Craft Beer Monday Review: Dusseldorfer Alt

Wheeling IL Ram

Another seasonal offering from Ram Brewing, this one I tasted was at the Wheeling location, the Dusseldorfer Alt. Drinking from an 18 oz Imperial Pint on tap on my birthday was just what I needed here.
I have been pretty satisfied with their beers, with the exception that I wish they would occasionally offer a heavier hitter than they normally do, but other than that they are OK with me.

This one reminds me of one of my favorites, the Riverwest Stein Beer, even though it is not labelled an Alt (the Lakefront one). It is malty in character, to say the least. In fact, it was a big malt blowout. A little reading and I see that the alt is a Dusseldorf specialty, usually  and I believe this fits the description quite well.

A little reading into the history tells me:

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot (beer purity law) of 1516 did not affect brewers of the Rhineland. As such, the brewing traditions in this region developed slightly differently. For example, brewing during the summer was illegal in Bavaria, but the cooler climate of the Rhineland allowed Alt brewers to brew all year long and to experiment with storing fermented beer in cool caves and cellars. The first brewery to use the name Alt was Schumacher which opened in 1838.^[2] Alt is a dark, lagered, top-fermented beer that has some of the lean dryness of a lager but with fruity notes.^[3] 

I imagine this one would actually taste better in a half liter mug, a Seibel. For some reason, I have always enjoyed the German beers this way, even if they are ales.

The only other alt I have tried (and liked) is the Metropolitan version, Iron Works.


Just a quick review. Picking up a growler of this this weekend. Need a break between all the yard work I am planning to do.

CBC Rating: 4. ABV: 5.8%