I was on a car trip, from Berlin to Brussels. I made a dinner stop in Düsseldorf to sample some alt at the source. This beer was the perfect beer, in the perfect place, at the perfect time. Of course take this with a grain of salt because perfection rarely happens with any beer, this just happened to be the right mix of factors, which will never be duplicated again. Before this I had tasted a few renditions of Altbier in the states and thought it was a fairly tasty brew but nothing incredible about it, i.e. I did not go out of my way to purchase American made Altbier. That first smell and taste was absolutely stunning. It was definitely up there with one of the best beers that I have ever had. I was definitely not expecting this taste experience. It was malty sweet and there was a definite fruitiness brought on by a combination of the hops and malt. The hop aroma and flavor was what really blew me away. You could tell that this was a fresh beer. The color was a good solid brilliantly clear red.

If and when you venture to Dusseldorf, you must visit Hausbrauerei Zum Schlussel located in the Altstadt, and enjoy some glasses of Zum Schlussel Altbier. Like all the altbiers poured at the various brewery/brewpubs this beer is poured by gravity from a wooden barrel. Zum Schlussel altbier was one of the most impressive I tasted on my trip to Dusseldorf, and rivals Zum Uerige, the bench mark example of altbier. Zum Schlussel altbier pours to a beautiful, bright, deep copper color with a bright white head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is very inviting with herbal/grassy hop aromas. The leads into a palate of clean, smooth, light nutty malt flavors, that give way to tangy/estery fruit flavors. Schlussel finishes with more clean malty and fruity flavors up front, then ends with a snappy herbal hop bitterness that lingers. Wow! This was such an enjoyable, delicious beer that was just packed with aromas and flavors of malt, hop, and fruit, and on such a fresh, clean, smooth body. I can not over state the freshness of this beer, and all the alts I tried. The character is just so amazingly bright and clean at its source, something you just don’t get in the bottled versions of these beers. I really enjoyed the nice contrast of malt and fruit character in this beer, and the fruitiness of Schlussel distinguishes this beer from other examples of alt. Zum Uerige is still my personal favorite, but Zum Schlussel was a very close second. This beer is not exported to the United States, so to try this one, you will need to venture to Dusseldorf. A journey anyone who truly loves beer will be more than willing to make.

Tasting all the different Altbeers, as a born Düsseldorfer, i can guarantee, that Schlüssel, and especially the Stike of Schlüssel Alt is the best tasting Alt-Beer. Clear amber red brown color, malty tast, roasty notes, rich balanced.

It’s a MUST to check out the Schlüssel Brewery in the center of the Dusseldorf "Altstadt" (old-Town). To me the best Beer in Dusseldorf.

I struggled to find fault with this beer, but have to stick with the high numbers, as it was just fabulous and is from one of my favorite styles of beer. The aroma was malty, caramel, nuts, although not easy to pick up. I thought I detected a touch of bubblegum too. The appearance was beautiful, pouring as pretty as any altbier, light copper color with a nice fluffy head, and superb lacing on the way down. Flavor was tilted more to the malty side than Uerige of Fucshcen, but as with any fine alt, still with some display of the hoppy bitter balance. Touches of nuts were behind a fruitiness that was quite pleasant. Wood barrells easily detectable and very pleasant in the flavor. Mouthfeel was perfect, smooth, tilted a touch to the moderately heavy side for the style. I had to stop after 3 of these only to save some steam for the next two stops of the night, but if you hit Im Schlussel in Dusseldorf and nothing else, you’ve done just fine. I’m glad to have finally hit this one on my fifth or six trip to the area.