Altbier Is the German Beer Fashion Each Lager Fan Ought to Strive

After years of IPA stubbornly refusing to budge from its throne, we’re heading into our second or third (relying on what area of the US you’re in) “12 months of the lager.” Basic German and Czech types are taking over extra space on faucet lists, breweries and bars are embracing conventional brewing strategies, and beer drinkers’ thirst for extra crushable, refreshing beers is being quenched. 

This curiosity in acquainted types like German Pilsners and Czech Pale lagers clear a path for extra under-the-radar types to make their means onto menus. One notably fascinating model it is best to get to know, particularly if you’d like one thing easy-drinking however love a darker beer, is Altbier.

Don’t anticipate to see Altbier change into ubiquitous. It’s a distinct segment model — which makes it all of the extra particular — that’s slowly, steadily ramping up in presence at some breweries throughout the nation. As a standard German model, it’s having fun with the chance to journey Pilsners’ and lagers’ coattails, however it deserves its personal highlight.

What’s Altbier?

Altbier’s identify could sound like a beer’s quirky cousin who’s into emo, however “alt” is definitely German for “outdated,” and Altbier is a nod to the outdated model of brewing. 

Altbier is definitely a hybrid beer, like Kölsch. It’s made with top-fermenting yeast, sometimes fermented at hotter temperatures to provide ales. That is how beer was made earlier than remoted, bottom-fermenting yeast was developed within the nineteenth century to ferment at cooler temperatures and produce lager — therefore, the identify alt, or outdated model of brewing. Brewers within the Düsseldorf area have been gradual to undertake these lager yeasts, however fermented their ale-yeast beers at decrease temperatures. Altbier remains to be made this fashion right this moment, slowly matured at close to freezing temperatures.

“Utilizing ale yeast rather than lager yeast creates a special profile and consuming expertise,” says Amanda Cardinali, proprietor and brewer at The Seed: A Dwelling Beer Venture in Atlantic Metropolis. “It produces some mild but fruity esters, extra so than a beer and fewer so than a yeast-expressive ale, however the chilly conditioning aids in constructing a crisp and clear end that may assist intensify the average however vital hop expression.” 

Altbier is the most effective of each worlds, capturing a few of ale’s complexity however balancing it with the smooth-drinking character of a beer. 

“It’s subtly stunning,” says Adam Wolfe, head brewer at Eckhart Beer Co. in Brooklyn. “There’s no dominating character. All the things melds collectively properly. Nothing is competing.”

Cardinali agrees. “The primary phrase that involves thoughts when desirous about Altbier is ‘steadiness,’” she says. “It is extremely a lot a ‘brewer’s beer’ within the sense that it isn’t flashy, however requires consideration to element to hit all the correct marks.”

What does Altbier style like?

In the event you benefit from the darker aspect of beer, from amber and brown ales to porters and stouts, you’ll recognize the way in which Altbier leans into that territory however in a extra approachable means — each in its taste and mouthfeel in addition to its decrease ABV of 4.3-5.5%. 

“It is slightly malty, slightly bitter, brings an inviting shade and readability, and drinks clear however flavorful,” says Cardinali. 

The variations chances are you’ll discover as you style completely different Altbiers boil all the way down to delicate malt notes, says Wolfe, citing two of the model’s best-known examples, each hailing from Düsseldorf. Schumacher is the oldest still-operating Altbier brewery, based in 1838; its Altbier options graham-cracker malt qualities. Zum Uerige has been producing Altbier since 1855, and it emphasizes its hop bitterness a bit extra.

The similarities between Altbier and darker-but-not-too-dark types akin to amber and brown ales have some American craft breweries labeling them with these extra acquainted phrases for customers. TailGate Brewery produces roughly 300 new beers every year to maintain up with serving its 9 taprooms all through the state of Tennessee, says proprietor Wesley Keegan. This annual lineup contains a number of completely different Altbiers. However in case you stroll right into a TailGate taproom, chances are you’ll not see the phrase “Altbier” on the faucet checklist.

“The buyer doesn’t all the time know what which means,” says Keegan. “We would name it a ‘German-Fashion Brown,’ or an ‘Outdated-Fashion Brown,’ to simplify issues.” He provides that Altbier is a method that beer execs and connoisseurs love, and that it’s a fantastic beer to coach newer brewers on to be able to present what they’ll do with yeast and the way they’ll manipulate fermentation to completely different ends. As a result of customers could also be intimidated to order a method they don’t acknowledge, giving it a extra accessible identify will get Altbier into extra palms and creates extra followers.

“We’ll get individuals who won’t know what they need to drink, however they are saying [they want something] like a Newcastle [brown ale],” says Keegan. “We will say, ‘Nice, it is a German-style brown ale.’” TailGate’s Altbiers can also be dubbed ambers, relying on the time of 12 months, the darkness of the malt, and the way hop-forward or malty the beer is.

How is Altbier loved?

Whereas Altbier actually brings the flavour, with its decrease alcohol content material and impartial strategy to an ale’s malt character and hop bitterness, it’s crafted to permit the imbiber to give attention to current firm and dialog. 

“It’s a community-designed beer,” says Wolfe, referring to Altbier’s historical past in conventional German beer halls. “You’re going to fulfill household and associates in the course of the week and drink this beer.”

“It’s a attractive beer model that completely enhances social and communal consuming,” says Cardinali, calling the model “this little embrace that brings the proper extra heat to laughs, dialog, and time collectively.” She emphasizes how particular Altbier is due to its steadiness and skill to permit beer drinkers to be current wherever they’re having fun with it. 

Altbier can also be served like Kölsch beer is. Kölsch service is a long-running German customized wherein servers roam beer halls carrying kranzes, like baskets, of six-ounce stange glasses stuffed with chilly, contemporary Kölsch. Once they spot an empty glass in entrance of a visitor, they swap it out and notch the visitor’s coaster to allow them to be tallied and charged when the visitor is completed. As a fellow hybrid beer designed for drinkability, Altbier will also be loved this fashion. In Brooklyn, Eckhart has added its Altbier to its month-to-month Kölsch service. Wolfe calls this “the easiest way to expertise Altbier.”

What meals does Altbier pair properly with?

On the subject of having fun with Altbier alongside meals, it, after all, goes hand in hand with any German dishes. Its malty notes complement the caramelization of sausages whereas its hop bitterness and carbonation minimize by way of richness. The model is flavorful sufficient to face as much as hearty dishes however impartial sufficient to let meals flavors shine.

“Altbier is sort of a Gamay or Pinot,” says Fred Maurer, Eckhart’s chef. “It’s bought slightly little bit of fruitiness, however it’s lean and tight, so it’s good to drink with richer or lighter meals; it might probably run the gamut. Its lighter, fruity notes pair properly with a lighter salad, however it’s additionally an easy match for roast hen.” Maurer provides that for any sport birds, Altbier can minimize by way of and stand as much as fattiness — and the beer pivots to pair fantastically with desserts like chocolate mousse.

Understated however malty beers are identified to work properly with spicy dishes as they steadiness the warmth with out erasing the flavour. For that cause, Altbier is scrumptious with curries and, naturally, German currywurst. That’s a favourite pairing for Cardinali, who additionally likes Altbier with nuttier cheeses like Comté and aged Gouda.

Altbier could have been ignored by practically all however probably the most German tradition-focused American craft breweries for many years, however the present wave of appreciation for historic types and easier-drinking beers has allowed extra brewers who recognize this hybrid beer’s nuances to point out it off to their clients, whether or not they really name it Altbier or not.

“Altbier is a good instance of a beer that makes you discover how bitterness, malt, and time work together,” says Cardinali. “It’s the good beer to have a number of with associates. With an American culinary tradition so typically centered on over-the-top taste, the resurgence of Altbier could merely be ready for folks to rediscover the pleasures of steadiness and the easy issues once more.”