Altbier

altbier. (alt'-beegh)

    A traditional style of beer brewed mainly in Düsseldorf but also in Münster, Korschenbroich, Kerfeld, Issum, and a few other cities in North Rhineland-Westphalia. The German work alt means old or ancient and refers to the fact that these beers are brewed by the traditional method of top fermentation, predating the relatively new method of bottom fermentation introduced in the mid eighteenth century and now predominant throughout Germany. Alt beers have a deep, luminous, copper color. They are brewed from dark malts, are well hopped, and display a slightly fruity, bittersweet flavor. Their alcohol content varies from 3.5–4 percent by weight (4.4–5.0 percent by volume) and are brewed from an original gravity of about 12.5 °Balling. Those from Düsseldorf have “Echte Düsseldorfer Altbier” written on the label. Syn: Düsseldorfer altbier; alt.