Alternative Münster

The homebrew has been disappearing rapidly over the past two weeks, what with four BBQs in the space of a week and some thirsty colleagues at tasting evenings, I could have gone into business. On the right is my recent Klosteiner Pale Ale during an impromptu BBQ with the neighbours which I am also guilty of imbibing a little swiftly. So, time to stock up. I fancied something a bit darker and maltier this time, so thought I'd do a modification of my last Altbier recipe, sticking with a proportion of roasted malt for colour, but switching to 2% Carafa (dehusked black malt) to give a slight roasted edge without the burnt bitterness that can come through from scorched husks on regular black malt. At least that's the theory! I also switched to CaraMunich rather than regular Munich Malt, just to see if I can get more of a toffee edge to it. And of course the hops are different, hopefully getting closer to the real deal.

It's been a busy week, so I split the brewday in two, mashing one night and boiling the next. Here's the recipe:

Alternative Münster



Size: 23.75 L
Efficiency: 84.05%
Attenuation: 75.0%

Original Gravity: 1.045 (measured)
Terminal Gravity: 1.011 (estimated)
Color: 35.98 EBC
Alcohol: 4.41% ABV
Bitterness: 37.8 IBU

Ingredients:
3.75 kg Pilsner Malt
0.75 kg Caramunich Type III
90 g Black Malt 1200 (Dehusked/Carafa)
17 g Northern Brewer (11.4%) - boiled 60 min
19 g Northern Brewer (11.4%) - boiled 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss - boiled 15 min
19 g Hallertauer Perle (9.3%) - boiled 5 min
K-97 German Ale Yeast

This was infusion mashed for an hour at 65C and mashed out at 80C. Unfortunately I don't have the facilities to lager this baby, so it'll just ferment coolish down in the cellar for a couple of weeks.

This morning, I'm off to San Diego for a week to attend a conference. I'm hoping to get some good beer geekery in between evening meetings, and what better place to do so! Expect updates and Tweets during quiet times.

I gotta work Suspect Device into a beer name next!