Hello, I wanted to try Diebels alt. But the question I have is, is it like Weizenbier? With Weizen I know there's stuff on the bottom that you cannot drink. I do not really like the idea of that. So I wondered does Altbier also have stuff on the bottom that you can not drink - I believe it's called yeast? Also what is the taste like? I only have drinked pilseners for now, but I cannot seem to find a good german pilsener - they are all too bitter for my taste.
Diebels should be filtered, but I haven't had one in a while. There are more knowledgeable folks who will hopefully chime in, but Alts are normally filtered. Uerige sells a "nicht filtriert" version of their regular Alt but you will probably never see it in the Netherlands. In fact, sadly the best Alts (IMO) will probably not make it to the Netherlands, but if you ever see Schüssel, Schumacher, Füchschen, or Uerige then you should give those a try as long as they are still before their "Best By" date. Uerige is the most hoppy and bitter of the bunch so you might not enjoy that one as much.
Haha, I live really close to Germany. I live in the southern part of the Netherlands that is close to either Belgium or Germany. I can get to both countries in like 20-30 minutes? I go to a place called Schrawmowski. http://www.schramowski-getraenke.de/ They have Diebels alt 11 euro for 20x0.5 liter. However I do not know if they have Schüsel, Schumacher or the others you named. But I will write them down so I can check them out. Do you also know a good German pilsener? I've had Konig pilsener but did not like the bitterness. I also tried Becks I like becks a bit more but it also is a bit better/agressive. I wonder if there's a more sweet german pilsener I thought about krombacher. Maybe you can help since your German. Dankeschön!
It has been a while since I had a Diebels Alt beer but I have no recollection that the beer was unfiltered; there should be no yeast in that beer (to the best of my memory). “Also what is the taste like?” Diebels is a malt forward beer; the principle taste is a malty taste that you get from darker kilned malt. If you have ever had an Amber colored Marzen/Oktoberfest beer then Diebels will have a flavor profile similar to those beers. My recollection is that Diebels is moderately hopped so it should not be too bitter for you; the malty taste will be front and center in this beer. Cheers!
Is it just your preference to not drink the yeast? because it won't harm you and most people mix it in. There will be no yeast in the Diebels. From the link I see that they sell Kolsch, you could try that as an alternative to Pilsener and sounds like it may be what yo are looking for, again there is no yeast at the bottom.
Below is some information on Konig Pilsner: “Konig Pilsener König Brauerei Konig, Official Website German Pilsner ABV: 4.9% IBU: 33” It would appear that 33 International Bittering Units is too bitter for your taste. Hopefully somebody will suggest a German Pilsner that has less bittering hops (i.e., a lower IBU value). I would also suggest that you may want to try a Kolsch instead. A Kolsch beer will have a pleasant taste from the use of Pilsner Malt but will not be bitter since the Kolsch style is more restrained from a bittering hop perspective (less than 30 IBUs). Prost!
Can you show me where in the link they say they sell Kolsch? My German is kind of bad. Thanks where do you find the IBU? Krombacher seems to have 24-25 however I could not find the original source. But thanks a lot for helping me. And I think Kolsch might indeed be good for me. But I believe Kolsch and Alt is kind of the same style. Both have no yeast in the bottom that is good though.
I did a web search of Koning Pilsner IBU and this came up:http://draftmag.com/review/887/ You are correct that Krombacher has less IBUs: 24 There is a chart on this forum which lists the IBUs and some German beers:http://hobbybrauer.de/modules.php?name=eBoard&file=viewthread&tid=9614 Prost!
Wow, please don't say that if you are ever in the NRW! I can't find a bottle list but they have it available in keg so surely they must have some bottles, maybe find another market?
In my haste I missed the statement of: “But I believe Kolsch and Alt is kind of the same style.” A Kolsch and an Alt will taste very different. A Kolsch is light colored and lightly hopped with the principle taste being from the Pilsner Malt. An Alt will be amber to copper colored with tastes dominated by darker malt flavors. A Dusseldorf style Alt will also be more highly hopped with Uerige being the most hoppy. A Diebels Alt is more restrained than a Dusseldorf style Alt from a hopping perspective. Prost!
Thanks a lot mate! I might like Krombacher then! I will check the list also thanks being a great help here! Aah I see, well I won't say that in NRW I don't even know how to say that properly in German. But I will try to find the popular Kolsch brands and see if they have those. Because it probably does not say so on the bottle that it is kolsch? I see I don't know how I should interpetent the taste of 'malt' I am new to all this beer tasting. But I might try kolsch and alt in some german café someday. But I guess I can just try them someday.
“I don't know how I should interpetent the taste of 'malt' I am new to all this beer tasting…” Yeah, there really is no substitute for drinking some beers and learning to appreciate them. In the interim, maybe the flavor descriptions for a Kolsch and Northern German Alt from the BJCP style guidelines may be helpful to you? Northern German Altbier: “Flavor: Fairly bitter yet balanced by a smooth and sometimes sweet malt character that may have a rich, biscuity and/or lightly caramelly flavor. Dry finish often with lingering bitterness. Clean, lager character sometimes with slight sulfury notes and very low to no esters. Very low to medium noble hop flavor. No diacetyl.” Kolsch: “Flavor: Soft, rounded palate comprising of a delicate flavor balance between soft yet attenuated malt, an almost imperceptible fruity sweetness from fermentation, and a medium-low to medium bitterness with a delicate dryness and slight pucker in the finish (but no harsh aftertaste). The noble hop flavor is variable, and can range from low to moderately high; most are medium-low to medium. One or two examples (Dom being the most prominent) are noticeably malty-sweet up front. Some versions can have a slightly minerally or sulfury water or yeast character that accentuates the dryness and flavor balance. Some versions may have a slight wheat taste, although this is quite rare. Otherwise very clean with no diacetyl or fusels. “ Prost!
If you are close to the German border, I'd recommend a trip to Greven (near Münster), to the Bierzwerg-store. It's the outlet of one of Germany's biggest online beer shops. They have a huge selection of all kinds of domestic and international styles. See here: www.bierzwerg.de
The two I saw on that website are Fruh and Gaffel, not the most highly rated by some but decent enough.
+1 to the recommendations for Fruh and Gaffel. I recently was able to purchase some relatively fresh bottles of Fruh (less than 3 months from bottling date) and I thought it was a high quality Kolsch. I did a side-by-side tasting of Fruh with my homebrewed Kolsch beer. I had a preference for my homebrewed Kolsch but I thoroughly enjoyed drinking the Fruh beer. A couple of months ago I drank some Gaffel on draft and those beer were tasty. It is also a high quality Kolsch beer. Prost!
Ich bin Amerikaner! Rothaus is an easy to find pilsner that I like to recommend to people. Otherwise check out our pilsner thread for some other ideas. I have to agree with Jack H., nothing quite like trying a bunch yourself and figuring out what you like.
For all those interested I bought Fruhl it was kind of expensive 14.99 euro for 20 x 0.5 liter. I also bought krombacher which was 10 euro. But thanks a lot for all the advices. And I will surely let you know how I liked the taste. Though I cannot do a review I think because I'm not that good at such things.
