Tag Archives: german ale

Humboldt’s Hefeweizen 2026

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I finally perfected my weissbier recipe, and with that locked in it’s time to rebrew! My current version is same as the previous in technique, but I swapped in Weyermann pale wheat malt instead of Briess red wheat malt, and used Briess pilsen malt instead of Rahr’s equivalent. Upon starting this quest, I was excited to see if I could replicate the excellent results of my previous attempt. Overall, I wasn’t disappointed (but have a few notes).

Recipe Name

  • 7 lb. pale wheat malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 lb. pilsner malt (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. rice hulls
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB (mash)
  • 1 oz. Sterling whole hops (4.5% alpha estimated), 45 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. yeast nutrient (White Labs WLN1000)
  • 1 pkg. Munich Classic Wheat Beer yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.050 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 5.4% abv, 14 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Full volume mash, no sparge, 113° mash for 20 minutes, 145° mash for 45 minutes, 162° mash for 30 minutes
  • RO and neutralized Claremont tap water, mixed to hit 43 ppm Ca, 3 ppm Mg, 38 ppm Na, 29 ppm SO4, 43 ppm Cl, 4 ppm CaCO3, RA=-29, effective hardness=33 ppm.
  • 5.25 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I collected 2.9 gallons of Claremont tap water and neutralized it with 2.1 mL of 88% lactic acid and a small bit of Campden tablet. Then, I added 4.5 gallons of RO water, to hit my mash water profile.
  • I started the mash at 113° for 20 minutes, to enable a ferulic acid rest. Then, I raised the mash to 145° for 45 minutes, and finally ended at 162° for 30 minutes. Once the mash was done, I pulled the grains and heated the runnings to a boil.
  • The kettle had 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 69% mash efficiency. I’m pretty happy with that, as the previous batch had a lower efficiency.
  • Once the kettle was boiling, I added finings per the schedule and then turned off the heat after 60 minutes. As a procedural note, I had a 3 liter boil-off during my boil at 74% power on the Foundry (25 liters down to 22 liters).
  • I chilled the wort to 80° and then transferred to the fermenter, chilling down to 68° in my fermentation chamber, before pitching the yeast. I held the temperature here for fermentation.
  • I brewed this beer on 26 July 2026. Starting gravity was 1.049, just a shade off target, but nothing significant.
  • I kegged the beer on 11 August 2026, splitting it into two 2.5 gallon kegs, with 3.5 oz. of corn sugar into each. One keg was full up, the other around three-quarters full. I let the kegs carbonate at room temperature. This batch was split because I wanted to take some to a festival, but in my experience a full 5 gallons usually isn’t necessary (we rotate the kegs mid-way through the afternoon and have a full tap selection, so it’s rare to kick 5 gallons in 2 or 3 hours).
  • Final gravity was 1.013, for 4.8% abv.
  • I moved the kegs into the chest freezer on 17 August 2026, and topped up with forced carbonation. The sampled beer was really nice, with an excellent clove aroma. However, that was at room temperature, so we’ll see how it manifests once it is at serving temperature.
  • As a note, the less full keg had a pressure of 40 psi at 85°, so around 2.6 to 2.8 volumes of CO2.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • When done properly, this beer pours with a pillowy and persistent white head. It’s not quite as fine of bubbles as on the last edition, though. This is a pale straw beer, with a high level of yeast haze.
  • Aroma
    • Medium level of clove-like yeast character, and very light banana, and a little pineapple comes through, also. The latter is not at all bubblegum-like; it’s truly pineapple, which is interesting to me. Slight doughy malt aroma.
  • Flavor
    • The yeast flavor is at a moderately high level; mostly clove with a low level of banana and a little pineapple, also. Doughy malt character at a moderate level. Slight tartness to the beer, accentuated by the high level of carbonation. Medium low bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, spritzy carbonation, light and slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a solid recipe overall. I feel like a touch more body would be nice; I might mash at a higher temperature next time. This is a highly drinkable beer, but I’ll notch back hops slightly in future batches. A stronger yeast flavor/aroma would be nice, too. Maybe I need to go to a higher fermentation temperature? Given that the foam wasn’t quite as fine as on my first version, I think I’ll switch back to red wheat malt for my next one. Looking at the stats sheets, Briess Red Wheat Malt seems to have a higher average protein than the Weyermann White Wheat Malt (12.5% versus 10 to 13%), and I think I like the flavor on the Briess product a little better. I know, it’s heresy to use American over German ingredients in this style!
  • Overall
    • 7.5/10

Iceberg! Kölsch

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Kölsch is an accessible style, but its delicate qualities make it a challenge to brew well. Like a light lager, there isn’t much hop or malt character to hide behind, and the yeast character has a narrow separation between “subtle and pleasant” vs. “rotten fruit bomb.” Over several years, I had perfected a house recipe, but changes in ingredient availability restarted my quest.

This new recipe is, unsurprisingly, broadly similar to my old one. While searching the AHA’s recipe archives, I found an NHC-winning kölsch from 2023 (note: an AHA membership is required to view the original recipe), formulated by Metts Potter. It has a simple base of pilsner malt with a hint of Vienna (similar to my original, except I had light Munich instead of Vienna), with a light dose of Hallertauer Mittelfrueh. The original recipe used Wyeast 2565, but White Labs is easier to get so I used a close equivalent, the classic WLP029. I also had mixed pilsner malt types, to use up the last little bit of one sack of Briess. Because I had already done a kölsch semi-recently and didn’t want to get too tired of the style, I opted for a small, 3-gallon, batch.

Iceberg! Kölsch

  • 4.75 lb. Synergy Select Pilsen malt (Briess)
  • 0.75 lb. pilsen malt (Briess)
  • 10 oz. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 0.85 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.85 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hop pellets (2.5% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 Whirlfloc tablet
  • 1.5 g. WLN1000 yeast nutrient, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. German Ale/Kölsch yeast WLP029 (White Labs)
  • 1 oz. Biofine Clear, added to keg

Target Parameters

  • Hochkurz mash, with 5 minute rest at 144°, 45 minute rest at 148°, 10 minute rest at 153°, 45 minute rest at 163°, 15 minute mash-out at 170°, full volume mash
  • 1.047 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.7% abv, 20 IBU, 4 SRM
  • Water built from scratch, to hit 48 ppm Ca, 44 ppm SO4, 54 ppm Cl
  • 3 gallon batch

Procedure

  • Starting with 4.7 gallons of RO water, I added 1.4 g of calcium chloride and 1.3 g of gypsum, to hit my water profile target. I heated the strike water to 149° before adding the BrewTanB, grains, and 10 mL of 10% phosphoric acid.
  • I held the mash at 144° for 5 minutes, before raising to 148° for 45 minutes, then to 153° for 10 minutes, 163° for 45 minutes, and finally 170° for 15 minutes. All of this was done while recirculating.
  • After the mash, I removed the grains and brought the runnings to a boil. In total, I collected 4.36 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.040, for 75% mash efficiency. This high efficiency probably is a result of the extended mash time.
  • Once the kettle was at a boil, I added the hops and finings per the recipe. After the full 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat, chilled to 75°, and then transferred the wort to the fermenter. Within the fermentation chamber, I chilled the batch to 64° before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 31 May 2026; starting gravity was 1.048.
  • I fermented the beer at 66°, and kegged on 30 June 2026 via a closed transfer. The beer had a very nice flavor and aroma; bitterness seems a bit lighter than in Snowdrop Kölsch, which isn’t surprising given the stats.
  • Final gravity was 1.010, for 5.0% abv.
  • I had a first taste of the conditioned beer on 17 August 2026; it was really nice! There was a very slight but persistent haze, so I added Biofine Clear on 19 August 2026, when I moved the beer into my kegerator. The beer was (finally!) brilliantly clear on 24 August 2026.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Light yellow, brilliantly clear beer; pours with a low but somewhat persistent white head.
  • Aroma
    • Medium-low pear-like yeast character. Medium-low spicy hop character. Low grainy malt character.
  • Flavor
    • Grainy malt at a medium-low level; medium-low level of clean bitterness with a slightly spicy quality. Light pear fruitiness in the yeast, at a low level.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, medium level of carbonation, slightly lingering bitterness on an off-dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a fantastic kölsch, especially so once it was fully conditioned and dropped clear. Every element is beautifully balanced, creating an eminently drinkable beer that is perfect for a hot day. This seems like a worthy successor to Snowdrop Kölsch, as a house kölsch recipe.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Snowdrop Kölsch 2026

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This is one of my most frequently brewed recipes, now in its fifth iteration. I love the kölsch style, especially my “traditional” version that eschews wheat and leans in to an all-barley grain bill. The 2026 brew represents a changing of the guard, with the Köln yeast no longer available from Lallemand, and the Edelweiss hop blend now into retirement. I truly love this recipe, and will have to reformulate a little bit for the next round. I don’t care for K-97 in this style, so I’ll probably be back to liquid yeast in my German ales.

The brew and fermentations were delightfully uneventful for this round. My only minor hiccup was realizing that my draft lines were badly in need of a clean, which greatly improved the taste on the final product. Lesson learned!

Recipe Name

  • 9.5 lb. Synergy Select Pilsen Malt (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. Barke Munich malt
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1.1 oz. Edelweiss hop blend pellets (5.8% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 pkg. Köln Kölsch style ale yeast (Lallemand)
  • 0.9 oz. Edelweiss hop pellets (5.8% alpha), dry hop in primary

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.046 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 4.7% abv, 24 IBU, 4 SRM
  • Water built from RO, to hit 50 ppm Ca, 5 ppm Mg, 6 ppm Na, 54 ppm SO4, 72 ppm Cl
  • 5.25 gallon batch

Procedure

  • I built my water from 7.25 gallons of distilled water, with 3.6 g of CaCl, 1.7 g gypsum, 1.4 g epsom salt, and 0.4 g kosher salt, to hit the estimated water parameters.
  • I heated the strike water to 157°, added the grains along with 1 tbs. 10% phosrphoric acid as well as the BrewTanB, and then held at 152° for 60 minutes with recirculation.
  • After 60 minutes, I heated the mash to 168°, held it there for 10 minutes, and then removed the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 75% mash efficiency.
  • I heated the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled to 75° before transferring to the fermenter. Then, I put the fermenter into the fermentation chamber and chilled down to 60° before pitching the yeast.
  • Starting gravity was 1.049. I brewed this beer on 1 March 2026.
  • I fermented at 64°, and pulled the beer to ambient on 10 March 2026. I cold crashed on 13 March 2026, adding the dry hops at that time.
  • I kegged the beer on 22 March 2026, using closed transfer. I forgot that there were hops in the fermenter, so the dip tube clogged–I used a puff of CO2 to clear things out before resuming the transfer.
  • Final gravity was 1.010, for 5.2% abv.
  • I added ~2 oz. BioFine Clear on 27 March 2026.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Straw yellow color, brilliantly clear, with a low and persistent white head. It took awhile to clarify, but WOW! This is such a pretty beer.
  • Aroma
    • Low level of fruity aroma, with a ripe apple and pear character. Very low level of sweet malt aroma.
  • Flavor
    • Medium-low level of grainy maltiness, medium bitterness, medium low fruity, pear-like yeast flavor.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate level of carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a perfect recipe! The dry hop doesn’t come through, but that’s OK. The yeast character is quite nice, as is the malt bill. I’ll need to adjust yeast and hops for the next batch, but the overall concept is excellent for a kölsch. I could probably notch the bitterness back a little; I go back and forth on whether or not it’s too much or perfect.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Alstadt Altbier 2.3

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My Alstadt Altbier is one of my favorite recipes, and now we’re into the sixth iteration for this fall. I inevitably have some variation, but the core philosophy of Pilsner+Munich+Vienna at the core with a ~60L crystal/caramel malt of some sort to round out the profile (and a bit of Carafa Special II for color) has been consisten. The main difference from last batch is that I used all Caramunich I instead of a 50/50 mix of Caramel Munich 60L and Caramunich II. I also switched up the yeast a bit this time, because Lallemand’s Köln strain is no longer available.

Recipe Name

  • 6.5 lb. Viking Pilsner Zero malt
  • 1.5 lb. Munich malt (BestMalz)
  • 1.5 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 1 lb. Caramunich I (Weyermann)
  • 2 oz. Carafa Special II (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 2 oz. Spalt Spalter hop pellets (4.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Spalt Spalter hop pellets (4.3% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Kaiser liquid yeast (Imperial G02)
  • 1 pkg. SafAle German Ale (Fermentis K-97)

Target Parameters

  • 60 minute infusion mash, 152°, full volume mash
  • 1.048 o.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.9% abv, 35 IBU, 13 SRM
  • Claremont tap water, adjusted with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I made a 1L shaken-not-stirred vitality starter for the yeast (which had a package best-by date of January 2025). I used a can of starter propper with distilled water, started at 2:30 pm on brew day.
  • I heated 7.3 gallons of water to 157° and added the grains, letting it settle at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation. Unfortunately, I had mis-entered the strike water temperature, so I overshot the mash temperature by about 10 degrees. Once this was done, I raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute rest before removing the grains.
  • The mash yielded 6.5 gallons of runnings at at gravity of 1.040, for 65% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. Once the boil was done, I chilled to around 80° and then transferred to the fermenter for an overnight chill the rest of the way.
  • I brewed the beer on 30 August 2025. Starting gravity was 1.046.
  • The starter had minimal signs of life by the afternoon of 31 August 2025, so I pitched the starter as well as a packet of K-97. I fermented at 64°.
  • The fermentation kicked off vigorously within 12 hours.
  • I kegged the beer on 11 September 2025. It had a final gravity of 1.015, for 4.1% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Pours with a creamy ivory head of reasonable persistence. The beer itself is a deep amber, and brilliantly clear.
  • Aroma
    • Light caramel and malty aroma at a moderate level, with light toffee notes; no major yeast aroma. Slight herbal hop character.
  • Flavor
    • Medium malty and light caramel flavor. Medium high bitterness. Herbal and spicy hop character, at a moderate level.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Moderately light body, medium carbonation, slightly dry finish. The body is surprisingly thin.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This very is decent, but the body is a little lighter than usual, and the flavor seems thinner relative to my recollections and past notes. I might increase the mash temperature next time (but not as much as was here). This is not my best version of the beer! It’s odd that it feels so thing given the final gravity.
  • Overall
    • 6/10

Salty One Gose

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I’ve never made a gose before! This confession is probably not terribly surprising for those who know my brewing preferences, because I find most sour beers a little too annoying to deal with. Kettle sours take time, and other sour processes are prone to contamination of subsequent batches in the same equipment. Plus, I find many sours just a little too sour to be drinkable beyond a half glass. That said, gose is only lightly tart and lower alcohol, which puts it into the space of beers I enjoy. I think the main thing deterring me from the style in the past was the annoyance of having to dial in the sourness without overshooting (undershooting?) the pH.

Then, I spotted a neat recipe in the January 2025 Zymurgy magazine–a brew called “Salty One Gose” that won gold in the European Sour Ale category at NHC 2024. Crafted by Jonathan Hernandez of Waterville, Maine, the beer drew my interest because it used kettle soured sauergut added to the main kettle in order to hit the perfect level of sourness. So, you’re essentially blending wort for a desired result.

I modified this beer only slightly from the original recipe. The published version was 6 gallons, so I reduced it towards a 5.25 gallon batch. I also adjusted the amount of pilsner malt required downwards, anticipating high efficiency (as is typical of my batches with minimal grain volumes). I used a mix of Viking and MCM malt, because I had a pound of the latter on-hand to use up. Finally, I used whole Saaz hop cones from South Dakota; hops are a minor consideration for this style, so I wasn’t too concerned about alpha level, aroma, or flavor.

Coriander choice took some thought–although I have it on-hand for cooking, it had been in the pantry for a few years, and I was worried about freshness. So, I ordered a small quantity online; the package didn’t document origin of the spice, but when I smelled the crushed seeds they had the fresh lemon quality I was looking for.

Recipe Name

  • 1 gallon sauergut (added to kettle at boil)
    • 1 lb. pilsen light DME (Briess)
    • 1 pkg. Wildbrew Sour Pitch (Lallemand)
  • 3.5 lb. white wheat malt (Briess)
  • 2.5 lb. pilsner zero malt (Viking)
  • 1 lb. pilsner malt (Montana Craft Malting)
  • 2 oz. rice hulls
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, added to mash
  • 1 oz. Saaz whole hops (est. 1.5% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 8 g. coriander seed, crushed, 10 minute boil
  • 13.1 g kosher salt, added at end of boil
  • 1 pkg. Köln Kölsch-style yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • Full volume mash with 5 minute rest at 131°, 40 minute rest at 147°, 30 minute rest at 161°, and 10 minute rest at 168°
  • 1.042 o.g., 1.007 f.g., 4.6% abv, 5 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Mash water adjusted to 37 ppm Ca, 20 ppm SO4, and 51 ppm Cl.

Procedure

  • Two days before the primary brew day (April 3), I measured out 1.1 gallons of RO water (4.164 kg), added 1 lb. of Briess pilsen light dry malt extract, 1.5 tsp. (7.5 mL) of 88% lactic acid, and then boiled this for 4 minutes. Next, I chilled the wort to 90°, before pitching the entire packet of the lacto culture.
  • I started the initial culture on the evening of 3 April 2025, kept a heating pad under it, and wrapped it in a blanket, to hold temperature at 85° to 90°.
  • By April 5, the pH looked to be around 3.2 or 3.3 as measured by pH strips. This was brew day!
  • I mashed in with 6.5 gallons of RO water and mineral adjustments, with 0.9 g gypsum and 2.6 g calcium chloride. I heated the strike water to 134°; once the grains were added, I held the temperature at 131° for 5 minutes, before heating to 147° for 40 minutes, raising to 161° for 30 minutes, and then mashing out at 168° for 10 minutes.
  • Because I had such a low volume of grains, I had exceptional mash efficiency at 1.034 with 6.9 gallons, for 89% mash efficiency.
  • As the main runnings were coming to a boil, I boiled the saurgut prepared earlier and added it to the kettle, getting a pre-boil gravity of 1.035.
  • I brought the kettle to a boil, adding hops, BrewTanB, coriander, and salt per the recipe. After a full 90 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 72° before transferring to the fermenter.
  • I chilled the wort to 64° in the fermenter, holding it at that temperature for initial fermentation.
  • I brewed the beer on 5 April 2025, and had a starting gravity of 1.043.
  • I kegged the beer on 18 May 2025, with closed transfer. Final gravity was 1.009, for 4.5% abv.
  • My tasting at the time of kegging showed it to be an exceptional beer–the coriander flavor and aroma were perfect, as was the salt balance. After the initial carbonation and tastes, I decided to up the carbonation to about 3.2 volumes.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • A light yellow, moderately hazy beer, pouring with a fluffy white head of excellent persistence; the head leaves lacing down the side of the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Bright, medium-light aroma of coriander and fresh sea breeze; a light bread dough aroma behind that
  • Flavor
    • Lightly and pleasantly tart; a light lemony coriander flavor alongside fresh sea breeze from the salt. “Doughy” malt flavor of medium intensity. Low bitterness, with no hop character to speak of.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Rounded mouthfeel, high level of carbonation, dry mouthfeel on the finish, medium-light body. Very drinkable and very refreshing!
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This is an amazing beer and a solid first attempt at a gose. I had to adjust the carbonation upwards a bit, because it was a bit flabby on my first few pours, but once that was dialed in it notched the beer to perfection. The coriander and salt balance are spot-on, as is the level of tartness. I might use K-97 next time around, to retain the haze at a slightly higher level for longer, but this is just an awesome beer as is. I especially like the partial kettle sour method, so that I was able to hit a low level of acidity with minimal fuss.
  • Overall
    • 10/10