Old Is New Again

Obscure. Be it beer, bands, or beard oil, there’s a continual search to discover that rare, new gem. A consistent trend in the craft beer world is to rediscover, redefine and reintroduce once lost styles to the masses. Find some bizarre Finnish pickled herring ale and you’ve won the day, trumping your gobsmacked friends in the process.
Several styles of beer have been introduced to the American market, formerly only produced in small regions of the European world, some of which had even gone extinct. Gose, a salty little wheat beer from Leipzig, German, has been the darling of the craft beer world for several years now. Before that it was the Belgian farmhouse ale Saison. You would be hard-pressed to find even a novice beer fan today not familiar with the yeasty, tart, and somewhat spicy class of ale.
Yet, one beer has continued to defy detection, and I could easily see this beer becoming the next big movement in craft brewing, half a dozen examples popping up at this year’s best beer fest, east and west coast mid-major breweries collaborating on their version, brewed with bi-coastal ingredients. This style is altbier.
If northern Germany beers are hard to find, altbier is a certain rarity. Translating to old beer, the old in this case refers to the somewhat antiquated manner in which the beer is brewed, not a nod to being cask aged, although one of the original purveyors of the style pushed it in the modern direction by brewing the earlier version of the beer stronger, more hopped, and then aging it in wooden casks.
The other unique element to altbier is that this beer falls in a class of hybrid styles, those examples that straddle the line between lager and ale. Landing somewhere in between the fast and warm fermentation of ale and the slow and cold fermentation of lager, altbier also typically makes use of German lager malts, lending colors, aromas and flavors similar to some bock and Märzen beer.
The classic beer of Düsseldorf is really a wonderful ‘ale’ if you will, and a beer that will likely prove to be something you’ve never experienced. The unique lagering process and unusual yeast leave an extremely clean beer behind, yet one that, with the above ingredients, is flavorful and distinct.
Sweetness is low and fruity esters are almost unperceivable in a classic altbier, yet Nobel German hops are prominent. Expect a dry, complex and tasty beer, with spicy hops and nutty malt notes leaving a biting, crisp finish. In no way aggressive or astringent, altbier is highly multifaceted yet enjoyable.
The Uerige Obergärige Brewery is the standard for altbier, offering the two most ubiquitous examples of the style. Uerige Alt is the lower gravity version, 4.7 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and quite hoppy, while the Uerige Doppelsticke is world class, combining all elements of the style with an 8.5 percent alcohol by ABV. A strong hop opening is followed by German malts of glory, a wonderful beer to behold and sip; brown sugar and raisin, molasses and black pepper, malts and hops and Germany through and through.
Two American examples not to miss, from North Carolina, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery makes Copper Amber Ale, a fantastic nod to the classic style. And from South Carolina, Coast Brewing’s ALTerior Motive spans the traditional version while incorporating higher malts, hops, and alcohol to a delicious end. Old is new again. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.