RCE - T8rSalad and russki - Altbier (5-gal)(AG)

[russki]

I've been sitting on this recipe for a while, but it's time to brew it! T8rSalad and I wanted to brew something we have not done before, something malty but not sweet, something that was not a lager, but smooth. We settled on Dusseldorf Altbier, a hybrid style - here's what BJCP says about the style:"A well balanced, bitter yet malty, clean, smooth, well-attenuated amber-colored German ale."

Here's the recipe we had settled on:

ctrl-ALT-del
an All Grain, Düsseldorf Altbier by russki and T8rSalad
Predicted Stats
1.049 OG
1.012 FG
49 IBU
4.8% ABV
13 SRM
Efficiency: 70.0% Batch size: 6.0 gal

Fermentables

Weyermann® Pilsner Malt 8.0 lb
Best Malz Munich 2.0 lb
Castle Aromatic 0.5 lb
Weyermann® CARAMUNICH® III 0.5 lb
Weyermann® Melanoidin Malt 0.25 lb
Weyermann® CARAFA® II 0.19 lb

Boil time: 90 min

Hops
Magnum (DE) 0.75 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 14.0%
Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (DE) 1.0 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 4.0%

Yeast
Wyeast German Ale Wyeast 1007

Extras
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.0 each 15.0 min Boil

Mash steps
Saccharification Rest Infusion 150.0 °F 60 min

I have a 2 liter starter of WY1007 going on stirplate in preparation for Black Friday brewday! I'm going to ferment this one on the lower side of yeast's temperature range - around 58F for a nice clean profile. T8r - are you still planning to brew this one in January?

[Kealia]

Sounds like a yummy beer to me.

[russki]

Crazy late night brew... Pump quitting on me caused all kinds of fallout - as I was messing with the gravity fed plate chiller, I forgot to turn off the boil, which caused a higher boil-off (and probably higher bitterness), so the OG ended up at 1.062 - really high for the style. I'm thinking of just calling it a Sticke Alt/Latzenbier, and rolling with it.

It's sitting in the ferm fridge at 58F right now, doing its thing.

[Brewbirds]

Russki if it is any consolation we did a DOH on our RCE.

We worked with JPSherman on a partial mash pale ale and once we got everything tweaked in BS and all the ingredients nailed down JP sent us his BS file.

Come brew day couldn't figure out why our readings were off.

It turns out that BB2 forgot to switch the equipment profile in BS from Jps set up to ours.

It didn't ruin the beer just lowered the gravity mostly and sample tasted fine.

Stuff happens.

[russki]

A quick update - checked the gravity today, it's at 1.012, so I dropped the temps down to 36F for a cold crash before bottling... I've got high hopes for this one.

[Trollby]

Foothiller and I set ours as a 5 gallon split batch half to use Lager yeast (Bock) and half to use Ale Yeast (Altbier)

I got busy and have not done mine yet but foothiller did his in two batches, lager in LBK right now.

We are looking forward to here how yours turned out

[russki]

I thought I would post my tasting notes.

Aroma: Bready malt, a bit of caramel, a touch of spicy noble hops.

Appearance: Deep amber with ample white head. Crystal clear. Decent head retention and lacing.

Flavor: Bitter, yet deeply malty, with some noble hop spiciness coming through. Bread, caramel, a touch of roast. Complex malty sweetness at first, that gives way to a nice dry finish with nice lingering bitterness. Super smooth and easy drinking even at 6.6% abv.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, medium carbonation. Goes down very easy.

Overall: I'm very impressed with how this one came out, even if not all of it was planned. Definitely one of my better beers. Very happy that T8rSalad and I came up with this.

And here are a couple pictures to illustrate:


Brilliant clarity:


T8r - Any news on your end?

[Kealia]

Sounds great and as you said, the clarity is brilliant!

[FedoraDave]

Wow. That is one nice-looking beer.

[Brewbirds]

That looks awesome Russki.