I remember when you could only get a sixer of Zombie Dust if you got there when it arrived AND you bought a sixer or more of something else
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I made the Zombie Dust clone also. It’s not a bad rendition. Not quite as crisp and clean as the original, but very tasty anyway. I’ll be curious to read your impression.
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I’m brewing fonio tripel today. The last batch was so good I want to do another one to see if the first was a fluke or a solid recipe.
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I’m brewing my altbier today - Alstadt Altbier. This is my sixth time brewing the recipe (first time in 2020), from a recipe in Horst Dornbusch’s Altbier book. Although I’ve varied it slightly by maltster, etc., over the years, the overall recipe has been pretty consistent, and pretty consistently awesome. It’s one of my favorites!
I also am kegging (using closed transfer) the Maris Otter / Mosaic SMaSH beer from a few weeks back. It’s very sessionable (~4.1% abv), and very tasty.
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I love alts. Been brewing them for 25 years. I’m gonna try one with all Gambrinus Mars malt.
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Doing one more session pale ale tomorrow. My Mega Mosaic have not made one in a while.
Edit About 1/2 way through the boil
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Denny, are you interested in the color from Gambrinus Mars malt or the flavor?
Mainly flavor.
Would you share a copy of your recipe? I am looking at a Düsseldorf Altbier from BF and would appreciate your expertise
I have made some beers where I was trying for reddish color, and I have used large amounts off RedX, but I have always been disappointed in the results. In one I was trying for the color of the red hair of Vikings, in another I was looking for a more coppery color. In both cases the color was wrong, and in one case the flavor was lacking. I may give Gambrinus Mars a try next spring.
Me? Sure…I’ll dig it up. I have several.
Here’s my recipe (Alstadt Alt version 2.3):
- 61.2% pilsner malt
- 14.1% light Munich malt
- 14.1% Vienna malt
- 9.4% Caramunich I malt (Weyermann)
- 1.2% Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
- Spalt Spalter hop pellets at 60 minutes to hit 32 IBU
- Spalt Spalter hop pellets at 5 minutes to hit 3 IBU
- your favorite German ale yeast
I use a 60 minute mash at 152 degrees, 60 minute boil. I aim for 1.048 s.g., 35 IBU, 13 SRM, 4.9% abv. We have pretty hard water here (carbonate, chloride, and sodium heavy), but I only adjust with a bit of lactic acid to lower pH a bit.
Malt brands vary - I’ve done versions with all domestic base malt, all German base malt, and a combo. Choose your favorites (or whatever you can get most easily), and see how it turns out. I have done this as an all-Weyermann recipe.
In one previous version, I subbed in an even split of Caramel Munich 60 and Caramunich II instead of Caramunich I. One of my early versions used Crystal 60 instead of Caramunich I–the use of crystal 60 is what the original published recipe had, but many of those specialty malts weren’t available when the book was published. I prefer to use Caramunich, because I think it gives a more complex flavor.
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i’ve had good results in the past with the caramunichs 1 to 3, i should plan to use some in the future.
also an alt is potentially on the table.
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Made a hazy wort yesterday. I was lucky enough to find some homebrew packs of Cosmic Punch. Using Necreton, Mosaic and Citra on this one.
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At Andy, and all German Altbier brewers…
On what are you basing your recipe? Seems like a silly question but I ask because I can’t find a true German Altbier on the shelves anywhere near me nor can I honestly say if I have ever had one.
I’ll be brewing my first Alt this coming weekend and the foundation for my recipe is coming from how I interpreted the description in the BJCP, style 7B. It’s a fair question to ask why I would bother brewing an Alt if I can’t say I’ve ever tried one, but the idea of the style sounds like something I would enjoy.
I have seen some supposedly authentic homebrew recipes for Zum Uerige Alt (with Denny’s name attached, so I assume they are solid). But I also understand that ZU is a bit of an outlier when it comes to the style…more bitter, less malty. The recipe I’ve seen for it is pretty much all Pilsner with only a smidge of Caramunich and roast.
Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Let’s Brew Wednesday - Zum Uerige Alt
I too have the issue of not having encountered many “authentic” altbiers, although they are easier to come by in some German-centered craft breweries I have visited. I used the Altbier book by Dornbusch (from Brewers Publications’ Classic Beer Styles series) as a starting point; it is a bit dated now, given that it was published in 1998 and ingredient availability has changed so much in the nearly 30 years since. However, it did provide a solid starting point for me that seemed to be relatively close to traditional beers and based on regional altbier recipes. If you haven’t done so already, my other suggestion would be to review the recipe database on the AHA website, or perhaps a style profile in Zymurgy or BYO, which should have vetted recipes. I find semi-random recipes (“just” from homebrewers, not published in recentish publications or AHA website) to be of highly variable quality.
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Thanks Andy - this looks good and I think will be next in the rotation, after my hazy/juicy. Be well
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Like Andy, I started with the Alt book. Then, based on what was in there and the “conventional wisdom" of 27 years ago, I developed both an Americanized version and what I thought was a more traditional version. The latter was developed after tasting Zum Uerige and a couple other alts. Years later I ran across a Zum Uerige recipe from the brewmaster there. It wasn’t much like either of mine. I posted that recipe to the forum. You can find several recipes here https://web.archive.org/web/20171105060504/http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/7CDusseldorfAltbier
This is my Americanized version. I’ve won more awards with it than anything else. https://web.archive.org/web/20171105014431/http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/MilosAlt
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This post?
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That’s the one. Someone (maybe Jeff Rankert?) brewed it. I think he had to adjust it to hit specs. But it’s in the same vein as Dornbusch. Of course, the yeast is WY1007.
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