Style: North German Altbier

All Styles

Style Profile based on 44 recipes

BU:GU

0.55

Hops

4.1 g/L

Mash pH

5.55

Style Guidelines AABC 2010

1.046 1.054

1.054

1.01 1.015

1.013

IBU

25 40

ABV

4.5% 5.2%

5.5%

SRM

13 19

Description

Subtle malty, sometimes grainy aroma. Low to no noble hop aroma. Clean, lager character with very restrained ester profile. No diacetyl. Appearance: Light copper to light brown colour; very clear from extended cold conditioning. Low to moderate off-white to white head with good retention. Flavour: Fairly bitter yet balanced by a smooth and sometimes sweet malt characterTypically made with a Pils base and coloured with Roasted malt or dark crystal. May include small amounts of Munich or Vienna malt. Noble hops. Usually made with an attenuative lager yeast.

Examples: DAB Traditional, Hannen Alt, Schwelmer Alt, Grolsch Amber, Alaskan Amber, Schmaltz’ Alt

Typical Grain Bill

49% Pilsner
23% Pale
13% Toast
12% Crystal

% of total grain weight across all recipes · sums to ~100%

Common Additions

% of North German Altbier recipes using each malt category (addition % in brackets)

Hop Usage by Addition Type

g/L · median with IQR range

Bittering

0.27 g/L 1.37 g/L

0.8 g/L

Flavour

0.32 g/L 1.4 g/L

0.72 g/L

Aroma

0.49 g/L 1.23 g/L

0.72 g/L

Common Hops

% of North German Altbier recipes using each hop

Common Fermentables

Colour = malt category · bar = % of recipes

Common Yeasts

% of North German Altbier recipes using each strain

Typical Water Profile

Ca²⁺ 60 ppm

Mg²⁺ 12 ppm

Na⁺ 10 ppm

Cl⁻ 82 ppm

SO₄²⁻ 65 ppm

HCO₃⁻ 98 ppm

median across recipes with a declared water profile

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