Duesseldorf Altbier

Schloesser Altbier

I've been quietly interested in brewing one of these for a while now. It's not a widely brewed beer style, but it sounds interesting. It's also one of the few German Ale styles (the majority of German beers are lagers).

An Altbier is fermented cool using ale yeast (I fermented mine at 16C using US-05). It's then lagered for a few weeks. So, while it's technically an ale, it uses techniques more similar to creating a lager.

The only real problem I had was that my efficiency was down, so I didn't hit my OG target. In hindsight, I may have been better to add less top-up water to the fermenter to keep it within style.

I'm not sure why efficiency was down this time (I've been able to consistently get 80% with my Partial mash technique in the past). Any suggestions welcome.

The beer has just been bottled, so should be ready for a review in a few weeks.

On smelling and tasting it, it reminded me of a tray of beer I randomly bought from a customs auction about 15 years ago, called Schloesser (long before I had any appreciation for beer).
I just looked up the beer on the internet, and sure enough, Schloesser Alt is a Duesseldorf Altbier! This gives me some confidence that I'm on track in terms of taste and aroma with this.

The power of the olfactory senses eh?

So, here's the recipe:

Duesseldorf Altbier Brew Type: Partial Mash Date: 24/03/2011 Style: Dusseldorf Altbier Brewer: Matt Batch Size: 20.00 L Assistant Brewer: Boil Volume: 10.41 L Boil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 58.0 % Equipment: Brew Pot (3 Gallon) Actual Efficiency: 56.9 % Taste Rating (50 possible points): 35.0 Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU 1.00 kg Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 29.4 % 1.00 kg Munich Malt (17.7 EBC) Grain 29.4 % 1.00 kg Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (3.9 EBC) Grain 29.4 % 0.40 kg Caramunich Malt (110.3 EBC) Grain 11.8 % 60.00 gm Tettnang [4.50%] (60 min) Hops 25.1 IBU 40.00 gm Tettnang [4.50%] (40 min) Hops 14.7 IBU 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 1 Pkgs American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.038 SG (1.046-1.054 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.038 SG Estimated Final Gravity: 1.011 SG (1.010-1.015 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Estimated Color: 20.8 EBC (21.7-33.5 EBC) Color [Color] Bitterness: 39.7 IBU (35.0-50.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 3.0 AAU Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 3.5 % (4.5-5.2 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 3.6 % Actual Calories: 352 cal/l Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out Mash Tun Weight: 1.36 kg Mash Grain Weight: 2.40 kg Mash PH: 5.4 PH Grain Temperature: 22.2 C Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C Sparge Water: 7.50 L Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Name Description Step Temp Step Time Mash In Add 6.26 L of water at 71.9 C 65.6 C 75 min Mash Notes Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time). Carbonation and Storage Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Carbonation Volumes: 2.6 (2.1-3.1 vols) Estimated Priming Weight: 129.4 gm Temperature at Bottling: 15.6 C Primer Used: - Age for: 4.0 Weeks Storage Temperature: 11.1 C Notes Mashed with 2.4kg grains and approx 6.2 litre water. Mash temp held at 65C for 75 mins. (2.58 l/kg ratio) Sparged in approx 4 litre water at 72C. Combined the first wort and the 2nd wort and began boil. Added the 1kg dried malt extract, boiled for 60 mins, with 2 x hop additions. Added 1/2 tsp Irish moss for last 10 mins. Cooled wort to under 30C in 30 mins. Added re-hydrated and proofed yeast. Topped up with boiled and cooled water to 20 litres. In the fermenting fridge at 16C for 11 days. Raised the temp to 19 for last 2 days. Bubbling started after 18 hours. Steady, consistent bubbling over the first 4 days. Lagered at 6C for 14 days, then bottled with 130g Dextrose.