Food & Beer Culture

Reibekuchen are a classic on the Lower Rhine, known in dialect as Rievkooche. Grated potatoes and onion are fried crisp in a pan and eaten with applesauce or sugar beet syrup. Altbier suits them well, since its bitterness cuts through the fat while the malt's caramel plays off the sweetness of the applesauce.

Rhenish Sauerbraten also belongs on this list. The meat sits for several days in a sour marinade before being braised, often with raisins added to the sauce. An Altbier holds its own against this, since malt and bitterness balance out the acidity. It's usually served with red cabbage and potato dumplings.

A hearty side dish is Stielmus, a vegetable made from the young leaves and stems of the turnip, served in the region with potatoes and sausage. It tastes slightly bitter and earthy, much like the beer itself. For a quick bite, there's Mettbrötchen with onions, for which a small glass of Alt is all you need.

Beer life on the Lower Rhine plays out in taverns and club halls. The Schützenfest is the big annual festival in many towns, complete with a parade, a festival tent, and beer straight from the cask. Altbier flows there in large quantities, usually in the small glass format, so no one waits long for a fresh pour.

One local quirk is the size of the glasses. While elsewhere people order a half-liter, here it stays with the small glass, often reordered again and again. Anyone standing at the bar will see the glasses filled and passed along one after another. It's slower and cozier than the big stein.