The latest entry in the Classic Style series of books from Brewer’s Publications is Altbier, hot on the heels of Barleywine. This is a great book on a somewhat obscure style, at least in this country.

The history section that traditionally starts these books, describes brewing in Germany from a new perspective, at least for me. Over the centuries, brewers in South Germany (Bavaria) were slowly moving to lagers without realizing it. They discovered that fermenting in cool caves gave a smoother, better beer. The famous Purity Law was aimed at improving beer quality, but another law which prohibited brewing in the summer was also an attempt to promote smoother, cleaner beers. Naturally, brewing under these conditions would favor the work of lager yeasts, although no one knew about yeasts at the time. When yeast was finally discovered and propagated, the lager revolution began.

Brewers in the Rhineland, however, resisted the change. Partly because of political reasons, where local authorities wanted to keep control over local brewing, and partly because of tradition, Cologne and Dusseldorf continued producing ales. This love of tradition has kept altbier as a style alive today. True altbier can be had a several brewpubs in the Altstadt, the old downtown of Dusseldorf. Zum Uerige is probably the most renowned.

Altbier is a reddish brown color, deep malt flavors, a clean dry finish, and a good, crisp, assertive hop bitterness. A very high percentage of Munich malt and decoction mash give altbiers a solid malt backbone. Up to 50 IBUs of spalt hops are traditional, all kettle hops. With that many hops, though, you often get some hop flavor and aroma in the glass. It is fermented at cool ale temperatures and generally lagered for a clean flavor. Attenuation is high.

The main problem with the book is the recipes. Each recipe calls for some crystal malt. Crystal malt will not give you the same malt character as munich malt (think about the difference between a bock and a scottish ale). Some recipes call for late hop additions. Hop aroma should be minimal in altbier, unless it is a sticke. Sticke is an interesting beer-a "special" altbier brewed for regular customers. It is generally a tad stronger than the standard altbier and generally dry hopped.

Boscos brewpub in Nashville used to make an alt as a regular beer on tap. I don’t think it was much like a Dusseldorf alt, but a good beer. For a beer festival, the brewer brought out a sticke version. Those of us regulars who got to have some were impressed. The BJCP style committee is working to add this sub-style of alt to the 1999 guidelines.