ALT AND CATCH FIRE

Typically, Jimmy blogs and Dan brews, but on a rare occasion, Dan will put down his mash rake and type out a sagely post for the benefit of mankind.  This is one of those:

What the hell is an Altbier and why is it on tap at Autumn Arch?  Jimmy asked me the same thing, hence this blog post.

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The BJCP (the definitive beer dictionary) defines the Altbier as an “Amber Hybrid”.  Altbier generally has more hop bitterness and is traditionally crafted with special ale yeasts that ferment at cooler temperatures (60-65F).  This may lead to the name “Alt”, the German word for “old”.

There is still debate on whether this refers to the older techniques of brewing with an ‘ale’ yeast (instead of the newer ‘lager’ strains that Europe is better known for), or if it referred to the longer aging time that was required for the colder ale fermentation. 

Personally, I think it refers to the rogue brewer who originated the style much to the dismay of his conservative friends who labeled him an “alt” personality. Joke’s on those friends because Altbiers are badass. This has no grounding in any historical record whatsoever, but since we’re discussing beer here, I am taking the liberty of postulating a reasonable scenario.

Reinheitsgebot….got it.

Reinheitsgebot….got it.

The Altbier originated in the town of Dusseldorf in the lower Rhine Region of Germany.  While on a work trip for my day job, I was staying in Dusseldorf and was able to sample these beers straight from the source.  For beer aficionados, Dusseldorf is a great town as long as you like Altbier and Pilsners. And if you are lucky and extremely persuasive, you may even be able to get a Hefeweizen.

I primarily stuck to the Altbier during my stay in Dusseldorf, sometimes by choice, other times by default.  If your server doesn’t understand English, you get an Altbier. Apparently, beer translates to beer in most languages.

I excitedly traveled back to the States with the hopes of replicating the beer I enjoyed so much in Dusseldorf.  After some recipe research, history reading, and the purchase of some rad leiderhosen (unfortunately just kidding about that one), I got to work on Autumn Arch’s version of the Altbier.

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Even though we are a small batch experimental brewery, I still like to keep things authentic.  Hence the giant “Authentic” painted on our wall. True to style, our Altbier is a dark copper color, settles in with a mild bitterness, holds a prominent head of foam, and is quite sessionable. Since we are coming to the last keg of this batch, be sure to swing by the tasting room….grab your pint like a German, close your eyes, and imagine you’re sitting next to the Rhine.