"A genuine altbier is a difficult to find style outside of Northern Germany. For most homebrewers, making their own is a more attractive option than airfare. One way of looking at this style is that altbier is the opposite of steam beer. While steam beers are lagers fermented at ale temperatures, an altbier is most often an ale fermented at low temperatures and then cold conditioned like a lager."
– Jeff Schultz
Austin Homebrew Supply
Austin, Texas
The wheat malt is a nod to the past, but this recipe uses every modern technological advantage to produce a clean, crisp, light-colored Kölsch. If the family has never enjoyed any of your homebrews before, this may bring them into the light.
Kölsch is a tricky beer style to pull off. Some would say that stovetop extract brewers shouldn’t even think about trying it. Not us. We know that if you take a scientific approach you can do it. However, you need to read these instructions carefully before you brew and follow them exactly.
Many recipes for Altbier use a large percentage of Pilsner malt along with some Munich malt, but in this recipe Munich II as the base malt lends a fantastic malt presence that blends beautifully with the hops.
With some modifications, this 31-gallon recipe became Bill Covaleski’s Victory summer draft.
Would Grape-Nuts Kölsch-bier have reminded naturalist Euell Gibbons of wild hickory nuts?
A fantastic extract brew with an all-grain taste. Perfect hop/malt balance on the palate with tremendous hop aroma. Definite German tones.
