Crosby's Kitchen & CocktailAshbury Alt

Altbier is a malty, darker cousin of Kölsch. Dusseldorf and Cologne (home of Kölsch) are less than an hour apart on the Rhine River in western Germany. Both beers are holdovers from the German ale-brewing tradition before the widespread advance of lager-brewing (alt means old in German). Ashbury Alt gets a boost in maltiness and mouthfeel from the addition of Munich malt as well as from the alt yeast fermentation, which tends to highlight malt notes (unlike our Kölsch yeast, which emphasizes hop character). The German hops add a pleasing touch of spiciness to balance the malt sweetness. In a way, coming from our anglophile perspective on brewing, altbiers are somewhat similar to English bitters. Just don’t say that to a German brewer.