Schlosser Alt

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Price: £3.45

Description 4.8%abv. A Düsseldorf specialty, an Altbier is a German style brown ale, the “alt” literally translates to "old" in German, and traditionally Altbiers are conditioned for a longer than normal periods of time. Other sources note that "alt" is derived from the Latin word "altus," which means "high" and refers to the rising yeast. Take your pick, but the extended conditioning mellows out the ale's fruitiness and produces an exceptionally smooth and delicate brew.   The biggest alt brewery in Dusseldorf make this fine, copper coloured subtle nutty bitter, with a nice malty sugary finish. The beer is top fermented and growing in worldwide esteem. It is called old beer because it is the style before bottom fermentation was developed with lagering. This beer has an original gravity of 11.5% and an abv of 4.8% - the taste is fresh and spicy.   Schlösser comes from the German for Lock but was actually the name of the breweries founder.  In 1873 in Düsseldorf a young baker by the name of Schlösser dreamt of owning a respectable brewery and after learning the art of brewing beer he did just that - creating a delicious, fresh and spicy speciality called Schlösser Alt – both the beer and brewery are now legendary.   Schlösser Alt is brown in appearance with a hint of orange, an off-white head leaving curtains, but little lacing. The smell is malty sweet and sour milk, toffee, dark bread, and some meatiness. The taste has a little sweetness, burnt toast and cereals from the malt going over in a sharp and distinct bitterness from the hops. Fresh pine nuts, bitter almond can also be tasted. Medium low carbonation, a bit watery but mostly a definitive dry long lasting feeling. A rather complex mixture of the spontaneous old odor and modern bittern feeling.   This beer would pair well with german cuisine, earthy cheeses such as camembert, and various meat dishes – pairing particularly well with smoked or grilled meat and game. 50cl bottle.