[DW]

I'm brewing a north german altbier this weekend.  My water profile is super soft (like a smidge above deionized).  What would be recommended to get a good mash pH and produce a good altbier? 

[HoosierBrew]

Amber bitter (Brunwater) is really good IMO.


Edit - I mash @ 5.35-5.4 pH.

[hopfenundmalz]

Northern Alts are not like Düsseldorf Atls. You might consider Amber balanced or Amber malty depending on your target. I like Düsseldorf Alts, so Amber bitter all the way.

[HoosierBrew]

Northern Alts are not like Düsseldorf Atls. You might consider Amber balanced or Amber malty depending on your target. I like Düsseldorf Alts, so Amber bitter all the way.

I like Dusseldorf style alts best, too. Unfortunately I was reading what I liked best, not what he asked. My bad!

[denny]

Northern Alts are not like Düsseldorf Atls. You might consider Amber balanced or Amber malty depending on your target. I like Düsseldorf Alts, so Amber bitter all the way.

On the mark as usual!

[brewinhard]

Can't say I have ever really tasted a well made Northern German Alt or even been successful at brewing a good one in the past either. These tend to be more like a smoother, clean fermented german brown ale, right? More or less?

Have brewed a ton of excellent Dusseldorf alts though. I enjoy them quite a bit.

[DW]

I'm not exactly sure what you guys mean by 'amber' as it regards to the style I'm making.  Are you saying the color of the beer has a certain mash pH? Are there generalizations for what specific chemicals you would put in deionized water to make the proper pH? I'm basically making the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. 

[hopfenundmalz]

I'm not exactly sure what you guys mean by 'amber' as it regards to the style I'm making.  Are you saying the color of the beer has a certain mash pH? Are there generalizations for what specific chemicals you would put in deionized water to make the proper pH? I'm basically making the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.

Color to a certain extent. Grist is also important.

https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/water-knowledge

[santoch]

Can't say I have ever really tasted a well made Northern German Alt or even been successful at brewing a good one in the past either. These tend to be more like a smoother, clean fermented german brown ale, right? More or less?

Have brewed a ton of excellent Dusseldorf alts though. I enjoy them quite a bit.

Yeah, more or less, but browns tend toward a more prominent crystal/caramel/chocolate malt character, while alts tend to taste a bit more toasty. No. German Alt is a bit less bitter than Dusseldorf Alt. 

Alaskan Amber was (was - N German Alt was subsumed into Altbier in the 2015 guidelines, so it no longer exists as a distinct style) one of the classic commercial examples in the 2008 guidelines.  It's a very clean, quaffable beer.  It's ubiquitous up here in the PACNW.  About every gas station and 7-11 has it in stock.

[hopfenundmalz]

Can't say I have ever really tasted a well made Northern German Alt or even been successful at brewing a good one in the past either. These tend to be more like a smoother, clean fermented german brown ale, right? More or less?

Have brewed a ton of excellent Dusseldorf alts though. I enjoy them quite a bit.

Yeah, more or less, but browns tend toward a more prominent crystal/caramel/chocolate malt character, while alts tend to taste a bit more toasty. No. German Alt is a bit less bitter than Dusseldorf Alt. 

Alaskan Amber was (was - N German Alt was subsumed into Altbier in the 2015 guidelines, so it no longer exists as a distinct style) one of the classic commercial examples in the 2008 guidelines.  It's a very clean, quaffable beer.  It's ubiquitous up here in the PACNW.  About every gas station and 7-11 has it in stock.

Alaskan Amber was a go to beer when we were in Alaska. At about 19 IBU it was far from a Düsseldorf Alt. Zum Uerige is more like like 45-50, some call it an outlier for a Düsseldorf Alt. I call it my favorite.