There are protected / heritage products in Europe. Regions have gone through measures to make them a product name for marketing and sales protection. many of these are common names. Wine for instance, Champagne and you probably would know many types of Cheese.
In Dusseldorf, they have the Alt. Alt means old in german so simply an old beer as in they have been making this for quite some time. An Alt is unique in that it is sort of a marriage of Lager and Ale. The Alt yeast creates an Ale but uniquely, it lagers at cooler temperatures than normal Ales. As such, the Alt has its own signature. Being an amber color beer, it is light and crisp. Flavorful and easy to drink. It's on the lower end of alcohol for a german beer.
Koln Germany, see the Kolsch post, is regional like the Alt. There is some Ale similarites but not when it come to look and taste.
So why do we brew an Alt bier? Considering that yeast management requires us to bring in a new colony of yeast to make the German Ales we feel it is well worth it. The Alt yeast also works with the Kolsch so you will see the two on the menu at similar times.
My first trip to Germany arrived and departed from the Dusseldorf airport. Air Berlin at the time had a hub and flights were resonable so it was off to one of the coolest sounding German town names. Dusseldorf! So the first beer I had on German soil, while not intentional, was the Alt. Down on the banks of the Rhine River. We watched the sunset and drank the Alt being indifferent to what and why we had an amber beer. Sort of what long jet flights will do to you.
On this trip we meandered around Germany and had many beers. Many of which I'll tell stories about later. So I say this with great respect, the simpleness of the Alt beer is what puts it in my love category. Yes there are quite a number beers tied to memories that land in that group. I tell people, the goal of Edison was to have a spot to remember the beer you drank.
So grab an Alt, let it slide down. Don't feel like you have to swash around and find some fancy words to describe it. I can give you some but why, it is just a great beer and a fitting representation of the style you'd enjoy if you have been or may go to Dusseldorf!!!
Comments