Altbier

[CrealCritter]

My ingredients are in. Since I haven't had time to mess with my old hand crank grinder, I went ahead and had the brew shop owner grind malts for me @ an additional .10 a lb. But I got a .20 a lb discount for ordering over 10lbs. So I still came out ahead of the game

This should be interesting... It'll be my first all-grain attempt and with a self created recipe. Time to put prior experience, book learning and study into practice. Wish me luck.

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion, that I need to build myself a brew house. I'm thinking something small, detached and on skids, something like an 8'x12' with a 8' tall ceiling. So I can load it on my lowboy trailer and move it easily, for when we move deeper into the woods.

 

[CrealCritter]

I brewed my all grain German altbier today and I can't believe I hit my post boil target gravity. I had an excellent brew day, more later...

Post boil starting gravity 1.052

 

[CrealCritter]

In order to brew all-grain, the first problem I had to solve was my city water. Although water chemistry is a deep wide vast subject and tweaking water for specific beer styles is just as vast. Until I learn more, i opted for a simplistic solution. I suspect the water most of us having come into our homes from the "city" falls into the same category as mine. Smells like chorine, leaves "hard water" chalky white spots when it evaporates. I pulled the annually required CCR (consumer confidence report) for my water department. Although it showed no violations set by the EPA. It offered no help in determining what is or isn't in my water.

So I called the water department and asked a couple of questions. After poking at them, I was able to get a little more info. My water is hard limestone sourced so the white spots are limestone. That's great because limestone water is good for alochol production. But the bad... Our water is treated with Chloramine. Chloramine is effective at preventing all kinds of bacteria growth and is next to impossible to remove from water, it's some nasty sh1t.

Equipped with this limited amount of information, I set out on mission impossible... how to "fix" my water for brewing without spending massive amounts of money on expensive to maintain reverse osmosis water filter system. I happened to stumble across a RV filter that connects to a garden hose. The filter is charcoal based, filters to 150 microns. After hooking this up to a drinking water hose and following the instructions, my water tasted a lot better. I did a quick boil test and there were no white spots left in the bottom of the pan after the water boiled off. I was very happy with my $8.99 quick fix. Just look at that beautiful filtered water in the bucket.

However my water even after using the RV filter still smelled of chorine. I know it's that damned chloramine. Unlike chorine, chloramine will persist in water even after boiling. It's very difficult to eliminate. However in one of my brewing books, I remember reading something about chloramine and chorine. After re-reading that section from the book, I discovered that 1 campden tablet (potassium metabisulfite) will remove chloramine and chorine from upto 20 gallons of water.

Being highly suspicious, I tested what I read... In one pan I added 1 gallon of tap water and 1 cup of table sugar. In another pan I added 1 gallon of RV filter filtered water, 1 cup of table sugar and 1 scoop of potassium metabisulfite which is equal to one campen tablet. I then heated both pans to 170 degrees and maintained 170 best I could for 10 minutes. I then cooled both pans to 75 degrees in cold water. Then I added 1 pint of sugar water from each pan into two clean and sterlized quart canning jars and added 1/2 a package of cheap ale beer yeast into each jar, I fixed a sterile lid and ring to each jar so they could burp, then I went to bed.

When I got up in the morning the filtered and campden treated jar was fermenting like crazy but the plain tap water jar was dead as could be. Man was I happy, happy, happy... Horray I finally figured out how to use my tap water to ferment. In the past I ruined 10 gallons of sauerkraut and I highly suspect killed numerous baby turkeys with my tap water. Now I won't have to buy bottled spring water from the store to ferment

Potassium metabisulfite (Campden) is used to sterlize the must when making wine. However when brewing beer you boil the wort to sterlize it. Potassium metabisulfite is available cheaply at any local Homebrew store. It gasses off from wine must in 12 hours, then you add petic enzyme, then after 12 more hours add the wine yeast. I'm not a scientist... But my understanding is that potassium metabisulfite leaves behind a very small amount of potassium and sulfates, which is harmless to most everyone, unless you are alergic to sulfates. Anyways you can read more about it here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite and here https://www.google.com/search?q=pot...e&ie=UTF-8#sbfbu=1&pi=potassium metabisulfite

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That’s cool- glad it worked so well. Makes me happy to have well water.

 

[CrealCritter]

That’s cool- glad it worked so well. Makes me happy to have well water.

To have good quality well water is a blessing. Especially in today's day and age. With all the inorganic crap we produce that doesn't breakdown for centuries and contaminates water sheds. For you to have good clean uncontaminated well water is a blessing.

I know the younger generation is all about Google for finding answers. But for us who still like books, it's how I found the answer to my water problem. And the proof is in the crazy strong Altbrier German Ale Yeast ferment going on in the bucket from my "city" tap water. It's hard for me to believe still, but it's fermenting like crazy at 60 degrees - yes!

We'll see what the beer tastes like when it's done and ready to drink. I mean my modified "city" water may make some totally nasty beer. If it does... I'm pretty confident, that I can correct the "city" water now, to make it into something that makes a decent brew. On the other hand my modified "city" water may make a decent brew after being modified as is. We shall see...

 

[CrealCritter]

Just nice to see verification...

From Wikipedia --->https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite

Also from Wikipedia --->https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochloramine

 

[CrealCritter]

Well I would say I most definitely fixed my water problem. I've never had an explosive ferment before, until now. The yeast loosened the lid off of the air lock and sprayed krauesen all over the lid, the thermometer floor and wall. the laundry room smells of good beer now though. Yes honey, I made a mess... I'll clean it up.

I added a blow off tube, into a small bucket of starsan sanitizer for the duration of the primary fermention.

 

[CrealCritter]

@ 54 degrees I get a bubble through the air lock about once ever 10 seconds. I think that's about the lower temperature limit for Safale K-97. Still amazing for a ale yeast to be able to ferment at such a low temperature.

I would like to experiment more with this yeast but I think I'll do that another time. For the meantime, until I find something better K-97, is going to be my go to ale yeast for German style ale brews.

Fermentis who produces this yeast says: "This ale yeast works at a wide temperature range between 12-25°C (53.6-77°F) but ideally between 15-20°C (59-68°F)." I don't have a lab, but I think fermentis is pretty much spot on. And with an alcohol tolerance of 11% ABV it has the potential to ferment to pretty jacked up juice. Way to go Fermentis!

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I brewed my all grain German altbier today and I can't believe I hit my post boil target gravity. I had an excellent brew day, more later...

Post boil starting gravity 1.052
View attachment 13094

Wow. that looks awesome. I can't wait to have that on my table with family while on nextflix and chiling out.. thanks for the Idea..

 

[CrealCritter]

I just poured my last pint of German Altbrier, it was my favorite in the keezer. Yep... I pretty much drank the entire 5 gallons myself due to Chinese COVID-19 Lock down.

This gives me an empty keg for my Knotty Blonde Ale and an empty faucet to fill . I have 5 differnt kegs of beers ready to carbonate. I think I'll carbonate the keg of Spotted Lamb Kölsch next, since it tastes so good even uncarbonated.

Ofcourse this means I'll have to brew another German Altbrier. But this time I have the hops that I wanted to use orginally.