Altbier: History, Brewing Techniques and Recipes

192 Pages·1998·10.446 MB·English

by  Dornbusch, Horst D

BEER 12 A
A LTBIER
LTBIER
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Who says there’s no such thing as a German ale? Eat your
lederhosen! If you think the German beer land is just a lager
land, think again, jawohl!
—From the preface
History,
Brewed centuries ago by monks and nuns, this copper-colored, full- A Brewing
bodied ale has a proud and unbroken brewing tradition dating back L
T Techniques,
to the beginning of civilization. Horst Dornbusch sheds light on the
B
practices of commercial altbier makers, how the equipment and I
E Recipes
ingredients used affect its flavor, and how this full-bodied brew became R
one of Germany’s most beloved beer styles. Recipes are included!
Brewers Publications’ Classic Beer Style Series is devoted to offering
in-depth information on world-class beer styles by exploring their history,
flavor profiles, brewing methods, recipes, and ingredients.
$14.95 U.S.
$19.95 Canada
C
LASSIC
B
EER
S
TYLE
Brewers Publications
A Division of the Brewers Association SERIES
® www.BrewersAssociation.org Horst D. Dornbusch
ALTBIER

ALTBIER
History, Brewing
Techniques, Recipes
HORST D. DORNBUSCH
C B S
LASSIC EER TYLE
S E R I E S n o . 12
A BREWERS PUBLICATIONS
a division of the Brewers Association
Boulder, Colorado
Brewers Publications, Division of the Brewers Association
P.O. Box 1679, Boulder, CO 80306-1679
[phone]; Fax [phone]
Brewers Association.org
© 1998 by Horst D. Dornbusch
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may
be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.
Neither the author, editors, nor the publisher assumes any responsibility
for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-937381-62-5
ISBN-10: 0-937381-62-4
Copy Editors: Anna M. Huff and Kathrin Rueda
Interior Photographs: Mark Duffley and Horst Dornbusch
Direct all inquiries to the above address.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dornbusch, Horst, D.
Altbier : history, brewing techniques, recipes / Horst D. Dornbusch
p. cm. — (Classic beer style series ; 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-937381-62-4 (alk. paper)
1. Ale—Amateur’s manuals. I. Dornbusch, Horst D. II. Title.
III. Series.
TP578.D67 1998
641.8’73—dc21 97-51327
CIP
Those who are completely mired in the past are irrele-
vant reactionaries who fail to comprehend the human
potential of the living. Those, on the other hand, who
dismiss the past as old-fashioned bunk are arrogant
fools who must not be trusted. Only those who pre-
serve and transform the past and make it come alive
in the present are part of that organic whole we call
civilization. In this spirit, this book is dedicated to all
those anonymous brewers who, at home or on the
job, have kept the altbier faith alive over the centuries
and have thereby enriched our sensory world and
enhanced our human experience.

Contents
Foreword by Herbert Enderlein, ix
Preface, xi
Acknowledgments, xv
Introduction, 1
Chapter 1 Altbier throughout History, 5
Chapter 2 Altbier Profile, 25
Chapter 3 Altbier Ingredients, 33
Grain
Water
Hops
Yeast
Chapter 4 Altbier Equipment
for the Homebrewer, 53
Home Mash Tun
Home Lauter Tun with Recirculation
Home Whirlpool
Home Heat Exchanger
Home Fermentation and Lagering Equipment
Home Filter
Chapter 5 Altbier Brewing Methods, 67
Composing Your Grain Bill
Mashing
Boiling
Hopping
Adding Flavor and Aroma Hops
Clarifying the Wort
Aerating the Cooled Wort
Fermenting
Lagering
Filtering
Conditioning and Packaging
Chapter 6 Recipe Guidelines, 93
Appendix A Commercial Alt Examples, 111
Appendix B Malting German Grain, 116
Appendix C Mash pH and Water Hardness, 119
Appendix D Sugar Fungus: Plant or Animal?, 122
Appendix E Calculating Your Grain Bill for
Beer Color, 125
Appendix F Calculating Your Bittering Hops
Addition, 130
Appendix G Unit Conversion Chart, 138
Glossary, 140
References and Further Reading, 151
Index, 159
About the Author, 170
Foreword
By Herbert Enderlein
He who drinks it for the very first time might experience
its true delight only after the third or fourth sip. We are
referring to the spicy, bitter Düsseldorf altbier. To Düssel-
dorfers, this top-fermented beer is a drink from the gods.
—Former Düsseldorf archivist Dr. P. Kauhausen in 1950
Dr. Kauhausen’s assertion is as valid today as it
was in 1950. It is pleasing to the eye to watch the
amber-colored to dark brown brew cascade straight
from a wooden cask into a cylindrical glass and form
a firm, finely laced, white crown of foam. Swift wait-
ers clad in blue garb carry the beer to the tables. In
the cozy, comfortable brew houses, steeped in tra-
dition, the air is laden with history, the living past,
and centuries of artful brewing. There, the captain
of industry stands next to the tradesman, the laborer
next to the teacher, the physician next to the stu-
dent—social barriers seem to melt away.
It is important to preserve this culture of the alt,
especially at a time when the world of beer is dom-
inated by “lagers.” This is what Horst D. Dornbusch
has recognized as he, through the study of sociology
and politics, discovered his love of beer, specifically
ix