Amber and dark lager
Altbier
Dusseldorf's answer to lager, and Kolsch's opposite number: an ale fermented cool and lagered cold, copper-coloured, firmly bitter, and finishing far drier than the malt aroma leads you to expect.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.044 - 1.052
1.044 - 1.052
Final gravity
1.008 - 1.014
1.008 - 1.014
Bitterness
25 IBU - 50 IBU
25 IBU - 50 IBU
Colour
9 SRM - 17 SRM
9 SRM - 17 SRM
Alcohol
4.3% - 5.5%
4.3% - 5.5%
Colour also 18-33 EBC
What goes wrong
Fermenting it like a normal ale. At 20C the esters ruin it; this wants 16C or below and then weeks in the cold.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
The rest of the amber and dark lager family
International Amber Lager
4.6-6% · 8-25 IBU
2CInternational Dark Lager
4.2-6% · 8-20 IBU
3CCzech Amber Lager
4.4-5.8% · 20-35 IBU
3DCzech Dark Lager
4.4-5.8% · 18-34 IBU
6AMarzen
5.6-6.3% · 18-24 IBU
6BRauchbier
4.8-6% · 18-30 IBU
7AVienna Lager
4.7-5.5% · 18-30 IBU
8AMunich Dunkel
4.5-5.6% · 18-28 IBU
8BSchwarzbier
4.4-5.4% · 20-35 IBU
Plan a batch to these numbers.