Brewing a Step-Mashed Altbier (Düsseldorf Style) | Grain to Glass | Classic Styles

In this video, I brew a Düsseldorf-style #Altbier, which is a type of amber German hybrid beer. This kind of beer is brewed using ale yeast at lager temperatures. This video covers the recipe, the brew, the fermentation and the final tasting. Altbier is a great middle-ground style that is quite malty and also hoppy (for a German beer), but also between a pale and a dark beer. Also, this is the first time I tried a step-mash schedule and I think it made a noticeable difference in the beer. It turned out great, a little too bitter perhaps, but seemed like it was the most authentic-tasting and feeling German style I've made in a while. #homebrew #stepmash
-------------------------------------------------------
MERCH STORE: theapartmentbr...
-------------------------------------------------------
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / theapartmentbrewer
-------------------------------------------------------
FIND ALL MY RECOMMENDED HOMEBREWING EQUIPMENT ON MY AMAZON STORE: www.amazon.com...
-------------------------------------------------------
NORTHERN BREWER: www.northernbr...
-------------------------------------------------------
MOREBEER: www.morebeer.co...
-------------------------------------------------------
Recipe on Brewfather: share.brewfath...
The recipe for 5.5 gallons is below, your efficiency may vary:
"Alpenglow"
6.1% ABV 44 IBU
10 lb German Pilsner (71.4%)
2 lb Munich (14.3%)
1.25 Melanoiden Malt (8.9%)
0.5 lb Caramunich (3.6%)
0.25 lb Carafa II (1.8%)
Step Mash:
1. Protein Rest - 133F (56 C) - 20 min
2. Beta Saccharification Rest - 145 F (62 C) - 90 min
3. Alpha Saccharification Rest - 158 F (70 C) - 45 min
4. Mash-out - 168 F (76 C) - 5 min
Water (ppm): Ca: 76, Mg: 19, Na: 65, SO4: 200, Cl: 100, HCO3: 54
60 minute boil:
1 oz (28g) Magnum (12.8% AA) - 60 min
1 oz Spalt (3.2% AA) - 15 min
OG: 1.062
2 packages or 1 starter of Wyeast 1007 German Ale
Ferment from 55-60 F (12-15 C) for 1-2 weeks, raise to 68 F (20 C) for 2-3 days if diacetyl present, lager at 32 F (0 C) for 3 weeks before serving.
FG: 1.016
-------------------------------------------------------
Full disclosure, most of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you buy through them I make a small percentage from the sale at no additional cost to you. All money earned through the channel goes back into the videos and brews you see on my channel. As always, don't just take my word for it, do your research before you decide to buy.
Music:
-----------
Lioness (Instrumental) by DayFox / dayfox
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/lioness...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Lioness (Instrumental)...
-----------
-----------
Track: Gladsome - Vishmak & JayJen [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch: • Gladsome - Vishmak & J...
Free Download / Stream: alplus.io/glad...
-----------
-----------
Nostalgia by Johny Grimes / johny-grimes
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/nostalg...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Nostalgia - Johny Grim...
------------
------------
Track: Special Days - JayJen [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch: • Special Days - JayJen ...
Free Download / Stream: alplus.io/spec...
------------

[@bumpy-isms]

This beer turned out great....... and i know where the bathroom is Cheers Steve...... thank you for the awesome brews. Do you want your grolsch bottles back? If not they will be recycled

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Haha thanks Jesse! It was awesome to have you over and taste beers together. I dont mind if you recycle the bottles. Cheers and hope to see you again soon!

[@skafazzation666]

Went to Düsseldorf for a safety trade fair and fell in love with Altbier. Thank you so much for posting this video, who knows I might make it myself some day

[@tomtom2806]

Greetings and compliments from Düsseldorf!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Cheers! That's awesome, do you think the beer sounds about right for something you would find in Düsseldorf?

[@tomtom2806]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Yes, your altbier has got the right color. My favourite altbier is Schumacher Alt. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brauerei_Schumacher

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

@@tomtom2806 Glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback!

[@garylynn453]

I have drank that bier from the brewery when I was in the Army in the 70s and 80s. I make that as well. Altair is my fav

[@theulsterexpat]

getting into my German old school beers, Kolsch, Marzan, Vienna Lager and Alt bier. Your back catalogue is a valuable resource, Cheer!

[@brokentreebrewingco7034]

stick a magnet to the stir bar and you can move it up and out the mouth of the flask. good stuff!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That's definitely a good method. Lately I've been pretty good about not dumping the stir bar in though! Cheers!

[@ryeguy88]

I think the same thing every time i watch these videos lol.

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

wanted to add, the beer looks gorgeous in the glass..........have fun

[@TwoandaHalfPintsHomebrew]

We've been having a lot of success with step mashes, particularly the Hochkurz mash (144 for 45 min, 160 for 45 min). Great for German and Belgian styles as well as IPAs. I agree that it really helps head retention and body. Also, apparently chalk doesn't dissolve very well, try swapping it out for baking soda to get your carbonate. That might be why your pH was off.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Excellent! I did a variant of that mash schedule on a decoction mashed doppelbock I brewed last week with good efficiency results. I think it adds a nice nod to tradition for those styles. I'm a bit hesitant to add baking soda since my sodium levels in my base water are already rather high at 65 ppm, but it may be worth a try. Cheers and thanks for the info!

[@DavidLuger]

Chalk will dissolve much better in carbonated water. Thanks for the vid.

[@njs300800]

I've never had an altbier before. Now you have me intrigued.... I'll keep my eyes open while visiting local breweries

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

They're not super common, you'll have to look pretty hard to find one unless you check for imported German beer

[@grunzgrunzibert6223]

Even in Germany you can buy them pretty much only in Düsseldorf.. Now I am interested, did you find an american brewed commercial version of it?

[@robertmullins9639]

Great video. Glad you explained that we could follow your recipe without the mash steps. I brew on a propane burner outside, so this would be difficult to step... thanks again!

[@bmager16]

Have to agree with your observations regarding aroma, flavors and color. I've brewed a few batches of the Northern German Altbier style ~25 IBU's, 15 SRM. Love the complexity of malt flavors that come through. Family members and friends who normally shy away from dark beers like this style. Kudos on your vids. Prost!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thank you! I personally think the northern German style with its lower bitterness is more approachable but they both make great options. It's one of my favorite styles I've brewed, cheers!

[@mihaiplesca912]

Great Video!

[@diverbob33]

Greetings from the UP of MI. I have an altbier that's just about ready to begin lagering. Congratulations on a successful brewing of this great but difficult style! You have a great presentation style that makes your process easy to understand for a wide range of brewers. Our recipes are very similar in both ingredients and statistics. Your beer is a bit higher in gravity than mine. I tried a double decoction mash with the decoction steps coming between the two sacch. rests and mashout. I was pleased with the color development and carmelization of sugars but I probably didn't remove as large a portion of the main mash to decoct as I should have, since I didn't get much of a temperature increase between the mash steps. So, in effect, I was doing a step mash. I am basically following your fermentation schedule and am currently in a diaceytal rest. Just a suggestion for upping your extraction efficiency you could double crush the grains (I understand most HBS will do this for you if you don't have your own grain mill). Alternatively, you could simply increase your grains by say 10%. The later technique seems to work pretty good for me as a BIAB brewer. Cheers to your success and I will let you know how mine turns out.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That sounds great! I feel like a decoction mash would create a very interesting malt complexity that would be very good in this beer style, definitely let us know how it turns out. Thank you for the awesome feedback as well, I appreciate it. I typically would add in some extra grain bill as well when compensating for BIAB efficiency losses so that definitely works great. Cheers!

[@EternalWarrior1988]

Really liking your videos. Surprised you don't have more subs.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Glad you're enjoying them! Hopefully the channel continues to grow steadily!

[@jeffbrislane5782]

Man the Germans have such a large range of interesting beers!

[@TheGrimbarianBrewer]

I need to make one of these,that looks a real beauty and so drinkable,great job mate. Cheers 🍻🍺

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks! It was a fun brew!

[@TheGrimbarianBrewer]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Definitely looked it mate,gonna catch up on vids as much as i can,hope you're staying safe and well though. Cheers 🍺🍻

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Same to you and yours, cheers!

[@robertgresham3489]

You mentioned commercial altbiers... Freestate in Lawrence KS has an amazing altbier called Ad Astra. I highly recommend checking it out.

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

hi Steve, wanted to know if u are using regular fully modified malts or are they semi modified, as ur mash schedule is very traditional......... these are truly amazing beers u are brewing.....tk care and stay safe.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

They're all fully modified modern malts, I just wanted to play around with the step mash, definitely worth it!

[@kennygraley824]

I hear that when you boil the grains it’s causes them to turn darker! I figure it’s different than doing a step mash?!? Great video with tons of info! Cheers

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

True, a decoction mash definitely darkens the color! The step mash is easier and is just applying heat to the mash or adding water infusions to hit temperature steps. Glad you found it useful, cheers!

[@williambellavance8784]

My wife bought me the same brew log. I just came across your channel the other day. You look familiar to me, you ever live in northern mass?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I've lived on the northern side of Boston and in southern NH for the last 4 years, definitely possible we've run into each other before!

[@smitty7592]

Nice job. Wondering if you actually added a full Tbsp of baking soda? I can’t imagine it needed that much. Just wanted to clarify with some of your viewers.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yeah that's definitely a slip of the tongue that I seem to always make, just a teaspoon usually, not a full tablespoon.

[@mihaiplesca912]

I will brew this beer next weekend. The cleaner water profile will be ok?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Awesome! You will be fine with less mineral heavy water.

[@johncspine2787]

I avoid hops with high alpha, I like using the more aroma/flavor type hops even for bittering purposes as we are not commercial brewers worried about cost..I think you get a more refined result..then again I don’t make really bitter beers either..

[@jcinsaniac]

Quick question - when you do the steps, you DO NOT count any time moving between temps, right? In other words, you put the system at 133 (or a little more to help with grain temp differences) and hold that for 20 mins...then you move to 143 - once you get there, you start the timer for an hour. Is it important how quickly you get to each rest?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That's correct. If using direct heat, you don't want to raise the temp ramping up to the next step too fast or you will scorch.

[@JoseGuillen422]

Did you ever lighten the color of the beer? I saw you added .25 lb, maybe 2 oz of carafa 2 would be good. I’m trying to make this style eventually and didn’t realize how dark carafa can go lol

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I still need to brew this again. Caraf I or Ii is best for this, and a light hand. Carafa 3 is pretty intense!

[@jclegel1]

Curious about the use of Melanoiden Malt in this recipe. I thought the purpose of that malt was to replicate some of the character of decoction mashing?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Exactly. The flavor compounds that are created during a decoction mash are known as melanoidins, but you can create a similar character in the beer by using this malt, which is high in melanoidins.

[@johncspine2787]

Very hot water is not good for glass carboys..long term they get very stressed by the temp changes..

[@InvisibleCitizen]

Boiling a mash such as in a decoction mash produces Millard Reactions which produce various taste in a beer! These taste can not be produced in a step mash! I brew my best German Beers with at least one decoction and many of my other beers by step mashing! I do use a single temp infusion for a few beers but all of my awards wining beers have been with the afore mentioned processes!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I've found decoction mashing is a rather controversial subject amongst homebrewers. I have done hochkurz style decoction mashes on both a traditional hefeweizen and a doppelbock, both of which will be coming to the channel soon. I found that there was not a particularly distinguishable decoction flavor that could not be substituted for with some melanoiden malt. If any flavor difference was there, it was minimal. There were definitely discernible differences in head retention and body however. That being said, I greatly enjoyed doing a decoction mash simply because there was more effort being put into the beer and I enjoyed doing that extra work. I think its definitely a worthwhile thing to do (if at least for the experience) but I personally dont think it is truly necessary, because I dont want to convince newer brewers that this is the only way to make a good German beer. Cheers though, and I'd like to see what your thoughts are on the decoction mashing videos I'll be putting out later this month!

[@JaeTizzle]

I brewed this recipe using this video guide 2 weeks ago. I am nearly ready to transfer into my keg for lagering. Does anyone know if there is a benefit to cold crash before transferring to the keg? I am using a floating dip tube so it seems unnecessary.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I don't really cold crash anymore so you should be good

[@JaeTizzle]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Thanks for the quick reply. Have a good weekend!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

You too!

[@koplandavid]

tnx for vid :)

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

You're welcome!

[@TheGavranatar]

Random thought: Do your neighbours ever wonder why you're always talking to yourself about beer? 🤔 Also, serious question: i'm doing a Munich Dunkel this weekend with a step mash. How different are an Altbier and Dunkel?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

All the time lol. The biggest difference between those two is largely the yeast. Dunkel is a lager yeast and altbier is a German ale yeast. Otherwise, the altbier is largely hoppier and more bitter, and the Dunkel will be dry, low ABV and very toasty

[@plumpony770]

So at 6.1% it's like a "Sticke" Altbier! Pröst!

[@jefferymonroe8509]

Why don’t you ever use white labs yeast

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Homebrew shop doesn't stock them

[@markbooth7657]

Do that d rest when attenuation is at 50%

[@CC-xh3eo]

Nice recipe, but why did you call it "Alpenglow"??? The Alpen (the Alps) are at least 500km away from Düsseldorf. That's as if you would brew a typical Texas style beer and call it "Appalachian dew"! Btw, in the Düsseldorf region, the countryside is as flat as a pancake, no mountains at all. Alpenglühen specifically refers to the Alps, the red skies at dusk in other mountain areas are simply that - red skies. The Kölschstange is to be used exclusively for Kölsch, which is the regional beer of Cologne. It typically contains 200ml and is narrow but long. The glas used for Altbier is called Altbierbecher (Becher=beaker) and typically contains 300ml, it is wider than the Stange (which translates to pole or rod), but shorter. You should also be aware of the fact, that Düsseldorf and Cologne are like cats and dogs. So do never order a Kölsch in Düsseldorf or vice versa - unless you want to be thrown out of the pub! 😜

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I mean, it's homebrew...so I can pretty much do what I want. Cheers!

[@CC-xh3eo]

I'm beginning to understand why there is a beer in the US called "St. Pauli-girl" with a girl dressed in a bavarian Dirndl on the label.