Uerige Alt

Brewed by Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei
Style: Altbier
Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Alt bier or "old beer" is a very local beer style, that is brewed in and around the city of Dusseldorf, Germany. What makes it special, is the fact that it is an ale, not a lager, and "old beer" refers to the fact that the first beers brewed in Germany, were ales, not lagers. Lagers of course, now dominate German brewing, but there are areas of Germany that never took to them. The brewers in Dusseldorf were never persuaded to change to lagers, and we as beer lovers should all be grateful. By style, alt is a delicious, copper colored, malty, hoppy beer, that is just so drinkable. Brewpubs and and breweries in Dusseldorf specialize in this very local style, and take great pride in it. Zum Uerige is a brewpub located on a busy corner street in the heart of the Altstadt, and brews what has been called the bench mark example of alt bier. When I entered Zum Uerige for lunch and took a seat, I was over come with joy and great expectations. When one of the Kobes(pronounced kerbiss) or blue jacket, blue apron wearing waiters, came by my table rolling a wooden barrel of altbier past me, I knew I had finally arrived. I have had other German alt biers, and would try other outstanding examples on my trip to Dusseldof, but this beer is without question, still my personal favorite. Uerige Altbier pours to a beautiful, bright, copper color, with a bright white head that clings to the glass, and a soft to moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is fantastic, with vibrant herbal/grassy hop aroma, paired with subtle hints of nutty malt. The palate on this beer is soft and malty, with incredible clean and nutty malt flavors. As the sea of clean malt flavor ends, this beer finishes with a vibrant burst of grassy/herbal hop bitterness that lingers on the tongue. At the brewpub this beer is served by gravity from a wooden barrel. The Kobes circle the rooms with metal trays full of 0.25L short glasses of freshly poured altbier, and will continue to replace your empty glass until you tell them to stop. They mark you coaster each time with a pencil, and when all was said and done with, my friend and I had consumed 11 glasses of altbier(I had 8, he had 3). Uerige Alt is an amazingly drinkable beer that you just can’t get enough of. It is so flavorful, clean, smooth and drinkable. The aromas and flavors vom fass at the brewery are just so fresh and flavorful, you really have to come to Dusseldorf to experience the magic of this beer. In the meantime, I am happy to say it is available in 11.2 oz brown swing top bottles, that retail for about $4 a bottle. It can even be found on draught, in select markets at good beer bars across the US. The price for this beer seems a little inflated, but for a classic like this, I say well worth it. Uerige Alt is a very food friendly beer, and would be the perfect match for grilled bratwurst or roasted pork. I enjoyed glass after glass of this beer with some delicious potato soup, a mettwurst, and liverwurst with bread and butter.

Draught at Zum Uerige, Altstadt, Dusseldorf. Dark amber colour. Creamy white head that doesn’t go away. Superbly well balanced malt and hops. Excellent bitterness throughout and into the aftertaste. Very smooth and drinkable. Possibly the best Alt in the world, certainly a class above any bottled variety I’ve tried.

my favourite alt. very burnt and fruity but with crisp hops to balance it out. an alt beer you can really down and enjoy in the process

[On tap at brewery] Clear amber/brown with a two-finger head. Spicey, hoppy aroma with malty notes of bread and grain. Firm and malty on the palate with a dry, assertive finish. Absolutely fantastic.

First off, the bottle is awesome, really distinctive, ok enough about branding and marketing.....this beer is what beer geeks oglie about, complex and flavorful - really tasty. Take a sip and you get a burst of malt, like a double bock, but then as the beer cascades to the back of your throat it switches to a bitter, smooth and somewhat hoppy. Wow, a real treat....The play action pass of beers.

This is scored high for me becasue this hits my palate right on targert. Smooth tea flavors and a great mouthfeel. Like an English ale, but with a lot of freshness. Bitter, but perfectly balanced for the style. However, it is a simple beer so if you want complexity look elsewhere.

An amazing beer and last but not least the only example of an "Alt-beer" as it was meant. Due to very high hop-prices most brewers forgot, that this is a bitter specialty. Uerige uses not only svery old, traditional equipment, they also keep the tradition of natural hop cones. Thanks!

Vom fass @ Zum Uerige Brauhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany.
It was World Cup madness when I downed my first, and by no means the last, of these babies. Out amongst a few hundred Rhenish patrons enjoying ignoring the World Cup altogether, my wife sipped this, complained it was too bitter and handed the reins to me. It was now on!!
From an oak barrel in a white tent out front, and into the stunted Altbier glass. Produces a tawny copper, dark, ruddy and bright. Head grows to an inch and ebbs back to a solid spider’s web of messy off-white froth that drabs foam all the way down. Big, toffee, burnt sugar, bitter citrus fruits and layers upon layers of fresh hops on the nose. Sweet, fruity, malty, juicy. It continues into the mouth, so fruity, absorbent, juicy and salivating, panting for the next sip. Bitingly spicy, big, ripe fruit flavours, a lot of malt hidden in the depths of this wonderful furore. Its body edges medium and I guess the Alt I got was just perfect for the picking. It’s sweet upfront, and undeniably bitter on the swallow. Shows a lot of length both with sweet malts, juicy, fruity esters, bitter, floral hops, wood and even a strange note of mint leaves. Aggressive for its style, I now know why this is such a popular place, a tourist trap for people wanting the Alt vom fass. The afternoon got hazy....