düsseldorf altbier recipe

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I'm looking for a good example and a solid recipe to brew one.
I like the BJCP description but haven't been able to find a good German version to sample.
Anyone?
 
altbierbitte might be the best person to answer this, but there's a couple of Düsseldorf Altbier recipes shared in the site-wide database;

Oktoberfest-style ale
Dusseldorf Alt

A glance at the beer companion suggests;
- 35 to 50 IBU, with most altbiers falling into the lower part of that range.
- Infusion mash
- Pilsner malt is the base malt, augmented with smaller quantities of munich malt
- Spalt is the traditional hop variety used
- Cold conditioned for 3 to 8 weeks between 32 to 47f
- 4.5 to 4.7% abv
- Top fermenting ale yeast used with "very restrained" fruity character.

You could probably use the second recipe above as a base, just drop the OG to hit the right strength and swap the Hallertau out for Spalt. The book also mentions a tiny quantity of black malt - but I'd wait for other views on that before making a call on it.
 
I can share one I haven't brewed just yet - too many other styles in queue in front of this one:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... er-altbier

I created this using the online calculator with guidelines from "Designing Great Beers." If you brew it, let me know how it comes out and if not, it's about number three in queue. In fact, I'll ask for opinions. My next beer is a Grodziskie/Graetzer. After that, something to keep the lagering fridge in service, likely a Vienna Lager. Then I need to choose between this Duesseldorfer, an English Brown Ale or a Wit along the lines of a Blue Moon. Or maybe a Red Ale? Gentlemen, as always, your thoughts welcome....

Dunkelweizen is in secondary, Oatmeal Stout in primary, Doppelbock is winding up its lagering.

Cheers!
 
That's a great recipe! And a very detailed description of the process for brewing the beer. Of course, you have to read German to get most of it but as you say, the recipe is pretty self-explanatory. At home this eve, I'll punch it into the recipe builder and share.
 
Here's the German recipe, translated for those that don't speak German:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... tsche-art-

I'll try this one soon. Substitutions from the German: I couldn't find "Caramelmalz" (Caramel Malt) so I used American crystal styles in formulating the recipes. The alcohol and bitterness are a little light compared to style but they're what the recipe translates to. Cheers!
 
Thanks, I'm German but don't speak it!
 
I'll brew it soon but like others, it's in queue. If my hops get here from Poland, Grodziskie is first. After that, I'm debating between this recipe and an English Brown.

So many beers, so little time.... ;0
 
Caramelmalz hell 25 EBC refers to Weyermann's CaraHell ("German CaraHell" in BF)
Caramelmalz dunkel 90 EBC refers to Weyermann's CaraMunich I ("German CaraMunich I" in BF)

The conversion between EBC color and Lovibond is roughly L = EBC/2

Once BF has support for custom grains I want to see the ability to enter color as EBC or Lovibond.

While at the topic, I shared my Alt recipe here: http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... kaiser-alt

I use light Munich as a base. Weyermann Munich I works best, IMO.

Kai
 
Kai, Danke! I'll make the changes to the online recipe.
 
The Recipe Editor now claims the Düsseldorf altbier recipe is out of style - too light in color - but I seem to remember that the beer was relatively light colored.
 
Nosybear said:
The Recipe Editor now claims the Düsseldorf altbier recipe is out of style - too light in color - but I seem to remember that the beer was relatively light colored.
Click to expand...
Kölsch is light, Alt is darker (think brown ale). SRM 11 is bottom of the scale and is IMO really rather light for an Alt. 14-15ish is closer to what I have come across...
 
Kaiser said:
Once BF has support for custom grains I want to see the ability to enter color as EBC or Lovibond.
Click to expand...
You can do this now can't you?

Recipe editor > Fermentables > Add custom > "Lovi" field = Lovibond
 
sbaclimber said:
Nosybear said:
The Recipe Editor now claims the Düsseldorf altbier recipe is out of style - too light in color - but I seem to remember that the beer was relatively light colored.
Click to expand...
Kölsch is light, Alt is darker (think brown ale). SRM 11 is bottom of the scale and is IMO really rather light for an Alt. 14-15ish is closer to what I have come across...
Click to expand...

Agreed: Will attempt to go back to a darker blend when I make it, likely using Crystal 20L for the light malt and Crystal 90 for the dark.
 
I made one a couple of months ago that was delicious, and spot on from what I remember of Altbier I drank in Germany back in the 80s. The only deviation is that it wasn't quite dark enough, which you could remedy with a little debittered black or similar, keeping in mind that you don't want any roastiness. I just used 100% Munich malt (weyerman 2), with an OG of 1.050. That's max according to guidelines and will give you a beer of a hair over 5%. You may want to knock it back a little. I did just one hop addition of 8 oz of Mittelfrueh at 60 minutes (10 gallon batch). You might add a small 20-30 minute addition, but don't overdo it - you don't want a lot of hop flavor and basically zero aroma. You could do a half pilsner malt half Munich malt, but then you'll have to add quite a bit of darker malt for color. Weyerman Cara red would probably work. Myself, I thought it was awesome as is - the Munich gives it a great malty flavor. I used Wyeast German Ale, a cool (~58 F) primary, than a month at just above freezing. It turned out great.
 
I made an altbier a few months back; it's in my kegerator right now. While I find it tasty, I haven't gotten my hands on an altbier actually from Germany. Everything I've found is only been from microbrews in the US so I have no idea how close it is. Anyway, critique would be appreciated.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/17865/altbier

Also, any ideas of some brands I should be on the lookout for that might be a good comparison? (I live in Michigan if that helps)
 
cearum said:
I made an altbier a few months back; it's in my kegerator right now. While I find it tasty, I haven't gotten my hands on an altbier actually from Germany. Everything I've found is only been from microbrews in the US so I have no idea how close it is. Anyway, critique would be appreciated.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/17865/altbier

Also, any ideas of some brands I should be on the lookout for that might be a good comparison? (I live in Michigan if that helps)
Click to expand...
I haven't had a commercial Alt since I left Germany in 1986. To be honest, although a lot of recipes I see use Caramel malt, I wouldn't do it. Alt should have a dry, crisp, bitter finish. It's not so much about BJCP style as my own memory - sweet alt ain't alt. If it were me, I'd drop the 5 minute addition and add it to the early addition. I don't care what Tinseth or the BJCP says: 2 ounces of 4% AA hops aren't going to give you an authentic (or equally tasty) level of bitterness. Keep in mind, Munich malt is diastatic, so you can replace some of the pilsner with it and cut back on the Caramunich - for malty flavor you can't beat Munich. The next time I brew it I think I'm going to use Carafa or Carared to get a nice medium dark copper color without the sweetness. Don't get me wrong, your recipe would no doubt make tasty beer, but I think it would be a little sweeter and hoppier than the Alt I remember from Germany. Good luck either way, and happy Thanksgiving.
 
Altbier bitte said:
I haven't had a commercial Alt since I left Germany in 1986. To be honest, although a lot of recipes I see use Caramel malt, I wouldn't do it. Alt should have a dry, crisp, bitter finish. It's not so much about BJCP style as my own memory - sweet alt ain't alt. If it were me, I'd drop the 5 minute addition and add it to the early addition. I don't care what Tinseth or the BJCP says: 2 ounces of 4% AA hops aren't going to give you an authentic (or equally tasty) level of bitterness. Keep in mind, Munich malt is diastatic, so you can replace some of the pilsner with it and cut back on the Caramunich - for malty flavor you can't beat Munich. The next time I brew it I think I'm going to use Carafa or Carared to get a nice medium dark copper color without the sweetness. Don't get me wrong, your recipe would no doubt make tasty beer, but I think it would be a little sweeter and hoppier than the Alt I remember from Germany. Good luck either way, and happy Thanksgiving.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to try again in the future and see what my second iteration is like. Here is the second take. I switched munich light to munich dark as the calculations were giving me a really light color. Is there a big difference in flavor between the two?

(side note: my naming scheme is awesome! :D )

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/25045/altbier-2
 
I haven't found any Munich that dark. Weyerman Munich 1 and 2 aren't that different. It seems to me like it was listed in the catalog at somewhere around 15, which would give a pretty good Alt color by itself, but on the bag it said 10 L. I like that recipe a lot. That's going to be a nicely bittered Malt bomb. If the Munich is actually 15 L, your color is going to be great, and I have no doubt that it's going to be delicious. I don't remember seeing the D-dorf specific yeast anywhere. Should be spot on. You have to give it some time, but in a couple of months, you're going to have some awesome beer. I've been thinking about trying a batch of Alt with Nottingham - it works at 58 F, and I already have several pouches. If I do that, all I need is the Carared, although I'll have to sub Hersbrucker, Mt. Hood or Ultra for the Saaz and Spalt. Have you hears of this Ultra? It's a Crystal/Mt. Hood sister hop, in other words a Mittelfrueh descendent/replacement, but it's got over 9% AA. Haven't tried it yet, but 4 or 5 oz. of that would work for a 10 gallon batch. Hops Direct carries it.
 
Several sources say that WY1007 is the yeast from Zum Uerige, which is a famous Altbier pub in Duesseldorf.

Kai
 
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