Beer Style Guide: Get to Know Altbier with Em Sauter
The beer of Düsseldorf, altbier is a unique beer style that owns its location and its history well.
Kölsch is the beer of Cologne (see our earlier column about Kölsch) but just up the Rhine River is the city of Düsseldorf, whose beer is similar in fermentation style but that's essentially where the similarities end.
Alt is the German word for “Old” although the style itself is not that old as the first modern Altbier was brewed by Düsseldorf based Schumacher Brewery in the 1830s. Altbier is called “old” because before the popularity of lagers, most German beers were ales and thus this is a callout to a classic brewing tradition pre-lager! The modern recipe can vary from just using base malts such as pale and Munich malt to brewing with a little wheat malt and other specialty dark malts in addition to pale malts. This is why beer is so interesting- many recipes can create the same style even if they use different ingredients. The recipes all have similar factors -in terms of altbier, it’s a firm bitterness from usually Spalt hops (one of the oldest hop varieties- makes sense in an “old” beer style, yes?), a light fruitiness that comes from the slightly warmer fermentation, brilliant copper color and use of German Ale yeast which has a primary fermentation around 60F before lagering. Flavors are graham crackers, toast plus the earthy and herbal flavors of the hop.
You want more strength with your altbier? Try the “sticke” (local dialect for “secret”) stronger version traditionally brewed for regulars but now brewed for all-around once a year. There’s also a “double sticke” version that American breweries try their hand at!
Food Pairing
Although altbiers are great all year round, I find they hit particularly well in autumn when the leaves are changing and you are looking for darker beer options. Go with warming comfort foods like macaroni and cheese or bratwurst or go fancy and French with succulent duck dishes (cuz why not, right?).
Beers to Try
Düsseldorf
For the most authentic experience, go to Düsseldorf and take a pub crawl of the authentic altbier halls in the altstadt. Served in larger versions of a kolsch stange, these breweries are the real deal for any lover of altbier. There are more than half dozen breweries to choose from, all within walking distance of each other.
Vermont-based Long Trail’s classic ale is an altbier and they’ve been making this style for decades. A 12-pack of this in a football stadium parking lot just sounds like a great idea.
Oregon-based Heater Allen brewery makes some of the best lagers in the country and their focus is primarily on German beers. Their altbier is like traveling to Düsseldorf but in reality, you’re thousands of miles away.