Zipline Brewing Company - Copper Alt

Altbier is a German style indigenous to the Düsseldorf area. Meaning “old beer”, the name is a reference to it being a top-fermented beer (essentially an ale) that hails from a time prior to the region’s widespread adoption of bottom-fermenting lagers. Altbiers are a bit of a hybrid, however, as they are fermented at cooler temperatures that are more typical of lagers than ales. This version from Zipline is an exceptional American version, having brought home gold medals in the Altbier category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival and the 2022 US Open Beer Championship. On the pour, there’s a deep reddish-amber hue with copper and bronze highlights and a cap of persistent beige foam. In the aroma, look for richly toasty notes with deep caramelization and a hazelnut impression to lead the way, overlaid by a delicate hoppiness that’s somewhat floral, spicy, and herbal, offering hints of hay and just a wisp of citrus. Those core toasty and caramelized notes come across full and robust on the palate, too, with some nutty tones and a hint of cocoa powder. There’s a welcome brightness here too, with hints of dried fruit flashing in here and there, and the hops delivering some herbal spice and a moderate bite to balance the rounded, malty backbone. Pair this brew with roasted and grilled fowl, pork, or salmon, or perhaps even Beef Wellington. A nicely toasted panini with roast or corned beef sounds good, as well. Cheers!

Zipline Brewing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska first started production back in 2012, focused on making high-quality beers and building up a sustainable community around those beers that the brewery would be able to support. While the brewery started with just one of their three brewery founders, Marcus Powers, as the company’s lone employee, in just a few years Zipline grew to about 40 employees.

Since their opening, the brewery has quickly grown to the full capacity of their production system, and they decided to respond to that constraint by focusing on their nearby markets and adding retail locations. Zipline’s first taproom opened up in 2013 adjacent to their brewery in Lincoln, and they opened the Zipline Beer Hall in November 2016, the latter also in Lincoln, but focusing more on a beer-garden vibe. The brewery’s third taproom opened in summer 2017, in northern downtown Omaha, with more of an urban industrial vibe, and Zipline opened their Culture Lab facility (focusing on mixed-fermentation beers and wild projects) there in February of 2019. For good measure, Zipline’s fourth taproom, the Zipline Beer Lounge, opened in Omaha in summer of 2019.

Currently, Zipline produces nine year-round brews, plus a wide array of seasonal, small-batch, and barrel-aged beers, including a few that we’ve featured in our Rare Beer Club, such as their delicious MAAANGO! IPA. For more info on the brewery and their multiple locations in Nebraska, give 'em a ring at 402-475-1001 or visit ziplinebrewing.com.