German Alt fermentation

If anyone has made this beer perhaps you can help me out. Active fermentation apparently does its. Best for this beer at 55-65 degrees. Is this through the primary and secondary fermentation? All the way into bottling?

There is no such thing as secondary fermentation unless you’re adding another fermentable or fermenting agent. There is only primary fermentation and secondary clarification. Most brewers have found that there is little need or advantage to transferring their beer off the primary lees into a secondary vessel. Just keep the beer cool in the primary until it has clarified sufficiently and then transfer to bottles or keg.

Fermentation temperature will depend on the yeast strain you are using. Alts can be made with either an ale or a lager yeast according to the BJCP style description. http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style07.php

If you are using an ale yeast temperatures in the low 60’s will be fine but you will need temps in the low 50’s for a lager yeast.

I typically make my alts using a German Ale yeast (Wyeast 1007) http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain … cfm?ID=150
I ferment at around 62F for about 2 weeks then cold crash in fridge for about a week then package.

I usually go 60F through fermentation, possibly even let it warm up at the end of fermentation just to help it finish. Then I’ll lager it as cold as possible for a few weeks, this really helps the flavor and it gives the yeast a chance to drop completely. Alt ale yeast (WY1007) tend to floc poorly.

Thanks all.

I fermented my Alt at 58*. Lagered for 3 months. Brewed it in preparation for a houseful of Germans visiting. They loved it, and it was the first keg to kick.

Edit: …using ale yeast

You want to lager this beer at cold temps, just like, well, a lager.