A few years ago, American beer lovers received some very good news. Alt beer arrived here, real alt beer. For a very long time, it was rather difficult to find good German Alt beer here in the United States. There were a few varieties sold, but most were not widely distributed. Fortunately, that all changed when Warsteiner Importers begun distributing Frankenheim Alt, a unique Dusseldorfer style of beer.

Unlike most German beers, Frankenheim Alt, is an ale, a brown ale to be precise. Alt is German for old, and it refers to the fact that “old” brews were almost always ales as this beer is. The Europeans, of course, have a greater conception of what is really old than we Americans do, and as such they are referring to a time centuries ago. German Alt beer is different from most ales, however, in that it is cold conditioned (lagered), a process which smoothes it out and leaves a cleaner, less fruity beer.

Frankenheim Alt is brewed in Dusseldorf, Germany by a brewery that dates back to 1873. I had been anticipating its arrival for some time, having read the press release a while back before the beer hit US store shelves. I got a good chuckle out of it, and it reminded me why ad men should be made to take a test about beer before being hired by a brewery. Here’s what I’m talking about:

The dark roasted malts used to make Frankenheim Alt - German Brown Ale give it a distinctive rich, amber color and hoppy nose.

The malts give the beer a hoppy nose? I don’t think so. Anyway, this is a delicious German alt beer. In many ways, it reminds me of Pete’s Wicked Ale in an earlier incarnation, before it was reformulated.

Frankenheim Alt pours to a medium brown color with a very thick, creamy head formation. The palate is smooth and quite drinkable, creamy, slightly nutty and chocolaty with a late hint of hop bitterness and dark malt flavors. The hops linger slightly on the tongue after sipping and leave a pleasant, bitter buzz.

The slightly nutty dark malty flavors are smooth and not overpowering, the hop finish makes the beer very drinkable indeed. As I mentioned above, the beer is cold conditioned, so despite it's slightly dark color this is a clean and refreshing brew indeed.

I enjoyed it with a pepper-crusted pork roast studded with garlic slivers that I cooked in pilsner beer. The ale went perfectly with the savory, spicy roast. After drinking my first glass of this alt, I got the idea to dig up my notes on the classic alt, Zum Uerige. Of course, my notes are on the slightly bolder sticke version, but here they are:

Sticke has a deep ruby color with a healthy amount of carbonation, a big "poof" announced that fact when I popped off the swing top. The nose promises gentle malt sweetness, and when I take my first sip this is exactly what I get, the malt body is almost brown ale like with a gentle toastiness, a hint of chocolate, and a remarkably clean profile from the cold conditioning. The finish is wonderfully bitter with a lingering (Saaz? Hallertau?) intensity. Just a fantastic beer all around.

The similarities are interesting, as are the differences.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



Home