by Rich Rabassa

When one thinks of German beer, lagers immediately come to mind closely followed by wheat beers. But Germany has been brewing another beer, a different beer, for around 3,000 years: Altbier. A true German altbier is difficult to find outside of Germany, even in the United States where craft brewing has taken off like gangbusters.

Like wheat beers, and altbier starts off as an ale, a top-fermenting brew. This dark copper color beer is traditionally mashed from only barley malt, fermented from a single cell yeast and cold conditioned. Typically, the alcohol content is in the range 4.5-4.7 by volume. But then, it is stored cold, like a lager.


Altbiers tend to have more residual proteins and dextrins, which lend more texture to the beer and more body. You can also discern more of a mouth-feel in this style, and unlike it’s British cousin the brown ale, the altbier’s effervescence makes for a full-bodied beer with a creamy long lasting head. Although alts tend to be well hopped beers, the bitterness is mild and nicely balanced against the sweet maltiness.

The word "alt" is German for "old" and helps underscore how long this style has been around. Although the style never vanished, it did feel the competitive impact of lagers during the 19th century, particularly in the US where lagers (pilsners) flourished thanks to German immigrants. As a rebuttal to this invasion of light colored lagers, Germany, along with much of central Europe, put the Altbier style back on the map.

Altbiers are traditionally brewed in the Northwest of Germany and is especially associated with the city of Düsseldorf. However, there are quite a few American breweries successfully trying their hand at the style. These include: Magnolia Ashbury Alt (Magnolia Pub and Brewery, San Francisco), Fordham Altbier (Fordham Brewery/Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis), James Page Klassic Alt Ale (James Page Brewing Company, Minneapolis), Eskes Alt (Eskes Brew Pub & Eatery, Taos), Second Street German Altbier (Second Street Brewery, Santa Fe), Blimp City Akron/Macon German Style Alt Bier (Blimp City Brewery, Akron), Dornbusch Alt (Ipswich), Schmalz's Alt (New Ulm), Widmer Alt (Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland)