Brewing a German Altbier with Fermentis K97 Ale Yeast

Рет қаралды 3,250

Жыл бұрын

This week, we taste a German Altbier fermented with K97 Ale Yeast from Fermentis.
Not too long ago Mike tried K97 for the first time on a simple Blonde Ale. The goal then was to see how clean the yeast was. There have been some reports of if being a little phenol positive and not a clean fermenting yeast. Well the Blonde Ale experiment was absolutely great and super clean so it was time to do something in the German Ale lineage; hence Altbier.
This beer was red, toasty and a touch spicy. The use or aromatic malt and caramunich really pushed the flavor profile in the right direction. Despite the low alpha acid of the Hersbruker hops there was a pleasant touch of bitterness and some lingering Nobel Hop herbal spice.
Altbier is a great winter style. Something that is easy to drink delivers tons of flavor while giving you a break from some bigger heavier stouts.
Cheers!
RECIPE:
3gallon batch
4.5lbs Pilsner
0.5lb Aromatic Malt
0.5lb Caramunich I (35L)
2oz Carafa special III 470L
2oz Hersbruker Hops 2.2 AA 60min
K97 Safale German Ale Yeast
#AltBier #K97AleYeast #brewdudes
Check out our blog:
www.brew-dudes.com/altbier-k9...

Пікірлер: 37

@ElKataplun 3 ай бұрын

I just brewed this style. I used novalager yeast and fermented under pressure for 5 days. It was fully attenuated on the 5th day and I kegged it. No off flavors whatsoever. I loved fermenting this style under pressure. The turn around time was amazing and it’s one of my best brewed.

@davidhall158 Жыл бұрын

I got excited about Altbier long ago after reading Charlie Papazian’s descriptions in one or perhaps 2 of his 90’s publications. I brewed a lot of beer based on his description and recipes but I’m yet to taste a ‘genuine’ German Alt but when I get to Düsseldorf that’s definitely on the list of things to do. I was never convinced that my beers were really true to style but I enjoyed the beer I was producing. I could obtain Hersbrucker at least, Tasmanian-grown, and I could get Wyeast 1007, but my malt was all Australian-made extract and Australian specialty malts. I’ve seen results of genetic analysis which concluded K-97 is the same strain as Wyeast 1007.

@tobyschneider1784 Жыл бұрын

I love your videos. Great stuff. Thanks

@curtpick628 Жыл бұрын

Never tried the Altsbier that I know of. I'll have to give it a try. Good information guys!

@kenmcculloch6249 Жыл бұрын

Altbier rocks and so does k-97

@1861313 Жыл бұрын

K-97 is an interesting yeast. It amplifies hop bitterness in my experience. Sometimes its hard to make beer with it because of that. But I love it. It was my first IPA yeast back in the time. Cheers

@brettslater9330 Жыл бұрын

Alt beer reminds me of an english ale. Bitter to be exact.

@peterpoel1019 Жыл бұрын

I have a alt recipe that has only been made w K-97. Great style and great yeast. Makes delicious Kolsch and Alt in my experience.

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

Right on! Cheers! -Mike

@iliffavenuebrewhouse6496 Жыл бұрын

Getting ready to do an Alt myself. Can't stand K97 but glad it worked out for you!

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

More to come in that German Ale Yeast realm. Cheers! -Mike

@chrisparisi7291 Жыл бұрын

I've got one in the Fermzilla right now from Morebeer's kit. It's looking good so far - hoping it tastes as well as it looks!

@juhoseppanen7125 Жыл бұрын

When i brew alt i use wlp036 Dusseldorf alt ale yeast. Good yeast.

@grahamhawes7089 Жыл бұрын

What timing, I just kegged an Altbier on Sunday, 1.050 to 1.010. I normally use Imperial’s “Kaiser” but had to substitute Wyeast’s “German Ale” this time. Like you, I do color adjustments with Carafa Special III in my eternal quest for truly red-colored beer, which is very satisfying when I happen to actually nail it. I target 14.5 SRM for red, with most of that color coming from darkly roasted malt, but I don’t nail it every time. If the color is coming from lower-kilned malts, you end up with shades of amber or brown no matter what SRM you target… It is something about the really black malts that contributes a ruby color.

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

Good advice for that red hue. Cheers! -Mike

@alexanderlafleur2931 Жыл бұрын

Try making a Belgian witbier with K-97. That's the recommended style on the K-97 packaging.

@chrisrasmussen2870 Жыл бұрын

I'd be curious what your fermentation temperature was. Sorry if I missed it in the video.

@f.lapointe4343 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this one... I plan to brew one kolsch and one altbier this March ... one question : what was your fermentation temperature?

@grahamhawes7089 Жыл бұрын

Not to speak for them, but generally 60-62 is a good temp for fermentation with Kolsch and Alt yeasts. I ramp that up to the high 60s after fermentation has slowed.

@pschannel6685 Жыл бұрын

Try Bestmalz Red X malt if you want to make a red beer. I made a Red IPA with it and yeah it was RED.

@elj4176 Жыл бұрын

Just brewed an Alt last weekend. Grainbill is similar to my Czech tmave. If you are looking for red color maybe try the Red X malt? Never used it but it says it gives a deep red color.

@Saintsdevotee Жыл бұрын

I've used red x, didn't like it's flavor. Color was ok, but not worth the flavor contribution. I'd recommend finding your color the traditional way of adding small amounts of dark malt.

@elj4176 Жыл бұрын

Good to know. I'll continue to not use it lol.

@brentjorgenson8593 Жыл бұрын

Great video, guys, as always. Can I ask what fermentation temperature looked like? I've had really bad luck with K-97 throwing a very Belgian sort of earthy/tart/peppery kind of note into my beers, and so I wound up backing off it as a yeast for my blonde ales and Kolsch, but I also have very poor temperature control in my setup. I've wound up switching entirely to W34/70, fermented warm, for those beers, and feel it better represents the style despite being a "lager" yeast.

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

Low 60s. Finished basement with a thermostat set at 65F. But the keg I am fermenting in sits on the floor and its away from the heaters so if fluxes in the low 60s. Cheers! -Mike

@brentjorgenson8593 Жыл бұрын

@@BrewDudes Thank you, yeah, that makes sense.

@lfcsponge 7 ай бұрын

Love your videos Guys. First time to brew with this yeast for a Kolsch and I have found it strange that after 10 days i still have a thick Krausen/Yeastcake on top even though the beer tastes fine and I have reached final gravity...Did ye find this and do you think the cold crash would dissipate this layer of krausen?

@BrewDudes 7 ай бұрын

Most of these Kölsch yeast strains are extremely poor flocculators. So if all signs point to done, go ahead and cold crash it or transfer the best you can and leave the yeast behind. No worries there. Cheers! -Mike

@lfcsponge 7 ай бұрын

Cheers Mike and thanks for the reply..Within two hours of starting the cold crash the krausen dissipated so all good@@BrewDudes 🍻

@grahamhawes7089 Жыл бұрын

I brew lots of Kolsch and I think the Cologne yeasts add a floral apple-y, pear-y ester character that I don’t perceive in Altbier. Maybe that is because the additional malt character drowns it out, but I suspect Düsseldorf ale yeasts and Cologne ale yeasts are somewhat different. Maybe I’ll do a split-batch Kolsch to test it.

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

Interesting take. I'll have to read up on this. Thanks. Cheers! -Mike

@CideryFromScratch Жыл бұрын

Hey Dudes! Is it common for Beer not to finish at 1.000 or less? Thanks!

@michaeltoner1993 Жыл бұрын

Yes, malt yields long chain sugars that (most) beer yeasts cannot ferment. These residual sugars contribute to gravity being >1.000

@tylerb6081 Жыл бұрын

To be honest, I hate Belgian phenolics and esters. K97 sounds interesting to me as a potential clean traditional German ale yeast but I see that K97 is listed to work well with some Belgian ales. Was there any Belgian tastes that were found in this Alt? I assume this is tempered by fermentation temperatures.

@kenmcculloch6249 Жыл бұрын

I’ve used k-97 a lot and never had belgium phenolics ever….super clean.

@BrewDudes Жыл бұрын

None. That's why when I first used it I put it in a Blonde Ale. If you ferment closer to 70F maybe it kicks some phenols but in the two times I tried it there is absolutely no indication that its belgian like. Cheers! -Mike