Thoughts on this Alt beer recipe

[TeleTwanger]

A freind of mine is coming from Dusseldorf and I want to impress her with some good beer. She's not a homebrewer but being as she's from the home of Alt i'm sure she knows a good alt when she tatses it. I've been messing around/tweaking with The Kaiser's recipe and this is what I've got:

8lbs light Munich malt
.5 lbs caramunich I
2 oz carafa II special

2 oz spalt pellets 5% 60 min
1 oz hallertauer hersbrucker 4% plug 15 min

wyeast german ale (2 qt starter)

mash single infusion 154F 60 min

og 1.045
ibu 40

primary 1week @65
secondary 2weeks @65
bottle 1 cup dme 3 weeks @65

I've done a decoction before but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

This is for 5 gallons.

 

[niquejim]

For a Dusseldorf Alt I would up the hops to no less than 40 IBU's

Look at my Alt in my recipes, it is my scaled down version of Denny Conn's "Santa's Helper Uber Alt"

 

[Bob]

At the risk of offending Niquejim, I think the recipe is fine as written for a North German Altbier.

Düsseldorfer Alt needs an assertive bitterness; it should be obvious. 35 is the low end of the IBU scale for the style.

Not sure a Koelsch yeast is best, but it's not going to do any harm. A slight fruitiness is actually a plus in my book.

Bob

 

[Yooper]

I made this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/kaiser-alt-49953/

It turned out very well.

 

[TeleTwanger]

For a Dusseldorf Alt I would up the hops to no less than 40 IBU's

Look at my Alt in my recipes, it is my scaled down version of Denny Conn's "Santa's Helper Uber Alt"

The ibus will actually be around 40, I'm gettng 37 from the spalt and I didn't factor in any for the hallertauer but I should get a few more points from them. (I adjusted the IBUS (2X5X25/6.7+1X4X6/6.7=41) Depending on the actual AA when I get the hops I may or may not add a half ounce @ 60)

I also changed the yeast to German ale.

I'm more concerned with the grain bill, if that looks OK then I should be good.

 

[Bob]

Your grain bill is, without figuring out exact percentages, exactly the same as Kaiser's (in Yooper's link).

Rest east.

 

[TeleTwanger]

Your grain bill is, without figuring out exact percentages, exactly the same as Kaiser's (in Yooper's link).

Rest east.

That's true. I don't have any brewing software so I just did some fuzzy math instead...One question though, will the Munich not convert the caramunich? I was thinking of using 4lbs Vienna/4 lbs Munich so I can still do a single infusion and convert the caramunich.

 

[Bob]

By the way, that should have said, "Rest easy".

Anyway, technically, yes, the Munich only has enough diastatic power to convert itself. But there are two thing going for you: 1., it's only a half pound of CaraMunich; and 2., CaraMunich is a crystalline malt! You don't need to mash it to get the full effect.

You're good!

 

[TeleTwanger]

By the way, that should have said, "Rest easy".

Anyway, technically, yes, the Munich only has enough diastatic power to convert itself. But there are two thing going for you: 1., it's only a half pound of CaraMunich; and 2., CaraMunich is a crystalline malt! You don't need to mash it to get the full effect.

You're good!

That's true, I'm just picturing the beer failing unless I do some crazy German triple decoction naked rain dance.

 

[Yooper]

That's true, I'm just picturing the beer failing unless I do some crazy German triple decoction naked rain dance.

Please do that. And post the video for us. Some us have a "thing" for naked brewers doing a triple decoction naked rain dance.

 

[niquejim]

At the risk of offending Niquejim, I think the recipe is fine as written for a North German Altbier.

Düsseldorfer Alt needs an assertive bitterness; it should be obvious. 35 is the low end of the IBU scale for the style.

Not sure a Koelsch yeast is best, but it's not going to do any harm. A slight fruitiness is actually a plus in my book.

Bob

No offense taken, but when I saw Dusseldorf in his post I thought he might want to up it just a bit.
I will have to give Kaisers a try sometime, it looks quite tasty
K-97 dry yeast works very well, also

 

[Bob]

Never thought of K97! Hm!