As I've noted in the past, I do my best to focus the Beer of the Week columns on beers that are available in Toronto, either via retail outlets or at bars and restaurants. Occasionally, though, I have the opportunity to try a beer that is interesting enough to warrant some coverage even despite its lack of local availability.
This week's column features one such beer, although in my defense, it was available in Toronto recently - albeit only for one night in one location. The night was a couple of Fridays ago, and the location was at an event called Düsseldorf Altbierfest, presented by the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CGCIC) in the Fermenting Cellar at the Distillery District.
As evidenced by the companies and organizations that were featured sponsors, the event was intended to promote various business and cultural aspects of the city of Düsseldorf, but the particular focus was a unique style of beer called Altbier that is popular in the city and rare elsewhere. The name translates to “old beer”, which refers to the fact that unlike most well-known German beer styles that are brewed using the more modern (i.e. discovered in the last few centuries) bottom-fermenting lager yeasts, Altbier is made with ale yeasts that sit at the top of the beer and ferment at warmer temperatures.
Even so, while the type of yeast used means that Altbiers are technically ales, they are generally stored a cool temperatures after fermentation, making them crisper and more lager-like than the UK-style ales that they would otherwise resemble. The resulting beer is a sort of ale-lager hybrid that is quite unique, at least within Europe. One of the few similar styles is Kölsch, a paler beer brewed in Köln (Cologne) that is often viewed as a rival to Altbier.
For their Altbierfest, the CGCIC flew in a few kegs of Frankenheim Alt from Privatbrauerei Frankenheim, one of several breweries within Düsseldorf city limits that specialize in the Altbier style. More notably, they’re one of the few that actively exports their brew, with parent company Warsteiner giving it a big push in the US over the last few years, but this marked the first time it was available in Toronto, if not all of Canada.
I’m admittedly far from an expert when it comes to Altbier, having tried only a handful of them over the years, and never visiting Germany to try it in peak condition. So while it was a rare treat to quaff such fresh samples of Frankenheim Alt from the traditional tall and thin 200 ml Alt glasses, I had to do a bit of research to find out if the beer was a good example of the style.
From the website of the Beer Judge Certification Program, I discovered that Alts are expected to meet such criteria as having a “deep copper colour”, a “clean yet robust and complex aroma of rich malt, noble hops and restrained fruity esters”, and a flavour that features an “assertive hop bitterness well balanced by a sturdy yet clean and crisp malt character.” All of which I found in Frankenheim Alt, so I guess it must stack up against the best of them. And even if it wasn’t a textbook example, I certainly had no problem throwing back a few of those little glasses alongside some hearty German sausage, sauerkraut and soft pretzels.
The question, though, is whether I’ll be able to do so again without catching a plane to Düsseldorf. And the answer is maybe, as I caught some scuttlebutt from a couple of industry folk at the event that there’s some interest in trying to get Frankenheim Alt into Ontario on a more regular basis, perhaps even via the LCBO.
Of course, it wouldn’t be as fresh, and drinking it at home won’t be quite the same as being in a room with a few hundred predominantly German people who are eating and drinking and having a great time. For that, a trip to the numerous brewpubs in the Altstadt region of Düsseldorf would be in order. Or, we can keep our fingers crossed that the fine folks at the CGCIC decide to throw another Düsseldorf Altbierfest next year.
