My sticke alt has gone from 1.080 to 1.025 so I’m thinking of adding some dry hops to the buckets soon. It was bittered with Perle and late additions(20, 10, flameout) were strisslespalt. What would be a good hop to use in the buckets?
I’ve had good luck using Crystal, Liberty or Mt. Hood. On the German side, either Hersbrucker or Spalt. You couldn’t go wrong with some more Strisselspalts either, so long as they’re fresh. Go with whichever’s fresher, as fresher is better for dry-hopping! 
I’ve dryhopped with Perle and quite liked the results.
Call me crazy, but if it’s dry hopped, I don’t call it an altbier anymore. Then it becomes a sort of pale ale.
It’s my understanding that sticke is dry hopped more often than not…or at least that it’s not unusual.
That’s what my research shows too. I’m not going to get aggressive with it, maybe 3/4 oz for 10 days.
Spalt would be traditional, but any type of german hop would work.
Definitely spalt, but you could blend in some other noble(ish) hops as well.
Okay, I have an honest question. If it’s okay to dry hop a sticke alt, is this deemed acceptable by the German commercial brewers, or by American interpretations of the style, or both? Enquiring minds want to know (I want to know!).
Most of the Dusseldort altstadt higher gravity late fall seasonal beers (not all of which are called sticke but all of which are in the same general style) are dry hopped.
Alt beers are hard to find, especially fresh ones, but, especially the Dusseldorf, are hop forward. I describe them to those that haven’t had them as a German “Pale Ale” made with German malt and German hops. That put’s them in the ball park.
I made one a few months ago and it turned out pretty well. I used this BYO article as a basis for my recipe.
http://www.byo.com/stories/beer-styles/article/indices/11-beer-styles/1210-old-world-alt
I hopped it with .5 oz Hallertauer each week for 4 weeks. It may have been a bit too much for some of my non-homebrewer friends though but hopping at those low temps gave it a really unique and tasty character.
Cheers