I was stoked to find an article in the Washington Post Online about the rivalry between the two Rhineland cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf (the latter being my hometown). The writer focused on the aspect of that rivalry that concerns the types of beer brewed in and favored by those two cities. Both the "Koelsch" drunk in Cologne, and the "Alt" preferred in Duesseldorf are untypical of German beers in that they both are top-fermented, and more resemble pale ales and stouts than the lager type of beer mostly associated with Germany. I'm happy to say the writer seemed most impressed with my native city's Alt beer!
Incidentally, both beers are not that easy to come by here in Berlin. I spent a few days last week in the vicinity of Duesseldorf, and flew home from there, and was lucky enough to quaff a few Alt beers (of the "Frankenheim" brand) while I was there:
Too bad the article didn't feature a nice skyline shot of Duesseldorf, so I'm happy to supply one here...isn't it gorgeous?
