Here are a few of the beers we sampled on our recent trip to Germany, Holland and Belgium.
First off the Alts. We had been to Uerige twice before (in late Winter both times), but never any of the others. This time we hit all of the Brewpubs in the Alstadt of Dusseldorf. Schumacher was the favorite of both of us. This beer was almost a pale ale, all the was missing was some aroma hops, and some crystal malt. We love Uerige, it was more malty and we decided that this would still be our favorite when visiting in colder weather. In the summer heat, the hops of the Schumacher hit the spot. Fuschen was good too. Schlussel was good, but our least favorite. There was a hint of sourness in this one. It was earlier in the day so it could have been a less fresh keg.
We also had the Vingus Alt at its brewpub in nearby Krefeld.
The Uerige stop was the most important stop as this Alt is available in the States and we wanted to compare the two. The version from the pub didn't have the slightest hint of sweetness that the import version has. The same was true for all of the Alts, no sweetness at all, malty yes, sweet no. My wife's best guess is that there is some caramelization occuring during the pastuerization prior to export. All had noticible bitterness, but very smooth. Some had a slight hint of roast to them. None was thin, but a couple had a very full body.
Top left photo is Schumacher
Typical serving style at the brewpubs. This was at Schumacher (Im Golden Kessel)
First off the Alts. We had been to Uerige twice before (in late Winter both times), but never any of the others. This time we hit all of the Brewpubs in the Alstadt of Dusseldorf. Schumacher was the favorite of both of us. This beer was almost a pale ale, all the was missing was some aroma hops, and some crystal malt. We love Uerige, it was more malty and we decided that this would still be our favorite when visiting in colder weather. In the summer heat, the hops of the Schumacher hit the spot. Fuschen was good too. Schlussel was good, but our least favorite. There was a hint of sourness in this one. It was earlier in the day so it could have been a less fresh keg.
We also had the Vingus Alt at its brewpub in nearby Krefeld.
The Uerige stop was the most important stop as this Alt is available in the States and we wanted to compare the two. The version from the pub didn't have the slightest hint of sweetness that the import version has. The same was true for all of the Alts, no sweetness at all, malty yes, sweet no. My wife's best guess is that there is some caramelization occuring during the pastuerization prior to export. All had noticible bitterness, but very smooth. Some had a slight hint of roast to them. None was thin, but a couple had a very full body.
Top left photo is Schumacher
Typical serving style at the brewpubs. This was at Schumacher (Im Golden Kessel)