Under min "research" om altbier har jag hittat en del konstigheter. Inför
en tävling är det ju viktigt att veta vad som gäller och vad domarna anser
vara en bra tolkning av öltypen. Därför kommer jag att följa de riktlinjer
som ges i senaste "Hembryggaren" (den med det fina omslaget
). Dock,det är inte helt lätt eftersom Zum Ueriges alt, som av många anses vara ett
av de bästa exemplen, har en beska på uppemot 50 EBU. Brygger man en alt
med så hög beska till tävlingen finns det nog en risk att man faller
utanför "huvudramarna".
Som en liten bilaga till detta inlägg har jag tagit med ett annat inlägg av
Al Korzonas (som ofta skriver på HBD men just detta är från JudgeNet).
Han nämner där bl a att han vid tävling fått kommentarer som "hop nose and
flavor not appropriate -- don't use flavor or aroma hops" från domarna,
trots en enda humlegiva (~55IBUs) at T-60min.
Notera även den låga beskan i Hannen Alt, 28 EBU, som ju är tillgänglig i
Sverige. Pinkus Muller finns också på bolaget men är inget bra exempel (och
det inte bara p g a låg beska). Risken finns att man blir bedömd efter de
få altbiers som finns här. Fast så skall man kanske inte resonera; man får
lita på att domarna har de kunskaper de skall ha.
Nedan följer Al Korzonas inlägg. Läs och begrunda:
From: korzPÅpubsPUNKTihPUNKTattPUNKTcom (Algis R Korzonas)
Subject: Alts and test questions
Ed writes:
<snip>There are two reasons why I believe that the description of the Alt is more
difficult than the description of the APA. First, knowledge of a Alt is
less common and more difficult to find. The only detailed descriptions
I've seen are from Jackson, Deschner, and the style guidelines. Every beer
magazine in the U.S. has run some article about the explosion of micros in
the U.S., and hence descriptions of the post popular style associated with
those micros--APAs. Futhermore, I've never tasted an authentic commercial
example of an Alt. To my knowledge, there are none available in the U.S..
I know that this deviates from the thread, but I think that it is important
to keep talking about Duesseldorfer Alts because they are so misunderstood.
There are a few "Alts" available in the US. Widmer makes one, but as far
as I know they do not currently bottle it. I know that Widmer is planning
to brew and bottle another one of their beers in the midwest. I certainly
have my fingers crossed that the next beer they bottle will be their Alt.
There are a number of beers calling themselves Alts, but only the Widmer
is in the Duesseldorfer styls.
Actually, Brewing Techniques had an article on Alts and made the same mistake
that the AHA did about lumping beers that *call* themselves Alts into the
category. The BT article was full of errors, not the least of which was
the misspelling of "Zum Uerige."
The difficulty really is in that there are three (maybe four) distinct typesSecond, the information that is available about Alts is not in agreement.
Deschner says that the Alts he's had made him sweat hops. The AHA, until
this year, billed Alt as a malty brew. (Now they say that there are some
rare examples that are highly hopped.) The lack of available knowledge and
the general lack of agreement between experts on the Alt style make
answering questions like this more difficult for the examinee than would be
answering questions about APAs--a style that nearly every homebrewer has
tasted and brewed.
of beers labeled "Alt." The one that Roger Deschner and Michael Jackson
both talk about the most are the Duesseldorfer Alts. Another is a one-of-a-
kind beer called "Pinkus Muller Muenster Alt." I had one yesterday so it is
clear in my mind. It is a pale, cloudy, very wheaty-flavoured ale with a
slight sourness from an intentional lactic fermentation (it is made with,
if I'm not mistaken, 50% wheat). The third type is what Deschner calls
"Dortmunder Alt" and that makes a lot of sense given that there are quite
a few of them brewed there. It is actually a brown lager and has no more
than half of the bitterness of a Duesseldorfer Alt. MOST Alts in Germany
are in the Dortmunder Alt style, which is why the guidelines are skewed
in that direction.
Deschner is clear to differentiate between the Duesseldorfer and Dortmunder
Alts, but Jackson blurs the lines between them (at least in Beer Companion,
I don't recall him even mentioning the Dortmunder versions in New World
Guide to Beer). A typical Dortmunder Alt would be DAB Dark.
The AHA guidelines say "Duesseldorf Altbier" but have obviously been created
with the Dortmunder Alt beers lumped in. I argued this point with James
Spence last year and he sent me a file of Altbiers and their IBUs. This
file (Alt data from Anton Piendl's analyses) included:
clearly NOT Duesseldorfer Alts. (Incidentally, the DAB Dark that is importedPinkus Munstersch Alt, 17.5
Weihenstephan Alt, 27.
Dortmunder Actien Alt, 32.0
into the US is lucky to have 20 IBUs.) The latest AHA guidelines are even
further from the mark saying that most Duesseldorfer Alts are in the 25 - 35
IBU range and that only a few odd beers are higher. This would be like saying
that most Pilsners are 10 -20 IBUs and that a few odd beers (like Pilsner
Urquell) have 40 IBUs!
I argued this point again with James Spence this year, but I guess I put too
many exclamation points in my email and it was never answered.
Deschner and Jackson clearly state that the very *best* example of a
Duesselforfer Altbier is Zum Uerige which was listed in Anton Piendl's
analysis as:
Both Roger Deschner and I *independently* asked the brewmaster about thisUerige Alt, 48.0
bitterness level and the brewmaster said: "That was an odd batch... our
level of bitterness is usually around 55 IBUs."
Furthermore, the number of brown lagers called Alts explains why the AHA
guidelines say that Alts are not very fruity. Jackson says that the
Duesseldorfer Altbiers are generally dry. I must respectfully disagree.
Last summer I made it a point to critically judge the most highly acclaimed
Alts when I was in Duesseldorf. I tasted Zum Uerige, Im Fuchschen (sp?) and
Zum Schussel. All of these beers were extremely malty, extremely bitter,
*fruity*, slightly *sweet* and had a little bit of hop aroma and flavour. I
think that the hop flavour and aroma are spill-overs from the high bittering
hop rate. My own homebrewed version got comments like "hop nose and flavor
not appropriate -- don't use flavor or aroma hops" from judges, despite
the fact that I had but one addition of hops (~55IBUs) at T-60min.
I also tasted the lesser Schlosser, Hannen and Diebels Alts, which *are*
from Duesseldorf (I'm sure the first two are), but are clearly a step down
in quality. In Anton Piendl's analysis:
In summary: there are at least three different types of alts (four if yourSchlosser Alt, 32.0
Hannen Alt, 28.0
Diebels Alt, 31.5
count the American alts like Schmaltz Alt) and the title "Duesseldorfer Alt"
should be reserved for beers that are characterized by the *best* examples
of the style as defined by Jackson and Deschner.
Al.
----
I glaset: Green Moth Ale (HB)
Brew on,
Robert Bush Sjöbom
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Valspråk:
Där är där man inte är, här är där man är och här har man alltid med sig.