Altbier

Altbier (German: old beer) is a style of beer brewed in the historical region of Westphalia and around the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Its name comes from it being top-fermented, an older method than the bottom fermentation of other lagered beers.

Altbier is usually a dark copper colour. It is fermented at a moderate temperature using a top-fermenting yeast which gives its flavour some fruitiness, but matured at a cooler temperature, which gives it a cleaner and crisper taste more akin to lager beer styles than is the norm for top-fermented beers, such as British pale ale.

Altbier is the dominant beer variety in the Lower Rhine region and especially in the towns of Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. The first producer to use the name Alt to contrast its top fermenting beer with the bottom fermenting kinds was the Schumacher brewery of Düsseldorf, which opened in 1838.

The market leader in terms of volume sold is Diebels, a brand within the InBev brewing empire. Other mass-market brewers of Altbier include the Radeberger Gruppe under the brands Schlösser Alt and Hansa Alt. These are complemented by small breweries, predominantly based in Düsseldorf.

Some Altbier breweries have a tradition of producing a stronger version known as Sticke Alt, coming from a local dialect word meaning "secret", originally a special reserve beer intended for the brewers' own consumption. It is generally a seasonal or special occasion brew, and is stronger in taste and alcohol as well as darker than the brewery's standard output.

There are eight bars in Düsseldorf which brew Altbier on the premises:

Füchschen, Uerige, Schlüssel and Kürzer are all brewed and sold in the Altstadt (Old Town). Schumacher is between the Altstadt and the main train station (Hauptbahnhof), although it also has a pub in the Altstadt, Im Goldenen Kessel, across the street from Schlüssel.

Each brewpub produces a seasonal "Sticke" variant in small quantities, though the names vary: Schlüssel spells it "Stike", without the "c", while Schumacher calls its special beer "Latzenbier", meaning "slat beer", possibly because the kegs from which it was poured had been stored on raised shelves. Füchschen's seasonal is its Weihnachtsbier (Christmas beer), available in bottles starting mid-November, and served in the brewpub on Christmas Eve.

...
Wikipedia