ALT BEER  (Dusseldorf, German-brewed beer)

Traveling in Germany and enjoying myriads of Rieslings, a stop at a local eatery and enjoying brats w/sauerkraut and a cold glass of ALTbier seems like the normal thing to do, especially in Dusseldorf!

Altbier is a German top-fermenting beer, brewed in Dusseldorf and other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The name means "old beer" referring to the pre-lager brewing method of using warm top-fermenting yeast.  Over time, the ALT yeast adjusted to lower temperatiures and the ALT brewers would store the beer after fermentation, leading to a cleaner, crisper beer than is normal for some other top-fermented beers, such as British pale ale. I'll remember it always!

Marie Griffin, wine supervisor

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