My New Years Eve Beer Favorites!

Reactions to and impressions of commercial and home made beers and beverages. Travelling and experiencing beers from around the world.

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wottaguy
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My New Years Eve Beer Favorites!

Post by wottaguy »

Well...the party is over and i've been recouperating too!

Anyways, I had a lot of people show up for my New Years Eve party (that lasted 12.5 hours) and asked the majority which brews they liked the best. Now keep in mind that most everyone there is not into craft beer and are basically BMC drinkers at best. I did have a few very knowledgeable beer fans there too, including a couple of bjcp judges.

Also, each beer was brewed with the utmost care favoring none. Here's what they thought in order of what they liked the best:

1) Dusseldorf ALT
2) HL !@#$ Blond Ale
3) HL American Pale Ale
4) HL Amber Ale
5) Scottish 80/*
6) Irish Red Ale
7) HL IPA (on beer engine)
8) HL Ordinary English Bitter (on beer engine)

The various porters and sweet stout did well with the more experienced beer quaffers and were bottled.

I thought that this would be interesting for anyone planning a party for those non-craft beer types.

I'm still getting calls for more of the Dusseldorf ALT and will be brewing that again very soon, in volume! It's one of my favorites too!

Happy Brew Year!

(_)3
Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common
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slothrob
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Recipes

Post by slothrob »

Would you be willing to share your Alt recipe?
It's one of my favorite styles.
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RE: ALT Recipe...

Post by wottaguy »

Sure! I would be very happy to share this recipe. The world would be a much happier place if we had more of this stuff around. :)

Here it is:



Recipe: HL Dusseldorf ALT
Brewer: wottaguy
Asst Brewer:
Style: Dusseldorf Altbier
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 8.40 gal
Estimated OG: 1.052 SG
Estimated Color: 14.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 48.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 77.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3 lbs MFB Pale Ale Malt (2-3 L) (2.5 SRM) Grain 27.47 %
3 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Ger Durst (2.0 SRM) Grain 27.47 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 22.89 %
1 lbs Amber Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 9.16 %
1 lbs Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 9.16 %
4.0 oz Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 2.29 %
1.9 oz Carafa II (412.0 SRM) Grain 1.10 %
0.8 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 0.46 %
1.25 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 39.6 IBU
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
2 Pkgs Dusseldorf ALT (White Labs #036) [Starter 2 Liter Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: 5 Gallon Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10.92 lb
----------------------------
5 Gallon Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 3.26 gal of water at 164.5 F 150.0 F


Notes:
------
Ferment @ 58 - 60 deg F for 14 days or until done. I hold mine in the primary for 21 days then keg, and lager and force carb at 38 deg F. Carb to get 2.5 - 3.0 vol CO2.
Let it age for at least 4 weeks while lagering and carbing.

Can also use Hallertauer for hops too. Just get the same BU's going for it.

MFB = Malteries Franco-Belges

** I would of liked to post this recipe on BT.com, but I cannot find the correct ingredients there.**

Any comments on this one? Let me know how it comes out for you. I do prefer using Hallertauer.

Enjoy!

(_)3


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common
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slothrob
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Thanks.

Post by slothrob »

Thanks for the recipe.

I just had my first Uerige Alt, and i think I'll try making something like it, soon. I've had the Sticke many times, and always liked it but was never wowed. The regular Uerige was out of this world. One of the best beers I've ever had.

I was surprised at how dry it was, as well as how bitter and how much hop flavor it had. I think I was lucky and got a really fresh bottle.
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RE: Thanks (Recipe)

Post by wottaguy »

yw slothrob....

I have never had any authentic ALT's as I have a tough time finding quality beers here. Thanks for your suggestions, i'll be trying to get a couple here.

The last time I brewed this recipe, i used Hallertauer Hops and it came out nice.

The yeast also gave it a very slight spicy background note to the finish as well as the bitterness too, but I thought it could have been a bit drier. Maybe cutting down the Caramunich would help with that.

If you try this one out, please let me know what you think.

Thanks again...

(_)3
Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common
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wottaguy
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RE: Uerige Alt

Post by wottaguy »

Say slothrob,

was the Uerige Alt bottle conditioned at all? Just wondering here...i'm reading stuff on their site. I need to try some of that...I have it written down on my gotta try out list!

Thanks again

(_)3
Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common
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slothrob
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Alt

Post by slothrob »

This is the one I had, the bottle in the middle. Take a look at it in the glass. I was shocked to find out how pale it actually was! The Sticke and Dopplesticke are both outstanding beers, but I think the alcohol aroma is so dominant in those that the 4.7% version, for me, comes across as a more complex beer. I generally do favor lower alcohol but flavorful beers, though.

I didn't see any yeast, but it still might have been bottle conditioned, Sierra Nevada is bottle conditioned and I hardly see any yeast in it anymore. If it's not made with Wyeast 1007 then it must be a nearly identical strain. I always associate that yeast with a particular crisp edge and dry finish that I believe I found in this beer.

The Uerige Alt was almost certainly either all Spalt hops or Spalt Flavor and aroma and something cleanly bitter like Magnum, Perle or Northern Brewer as the bittering hop. There's info that Hallertau may also be used (see below).

I'm able to get a number of very good US Alts, but they really aren't that much like this beer. They have mostly been darker and sweeter. It's hard for me to believe that the Uerige had any Crystal Malt at all, but supposedly it does. They must just be used with a great deal of restraint and it must be mashed low. The roastiness was very restrained, but I believe I could taste it, so I suspect they use a tiny amount of a roasted malt, not sinimar, for color.

Denny Conn had this edited quote from one of the Uerige brewers which I've further edited a slightly:
"Water can be relatively hard with a high carbonate level. Malt is based on well modified pils, with a bit of caramel malt and a bit of "chocolate roasted wheat malt". Mash schedule has rests at 125, 144, 158, and 169 (mashout). Boil time is 60-70 min. Mittelfruh, Perle, or Spalt are the preferred hops. Aroma hop addition is about 25% of the total hop amount. Add aroma hops no earlier than 20 min. before flameout. OG is 1.044-1.052. Primary between 59-68F. Secondary at 50F. Then
condition at 32F for 14 days. FG should be 1.008-1.014. 4.3-5.5% ABV Here's the recipe he gives for 5 gal. ....

5.9 lb. Pils malt
0.15 lb. Caramel malt (e.g. Weyermann Caramunich)
1.34 oz. Chocolate Roasted malt (e.g. weyermann Carafa Spezial Type 1)
0.7 oz. Hallertau Mittlefruh - 6.5% - 60 min.
0.46 oz. Perle - 7.5% - 60 min.
1.11 oz. Spalt - 5% - 20 min. "

It looks like that Chocolate Roasted Malt should be Chocolate Wheat Malt. Also, I suspect there should be a very late aroma addition, from the beer that I had.

The big problem is the recipe only comes out to near the right OG with 100% efficiency. If you increase everything to hit closer to the 1.047 that the beer probably starts at, the Caramunich increases to 1/4# and the Chocolate increases to 2 oz. Your recipe is in line with those numbers.

Your recipe looks tasty. I'll let you know when I make it.
Last edited by slothrob on Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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wottaguy
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RE: Alt

Post by wottaguy »

Wow..!

Thanks for all the new information about this great style. I'll keep all these points in mind for future reference. I have since backed off on the OG to 1.048 (equally on both base malts), and have shaved 50% off of the Caramunich as I feel that the beer came out a little too sweet. It was slightly dry, but not quite dry enough. I'll be brewing this again real soon in a couple of weeks, as I had the last pint of it last night. I miss it already. :(

Now...all I have to do it to find a sample of the beer around here...the hunt starts!

Please keep me posted to your results and of any changes that you may make.

Thanks again!

(_)3
Visit my blog @ http://www.wottashomebrewblog.blogspot.com

On Tap:
HL Pale Ale
HL Lite Lager
Bottled:
HL Simcoe Pale Ale
HL Wizeguy Weizenbock
HL Reveur Saison
HL Dry Stout
HL Kentucky Common
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