Region & History

Order an Alt in Düsseldorf and you get a beer whose name describes a process. "Alt" refers to the old way of brewing, with top-fermenting yeast that works at room temperature. It was common along the Lower Rhine before bottom-fermented lagers took over. Afterward the beer matures cold, and it's exactly this combination that gives it its character.

A house brewery is a pub that brews its own beer on the premises and pours it right there. Around the Old Town stand four classic ones: Schumacher, Füchschen, Uerige and Schlüssel. Since autumn 2010, Kürzer has also been brewing in the Old Town. Glasses, casks and kettles are often only a few steps apart.

The dates are mostly claims made by the houses themselves. Schumacher cites 1838, back then at the pub "Im Sonnenaufgang" on Citadellstraße. Füchschen on Ratinger Straße names 1848, but suspects a tavern under the name "Im Füchschen" existed as early as around 1640. Uerige traces its name back to Düsseldorf dialect, "uerig" meaning grumpy, and tells of the moody Wilhelm Cürten, who from 1862 brewed a very bitter beer.

At Schlüssel, the name is explained by a medieval custom: the key to the city gate is said to have been kept at the neighboring tavern.

Unlike Kölsch, Altbier has no protected designation of origin. It isn't listed in the EU register of protected names, and no agreement comparable to the 1986 Kölsch Convention is known to exist. What counts as Alt is therefore determined by the city's habits and taste. There's no reliable count of how many breweries make Alt overall, but the house breweries of the Old Town form its core.