Uerige Sticke Alt

Today, the third Tuesday of October, is Sticke Day. So take a moment to educate yourself about this rare style of beer, courtesy of the German Beer Institute (skip down if you find this sort of thing boring, otherwise, it’s time to geek out!):

Twice a year, on the third Tuesday in January and on the third Tuesday in October, a ritual is re-enacted in the dark and smoky recesses of the hallowed halls of an old brewpub, the Uerige in Düsseldorf in the Rheinland. There, a crod of cognoscenti gathers expectantly in the taproom, as if they are members of a secret society about to witness an exclusive event—the tapping of the season’s first wooden cask of a rare, aged ale, called Sticke Alt.

Sticke is the strongest and scarcest Altbier there is! To understand its strange name, we must first delve into a bit of linguistic history: “Sticke” is a mangled version of the “plattdeutsch” (low-German) word “stickum,” which translates into English as “secret.” The origin of the Sticke, according to local lore, dates from a time when beer ingredients were still measured rather haphazardly by the bucketful. If the brewmaster made a “mistake” and mashed in too generous an amount of malt, he also had to add an extra dose of hops for balance. The finished beer from such a batch would be a strong and substantial beverage. In a sense, Sticke is to Altbier ale what Bockbier is to a regular lager. Because the Sticke started out as a mistake, it was rarely brewed the same way twice. The news of a brewmaster’s mistake, of course, normally would get around quickly among the initiated, who would pass the secret by word of mouth, behind cupped hands, in a “stickum” or “sticke” sort of way… and to be in on the secret was quite a privilege. It is said that this “stickum” hot tip, shared among the aficionados, then became the origin of the beer’s name. Nowadays, however, Sticke brewers have abandoned the secrecy surrounding the unveiling of the Sticke. Instead, they keep the Sticke tradition alive by advertising the dates of their special offerings in the media, on posters, and on their websites.

I haven’t been keeping up with the world of beer blogs recently, so I don’t know if anyone else has written about this, but you, dear reader, can now consider yourself among “the initiated.”

To be in on this secret is “quite a privilege,” so don’t say I never did nothing for ya.

You can find Uerige Sticke Alt in tiny little bottles at Wine House for around $5. I bought mine a month or two ago, so it was probably from the January batch. No matter, it was still a great beer.

The whole idea behind the beer is they brew it with more malt and hops than normal, creating a richer taste. I haven’t tried the regular Uerige altbier, so Alaskan Amber is pretty much my benchmark.

Uerige Sticke is a mellow malty fellow that I sucked down a little too fast. Smells a bit like toast and the hop flavor seemed buried behind the sweet malt.

A bit pricey for the less-than-12oz bottle, but this is definitely something I would buy again, most likely for the third Tuesday in January. Mark your calendars, and I’ll try to give you a little more advance notice next time.

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