Articles
Altbiers
By Keith Klemp 5/99
American microbrewers have been very successful at recreating many of the "bieren der welt". In addition to our now well-estabished indigenous styles, English-style pale ales and porters, German lagers and even Belgian ales brewed in American can be found on our store shelves and in the brewpubs. German ales, however, remain somewhat enigmatic. The breweries of the Rhineland have adhered steadfastly to their brewing history and traditions and therefore don't quite mesh with the modern image of German bier. They are still renowned for the "top-fermented lager beer" brewed there. Kolschbier and Altbier are the ales of that region. Altbier is the bier of Dusseldorf, a copper to brown, malty and dry brew that is assertively hoppped, and then lagered.
Long before lagerbier was the norm in Germany, ales similar to those made in England where commonplace. They were made with darker malts and were top-fermented. The vestiges remain in Western Germany. The fact that they are lagered sets them apart from most other ales. A typically German thing, lagering has the effect of smoothing-out a beer, softening the edges a bit.
Altbiers are fairly straightforward in their makeup. For extract brewers, I would reccommend using very light DME and supplementing it with the character malts listed below. Another strategy is to use the IREKS amber malt extract with a little caramunich or medium Lovibond crystal.
AHA guidelines only have a catagory for Dusseldorf styles, and while Altbier denotes a specific style of beer there are distinctive variations.
Accompanied by a sample recipe, here's what the Real Beer Page has to say about the family of altbiers:
Düsseldorf Altbier
German ale associated with the city of Düsseldorf. "Alt" is the German word for old. The Alt style uses a top-fermenting ale yeast, but then is cold-aged. Lacks hop aroma, low hop flavor but has medium to high bitterness, especially in the finish. Restrained fruitiness, dry, clean, bittersweet flavor. Rounded maltiness that is medium to high but not overpowering. Light to medium body. Cleaner, smoother palate, less fruitiness, less yeastiness and less acidity than a classic British ale. Very low diacetyl is OK. The color is bronze to dark brown.
Commercial examples: Widmer, Zum Uerige, Sam Adams Stock Ale.
O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBU's: 40 - 65; SRM: 10 - 19.
65% Munich malt
25% Vienna malt
10% Caramunich malt
Spalt, Tetnang, Hallertau, or Saaz hops to 35 IBU
Sticke
This is a form of Altbier that the brewpubs of Düsseldorf brew once or twice a year for their loyal patrons. It is released without much advertisement, hence the word "sticke" which means "secret" in German. Sticke has a higher starting gravity then the traditional, resulting in a stronger, maltier more robust version. It is often dryhopped, creating low to medium hop aroma and low to medium hop flavor. Hop bitterness is on the high end.
Commercial examples: Zum Uerige Sticke, Latzenbier.
OG: 1045-1055; Alcohol: 5 - 6%; IBU's: 45 - 55; SRM: 11 - 19.
15% Caramunich malt
25% Munich malt
2% black malt
68% Pilsner malt
Spalt, Tetnang, Hallertau, or Saaz hops to 40 IBU, dry-hopping optional
Muenster Altbier
A light, pale, less bitter version of Altbier. A significant portion of wheat is used which adds a wheaty flavor. Low to medium malt flavor. No hop aroma, low hop flavor. Hop bitterness is low. Pale to light amber in color. Some examples have a lactic sourness.
Commercial examples: Pinkus Mueller, Otter Creek Helles Alt.
O.G.: 1.040 -1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 -5.5%; IBU's: 12 - 25; SRM: 3 - 8
40% malted wheat
50% Pilsner malt
10% Munich malt
Tetnang or Halletau hops to 25 Ibu, Saaz for aroma
Northern German Altbier
Lighter, less robust and less bitter than Düsseldorf Altbier. Medium malt flavor. No hop aroma, low hop flavor. Hop bitterness is low to medium, but usually in the medium range. Amber to brown in color. Most Alts produced in countries other then Germany are of this style. Some ales called Amber are actually in this Alt style.
Commercial examples: DAB Dark, Broyhan Alt, Alaskan Amber, Grolsch Autumn Amber, Kirin's Alt, Sapporo Alt, Harpoon Alt, New Ulm Schmaltz Alt.
O.G.: 1.040 -1.057; Alcohol: 4.5 -5.5%; IBU's: 25 - 40; SRM: 8 - 15
10% caramunich malt
20% wheat malt
70% Pilsner malt
Saaz, Hallertau or Tetnang to 35 IBU, Hallertau for aroma
Yeasts
Brew Tek has an altbier yeast that looks attractive, but I have yet to use it. Wyeast 1007 is considered the optimal choice, but 1338, 1056, and 1742 will work just fine, with 1338 and 1742 being a bit less attenuating, resulting in a more full-bodied brew.
Here are the recipes that I used for the TRUB brew-in on March 20. Each recipe makes 11 gallons of beer.
Dusseldorfer Altbier
2# malted wheat
3# munich malt
1# caramunich
1/2# 150 crystal
1/4# black malt
14# pilsner malt
35 ibu Perle hops
1 oz tetnang for aroma
1338 Wyeast
OG 1050
North German Altbier
1# carapils
8# malted wheat
11# pilsner malt
25 ibu tetnang hops
1 oz tetnang, 20 min
1 oz tetnang, 5 min
1338 Wyeast
OG 1050
While more and more breweries are attempting altbiers, they are still a little hard to find. Grolsch Amber is a good one and St. Christofel Robertus is an altbier. Sam Adams Stock Ale is considered altbier. Indian River Brewing Co. of Florida has an altbier available here. Many amber ales are close in character to altbier. The only true German-brewed altbiers in the area are Bolten and Diebels, though their availability is inconsistent.
A good book to formulate recipes is Ray Daniels "Designing Great Beer". "Brew Classic European Beers at Home" by Protz and Wheeler has several altbier recipes. Zymury had a nice article in its winter 1996 issue about alts and Brewing Techniques Jan/Feb 1995 featured altbier as its "brewing in styles" selection. A new member of the classic styles series by Horst Dornbusch called, strangely enough, "Altbier" is a very thorough treatise on the style. He is a native of Dusseldorf and is passionate about the beer of his roots. The book has the requisite chapter about historical significance of the style, if that is of interest to you. The remainder of the book is more informative about brewing than some of the other classic style series books. He does a thorough job of explaining the style, its ingredients, brewing methods and fermentation schedules. There is a chapter devoted to the pubs of Dusseldorf and descriptions of the beers they brew. They are really more variable than you would think according to him. He provides a fair number of recipes also, which is of most interest to homebrewers. All in all not a bad book for the usually over-priced series.