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Styles · Altbier

Beer style · BJCP 2021 7B

Altbier

Amber Bitter European Beer

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.044–1.052
Final gravity
1.008–1.014
Bitterness
25–50 IBU
Color
11–17 SRM (22–33 EBC)
Alcohol
4.3–5.5 % ABV

What it is

Düsseldorf's copper ale, fermented cool with ale yeast and then lagered, so it drinks smooth and clean while carrying a genuinely assertive bitterness. Nutty toasted malt forms the base but the finish is firmly dry. The balance leans bitter while the character leans lager.

Flavor

What a Altbier should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Spice, with room for herbal, floral or earthy/woody.

Malt

Grainy, bready/biscuit and toasty, with room for sweet/honey, caramel or nutty.

Fermentation

Clean, with room for fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Altbier has classically been brewed with.

Also right on character

Varieties whose loudest notes all sit on this style’s hop wheel, best fit first. How much to use is the recipe’s question; these are the ones that taste right.

And 9 more hops whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 55 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.