Brewing After Success

On Tuesday I found out I passed the NY Bar Exam. I still feel like I'm walking on air. Anyway, I just brewed a celebratory batch of homebrew, which should be ready in a few months on account of its need to lager. That's right, I brewed one of my favorite obscure styles, a Düsseldorf Altbier. Recently I decided foreign Pilsner malt can suck it and that I prefer the cheaper Canadian stuff - it's just so much cheaper and has a more neutral flavor. But this recipe also has some lovely German Carafa Special II Malt for color (no domestic maltster makes anything that comes close to Germany's fine dehusked chocolate malt), as well as a judicious dose of German Munich Malt, Melanoidin Malt, and a pinch of Caramunich, as well. I expect this beer to have a complex, malty flavor, balanced by a floral noble-esque hop profile. This style is all about balance, and the best of the examples are also pretty dry, so I mashed at 148F for 60 minutes, to get it dry. I also bitched a large dose of yeast to help things get going. Visible fermentation began in a matter of hours.

Here's the recipe:

Recipe: Zum Esquire
Style: 7C-Amber Hybrid Beer-Dusseldorf Altbier

Wort Volume Before Boil: 8.50 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 6.13 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.50 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.50 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 5.25 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.036 SG
Expected OG: 1.050 SG
Expected FG: 1.011 SG
Expected ABV: 5.2 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 41.3
Expected Color: 12.0 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 77.5 %
Mash Efficiency: 80.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 64 degF

Fermentables
Canadian Pils Malt 7lb 0oz (67.5 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Munich Malt 2lb 4oz (21.7 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Melanoidin Malt 8.00 oz (4.8 %) In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Caramel Munich Malt 60 8.00 oz (4.8 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Carafa Special II 2.00 oz (1.2 %) In Mash/Steeped

Hops
US Magnum (17.0 % alpha) 14 g Loose Whole Hops used 60 Min From End
US Crystal (5.6 % alpha) 28 g Loose Whole Hops used 20 Min From End
US Crystal (5.6 % alpha) 30 g Loose Whole Hops used 5 Min From End

Yeast: White Labs WLP029-German Ale/Kolsch

Mash at 148F for 60 min