Alt Bier, The hidden gem in Dusseldorf

Various events led me to end up in Dusseldorf last week.  Although I didn't have a lot of time for relaxing it would have been remiss of me if I did not take a little time out to explore a hidden gem in the German beer scene that is Alt bier. 

Brewery Fresh!

Most people are familiar with the many pilsner style lagers brewed in Germany.  Whilst lagers are generally cool bottom fermenting beers, Dusseldorf's Alt bier (which literally translates as "old beer"), like a real ale is top fermented in a warm environment.  You can buy the beer on tap or in bottles from other outlets but for the real deal you should make the visit to the breweries that make the beer itself.  There are five breweries in the city still plying this fine tradition and they are all within a short distance of each other. The frontage of each is just like a normal pub or Gasthaus while the brewing process takes place in the back.

If you've been to a food festival this summer you may have seen Meantime Breweries offering what they call Brewery Fresh Lager from their truck.  Well Alt bier is even more fresh.  A wooden barrel is filled directly from the brewery vat and literally rolled from the brewery in the back and propped up on the bar at the front and a brass tap banged in ready to dispense.  Its only served in 0.2 litre servings to ensure that your glass of beer remains fresh.  Don't worry about queueing up for another.  The waiters bring trays around regularly to top you up, just order an "Alt", they know its a beer!  They keep a tally of the number of beers dispensed by marking your beer mat and you pay once you've had enough.  How civilised can you get?

Brauerei zum Schlussel

While the real connoisseurs might disagree with me, I thought that they were all fairly similar in style and taste.  Its has a distinctive brown colour much like a Yorkshire bitter, perhaps a shade darker, but has the frothiness of a German lager which captures the malty aroma of the beer.  The alcohol content is around 4.8% and like a decent bitter the head does dissipate.  The taste is almost all on the front half of the tongue with no lingering after taste at the back of the throat.  All in all it’s a very pleasant beer.

Schlussel Alt Bier

 I know that in Britain we all have a habit of propping ourselves up at the bar.  Well in Dusseldorf they have bar benches, basically high tables to prop yourself up on.  No-one sits at the bar as that’s where the drinks are dispensed.  No need to go to the bar as the waiters will come to you, although at busy times some of the Gasthauses have an outdoor service area where you can get a beer rather than waiting for someone to come over to you.  Food at all these places is good.  Some have a full menu while others just have lots of bar food which in Germany means sausage dishes, or fresh bread rolls with pickles and a choice of cheese, cold meats, pate or even steak tartar – no crisps or pork scratchings here.

Brauerei Uerige

 
All the breweries are clearly marked on the local tourist maps so you’ll have no problem in finding them.   Three of them can be found right in the middle of the Alt Stadt or old town where all the night life can be found (just follow the noise).

We start with Brauerei Schlussel who have been brewing for over 150 years.  Although on the busiest street in the district there’s plenty of room for everyone outside and in, including a handy walled garden right opposite the pub and you should get a seat if you want one.  The food is excellent and I would highly recommend the whole grilled pork knuckles if you have a serious appetite.

Eurige Alt

Brauerei Uerige can be found further down near the Rhine on Rheinstrasse, you’ll probably go past it heading from the tourist office to catch a river cruise.  If you like your schnapps then don’t forget to check out the shop opposite selling Killepitsch which is the local version of Jaegermeister but more potent so I’m told.

 

One street away from Schlussel is Brauerei Kurzer which a much more recent brewery maintaining the tradition of Alt bier with a more contemporary environment and as such attracts a younger crowd.  The small brewery set up in the picture is modern and the traditional wooden barrel on the bar is replaced by a glass contraption into which the beer is poured.  The menu is also has an alternative appeal to the German food offering which is otherwise pretty much standard across all the other breweries.

Schumacher Alt Bier: No Relation

For a more quiet drink, I recommend Schumachers which is based about a kilometre away in Oststraße, although If you don’t fancy the walk or want to enjoy the buzz of the Alt Stadt then they have a nice gasthouse serving their produce almost next to Schlussel but its worth going to the original brewery.  Their website has a handy explanation of the brewing process for those of you interested.  I'm afraid its only in German but it gives you a good idea of what goes on. 
www.schumacher-alt.de/brauerei/brauprozess

Brauerei Fuchschen

 
If you're after a balance between atmosphere and civility then I would recommend Brauerei Fuchschen (Foxes brewery) which is on the outskirts of the Alt Stadt a couple of blocks away from the centre.  The service was more attentive, with patrons just having to stick their fingers in the air to indicate the number of beers they want (use your finger and thumb for two beers in Germany – see the film Inglorious B*stards for further information on this!).  If you think the Germans don’t have a sense of humour then check out the toilets where the cigarette machine has a fox dressed as death saying “I’ll see you soon” and the condom machine, well you’ll just have to visit to find out what that says!

Fuchschen Alt

Dusseldorf Humour

With the good weather and great availability of outside seating (or propping) its easy not to ever enter the bars themselves but you should, just to see how extensive they are.  They look deceptively small from the outside but open up like a Tardis inside (remember there is a brewery stuck in the back of these somewhere!)  Most are beautiful examples of old German style pubs with plenty of thick wooden beams on the ceilings and wood panelling adorned with scenes of old Düsseldorf and the Rhine or decked with historic brewing implements.

Kurzer:relatively new Brewery

For those that don’t find Alt bier to their taste remember, with the exception of one place that also brewed its own Weiss bier this is the only beer these breweries serve so go elsewhere for a pilsner.  The usual suspects such as Krombacher, Warsteiner and Bitburger can be readily found but I would recommend pubs serving Konig Pilsner or Jever (look for the signs outside).

Kurzer Alt

I did notice in one bar that they had a lager that was cheaper than all the others.  My German wasn't good enough to understand what it said but the translated menu described it as “self drafting”.  When I asked for a glass they politely told me it was cheaper because I had to go down to the cellar bar and pour it myself!

If anyone is asking, there are four Irish pubs in Dusseldorf, I'm told the Guinness is decent and ranges from four to six Euros a half litre and no I didn't go to one, but it seems that our younger German friends like a drop of stout just as much as we do.

Cask on the Bar at Kurzer

If you enjoyed this write up and want more in a similar vein can I recommend fellow Blogger Hungry Ted's excellent guide to beer in Copenhagen.  While I only had the chance of a whistle stop tour he specifically went there to sample the beers and has a great indepth blog on his trip here:-

hungryted.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/craft-beer-in-copenhagen.html
 
Saturday sees us play away at Watford and it will be my first away game of the season.  As always I'm waiting for Charlton's Ian Cartwright to publish his away day guide as he always includes a good selection of decent pubs, but if anyone has recommendations for a local serving decent ales please do let me know.

Acknowledgements

I have to thank the following website for pointing me in the right direction and making a few recommendations

www.europeanbeerguide.net/dusspubs.htm

I’m afraid all the brewery websites are in German but google translate gets you pretty idea of what’s going on if you want to check them out.

Beer of the Week: Hackney Hopster

In a change from my usual after work Mayfair venue, I wondered over to the Coach & Horses in Bruton Street (not to be confused with the nearby Coach &Horses in Hill Street which is a superb Shepherd Neame pub).  This was an old haunt but we hadn't frequented it for a while and fancied a change.  (www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/coach-and-horses-mayfair/s5155)



Coach & Horses*


Being just off Bond Street, it can sometimes be a bit of a tourist trap, especially in the summer but this Taylor Walker pub do look after their beers and have never failed to have something new on tap each time I have walked in.  They usually have four beers on the go and as you can see from the pictures they have had a wide variety over time. 

Amongst other things I was delighted to find a beer from London Fields Brewery which has been on my list of places to try, so no time like the present!   

The first surprise was that it was a beautiful copper coloured ale, more akin to a Yorkshire bitter rather than a straw coloured golden ale that one tends to associate with hoppy pale ales (see my previous blogs on the IPAs and Pale Ales from the Kernal Brewery).  The full bodied flavour really hits your palate and then follows down to the back of the throat to leave a pleasing after taste.  The brewery themselves describe it as follows:-

London Fields Hackney Hopster

"The Hackney Hopster is a debonair young chap of a pacific pale ale. Dressed in hops from New Zealand & West Coast USA, the Hopster shows off flavours of grapefruit, lemon zest and gooseberry."

(www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk/shop/hackney-hopster/)

I'm afraid I don't know what a pacific pale ale is (for once the Internet let me down so if anyone can enlighten my I would be grateful, but I suspect its something to do with the origin of the hops) but whatever it is I want more!  I could definitely feel the pleasing sour note of the hops in my mouth.  The beer is 4.2% and was definitely tempting as a session beer but I can see myself getting into a lot of trouble if I tried (my frailty rather than anything to do with the beer)!  I can imagine it going well with spicy food as the hoppiness of the beer will cut through the strong flavour.  The brewery will also be the venue for London's Brewing (www.londonbrewers.org/londons-brewing-festival/), a three day festival in May to celebrate the best of London's breweries and if the standard is as good as this it should be a blast.





This Week's selection at the Coach & Horses



Previous Beers at the Coach & Horses



 

 

 

Acknowledgements
*Coach & Horses picture from Square Meal www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/99735/Coach_and_Horses

A trip to the Kernal Brewery in Bermondsey

After coming across the London Brewers' Alliance website ( www.londonbrewers.org) I thought it only right to follow up and visit some of the breweries listed in there.  There is nothing better than doing things first hand so a trip to the the nearby Kernel Brewery in Bermondsey was in order.  The Brewery have managed to place its beers in some very smart restaurants throughout London including Hibiscus and the highly rated Hawksmoor so they must be doing something right.


Today's selection

They are open to sell directly to the public on Saturdays and I thought it would be a good excuse to stock up on a few libations for the coming Easter period.
thekernelbrewery.com/

Its easy to find, just look for the railway arches on the right just after going through the tunnel.  The brewery lies within two arches with a counter (as seen in the picture below) at the front of one and a seating area in the other for those wishing to sample the draft beer on site. Wrap up warm if you are going to stay for a drink  and don't expect any home comforts, as everything (as it should be) is focused on the beer.

I opted for a mixed case of bottle conditioned beers and went for a selection of pale ales and IPAs.  I'll leave the porters and stouts for another visit.

I like the understated branding on the brown bottles and the lack of fancy names.  The labels have a particularly nice touch of explaining which hops were used.  Like the grape varieties on wine bottles this allows you to understand what's contributing to the flavour and allows you to select styles of beer you like rather than just taking pot luck, and I would like to see more breweries taking this up.


Subtle Branding Focuses on the Beer

 Well Easter is not until next weekend and I just couldn't wait until then to sample the goods so later that day after the bottled conditioned beer had a chance to settle down I popped open a couple.

The first to try was the Table Beer.  Don't be fooled by the name, I found this 3.3% beer a decent quaffable pale ale.  The sharper Citra hops were balanced out nicely by another more fruity hop called Mosaic (which appears to be a fairly new variety).  I can imagine spending a summer afternoon in the garden on this stuff.

Later, I popped open the second beer as a night cap.  It was a stronger 5.6% pale ale (they have a number of different styles on offer), with four different hops again including Citra.  While it naturally tasted sharper than the Table Beer it was not overpowering and was a decent palate cleanser.

If the other beers are as impressive as these two then I am very much looking forward to trying them out next week (if they last that long!).

Hops in a Box....Its all about the flavour

Those nice chaps at Meantime Brewing are an inventive lot and their latest initiative is a winner in my books.  They are distributing free boxes of hop seeds with everything you need to grow your own hops and to remind drinkers what's in their beer and how it got its flavour.

Britain has a thriving community of artisan food producers and specialist brewers who are passionate about their products. Yet I am amazed at the number of people I know who opt for the bland and tasteless without a thought as to how their produce has got to them.  From intensively reared and cellophane wrapped chicken breast, mild rubbery cheddar and those mass produced so called lagers which will remain nameless that dominate the supermarket shelves.  So its good to see someone going a step further and taking the time to explain what it takes to put the flavour into the end product.

Hops in a Box from Meantime Brewing

You can pick up a box from Waitrose or a number of other outlets that serve Meantime beer.  For more information on the initiative and to so where you can pick up your own Hops in a Box go to their website

meantimebrewing.com/news-events/news/hops-in-a-box/

 or search the hashtag #hopsinabox on twitter. 

There should be a local near you where you can pick one up.  I picked up my box from the Clarence in Dover Street which is a Nicholson pub that always has a decent and ever changing selection of beers to choose from. You can see from the pictures that they are currently serving a number of good hoppy ales on sale including Jaipur which is a classic example of an Indian Pale Ale and VPA from Vale Brewery which is a golden ale.



The Clarence: Plenty of choice

I have a twelve foot wall in my garden which is currently covered in ivy and the idea of replacing that with a crop of hops is appealing.  The aim for the hops themselves is to end up in my home brew but as a novice brewer I'll need to get a bit of advice first.

On another note its good to see that the Chancellor has taken heed of the damage the beer escalator has been doing to the pub trade and scrapped it.  I know that some drinkers are still moaning about the minimal impact it will have on their pockets but it is an important concession and will stop adding to the future costs of a pint.

Even if the reduction is not passed on to us as consumers it does give the trade a bit of breathing room to cope with other costs, such as fuel for transport, that have also gone up and impact of bulk beer production will mean a greater benefit to them.