Alter Spalter

Name Origin

The name Altbier, which means old beer, refers to the pre-lager brewing method. Alt brewers would store, or lager, the beer after fermentation, leading to a cleaner, more crisp beer, especially when compared to most Ales, which tend to have more residual flavors well into the finish. The name "altbier" first appeared in the 1800's to differentiate the beers of Düsseldorf from the new pale lager that was gaining a hold on Germany. Brewers in Düsseldorf used the pale malts that were used for the modern pale lagers, but retained the old ("alt") method of using warm fermenting ale yeasts. An Altbier is basically a German style brown ale, but the extended conditioning mellows out the ale's fruitiness and produces an exceptionally smooth and delicate brew. Our version is referred to as a "Sticke", which is a stronger version of an Altbier that can be a bit more hoppy.