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A		Uerige was our first pub in Europe. We arrived at the hotel sometime around 8:00am. Some cold water and a bite to eat at the breakfast buffet and we were off for the Altstadt. Walking through the neighborhood around the college to the walkway along the Rhine got us back up and ready for some Alt. We found Uerige at 10:45 and had to wander around for another 15 minutes before they opened.
		This is a Uerige alt. Light brown and clear with a cream head of fine bubbles. Medium body, some dark malt aroma but subdued. Very low hop aroma. No esters. Flavor is hop balanced with most if not all the hops added for bittering. Bitterness appeared to be around 35 IBUs.
B		Schlussel was our next stop. I had intended to stop at Diebels but they had closed their Altstadt pub seven months earlier. Schlussel was less than a block away. We wandered to the very back of the pub and sat at the table in front of the brewery display window. It took a few minutes before the back bartender came over to get our order. He may have been alarmed by the obvious tourists with the crazed looks from lack of sleep.
		This is a Schlussel alt. Light brown and clear with a cream head. The biscuit malt aroma is more pronounced than Uerige. There is also slight noble hop spiciness on the nose. No esters. Some very minimal astringency present, probably from the roast malt. The bittering is the highest of the Dusseldorf Alts that we found. I'd estimate the bittering near 45 IBUs. This was probably my favorite Alt. Its aggressive hopping made it stand out from the others.
Sir not-on-this-pub-crawl		Our next stop was a sidewalk diner. I'm not sure why we stopped here, probably to get something to eat. I don't remember eating and I hope we didn't. What idiot would go on a pub crawl in Altstadt Dusseldorf and eat at a sidewalk cafe instead of a pub. Ken and I had Fuchschen Alts and the girls split a Schofferhoffer heffewiezen.
		This is a Schofferhoffer heffewiezen. This Heffewiezen was an excellent example. Golden and cloudy with a thick white head. Slight malt on the nose but the dominant aromas were banana and clove. The taste was solidly banana with reserved clove. Madeline reports corn on the nose as well. Carbonation was medium-high. The body was medium with the carbonation lightening the perceived body a bit. Slight prickly character. Very nice example of the style.
C		Maddie and I split from Ken and Debbie after walking a significant distance to what was supposed to be a Paulaner pub. They had closed and the current establishment was trying to make it on beer and wine. The place was nice and all but it was a long walk to a disappointing conclusion. Maddie and I continued on to the next stop. Brauerei Schumacher
		This is a Schumacher alt. No hop aroma and very minimal malt aroma. No esters. This beer is copper in color with a thick cream head that does not last long. This is typical of the Alts we've sampled today. The flavor is balanced between hop and malt. Bitterness appears to be around 35 IBUs. No hop flavor detected. Body is medium light. Finish is thin. This was probably the most commercial beer of the day. It was a very nice session beer. I'd imagine this would be the Sierra Nevada of Alts. Very drinkable and probably very popular with the public at large.
		This is the loo handle at Schumacher. This was the coolest pub IMO in Dusseldorf.
		The guys pouring alt at Schumacher. The older gentleman thought it would be nice to let Maddie take a turn at pouring...
		Very cool! They let Maddie pour half a glass. Then they told her to drink it. Yep, she did.
D		Next stop was Brauerei im Fuchschen. We were lucky to have a local point us to the pub when we were pondering where the road was supposed to be. There's lots of construction in the summer and the road we wanted to take was closed even to pedestrians. We must have been pretty tired at this point so I don't have a picture to show.
		This is a Fuchschen alt. I horked the picture from another website. Must have been too tired to remember to take the picture of the beer. Copper and clear with a thin cream head. Low malt and hop aroma. Very minimal esters. Bittering around 35. Bitterness lingers on the finish. Medium body.