioning right now and it should be ready to drink next week. I can't wait!

 

[Ed S.]

Wow, thanks for the response! The description sounds like what I made. I also need another month or so in the bottle, but it tastes pretty good right now. Thanks


Ed S.

 

[SwAMi75]

Howdy, Ed. Ya know, I've been a member of a Dodge Ram forum, and a tech-related forum, and both had a guy called Ed S. Odd coincedence, I guess.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Ed S.]

Howdy, Ed. Ya know, I've been a member of a Dodge Ram forum, and a tech-related forum, and both had a guy called Ed S. Odd coincedence, I guess.

Yep! I drive a GMC Sierra, and I generally prowl around winepress.us with my wine making. Otherwise I'm low traffic in the "e" waves. I guess there is a few of us out there.

Ed S.

 

[Turricaine]

If the kit instructs you to add 1kg of glucose I recommend you try and find a 1kg tin on malt extract (unhopped) in place of this. Im only telling you this because it happened to me a few times when I started brewing.