Altbier: History, Brewing Techniques and Recipes PDF
Preview Altbier: History, Brewing Techniques and Recipes
BEER 12 A A LTBIER LTBIER D o r n b u s c h 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 (303) 447-0816; Fax (303) 447-2825 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
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