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The Ale Street News tasting panel met the day after St. Patrick’s Day at the Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn to taste Altbier, one of the lesser-known beer styles these days.
While our previous panel for Barleywines drew an outsize number of entries which took two sessions to complete, this time we received only a few samples from breweries, and had to augment the tasting with store-bought examples, some of which seemed to be not in the freshest condition. As always, the entries were blind tasted, and panelists had no information about the beer until the tasting was concluded.
Copper Ale, 5.4%, Otter Creek, Middlebury, VT
This was the top rated beer of the tasting. True to the name, the beer poured a clear bright copper color. Panelists found a very clean, toasted malt aroma with just a hint of hops in the background, and they all noted the clean, fresh flavor of this beer. “Clean, toasty malt mingles with delicate hop flavor. Finishes with subtle bitterness.” “Delicious! Clean and balanced, very drinkable with pleasant bitterness in finish.” “Really nice, sparkly clean, great dry finish. One sip calls for another, and another…”
Turbo Dog, 6.13%, Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA
Second place in the tasting went to Turbo Dog. The color was a deep chestnut brown/ruby color, noticeably darker than the other examples we saw. It poured with a nice fluffy, long-lasting head. There were roasted malts in the aroma, with panelists noticing coffee, cappuccino, malt, caramel, and light fruit. “Toasted nuts, sesame, pumpernickel bread flavors. Very drinkable, good finish.” “Clean drinkable beer, like a dark alt. Nice mouthfeel, slight roast, good clean finish.”
Secret Ale, 5.1%, Southampton Publick House, Southampton, NY
This is a Sticke Altbier, a tribute to the slightly stronger “secret” Altbier brewed only twice a year by a handful of Düsseldorf breweries. Deep copper hue, tight off-white head. “Malty aroma followed by floral hops, violets. Pronounced malty sweetness, big carbonation, slightly tart finish.” “Classic alt — balanced, malty, slight tang in finish. Seems a bit old, but nice example, very balanced malt and hop.” Panelists agreed that this one seemed a bit past its prime, probably an older bottle.
Double Bag, 7.2%, Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, VT
This is another Sticke alt, although this one is quite a bit stronger than an alt. Pale copper color, very clear, with a head that dissipated quickly. Aromas of sweet malt, cotton candy, nutty caramel, toffee. “Very toasted malt flavor, fuller body, sweet. The finish is somewhat astringent. Slight sourness after the candy sweetness.” “Slight banana, burnt malts, slight sourness, good hops.”
Frankenheim Alt, 4.8%, Privatbrauerei Frankenheim, Germany
Dark copper/brown color, very clear with a nice fine-bubbled head. Panelists commented on nice roasted malt and sweet caramel aromas with some sour notes. “Sweet, malty, dry toffee finish. Light toasted coffee.” “Strange sourness up front — is that supposed to be there? Dry, papery finish (oxidized). Could be fresher.”
Schwelmer Alt, 4.2%, Privatbrauerei Schwelm, Germany
The lightest beer of the tasting, this beer poured a deep copper/brown color, with good head retention. Sweet fruit, malty, raisins, dark bread aromas. “Fruity (sour cherry), nice chewy malts.” “A bit thin, is initial impression. Could use some more malt. Finish is (too) dry, slightly metallic — oxidized?”
Organic Munster Alt, 5.1%, Brauerei Pinkus Mueller, Germany
Seeing a light blonde, straw color with some haze confounded the panelists a bit, but the rocky, long-lasting head was impressive. Panelists commented upon the bready, malty, clean aromas, and the lack of any toasted malt and hop aromas. “Nice beer, no Munich malt, strange color…is it an alt? Slight, but pleasing apricot sourness in finish, dry finish also.” “Not a bad beer, but I wouldn’t recognize it as an alt. Looks and tastes much more like a Kolsch.”
While we unmasked the beers and revisited them, our host and Waterfront Ale House owner Sam Barbieri ordered some chicken liver pate and corned beef spareribs to accompany the leftover beers. We reviewed the results of the tasting, and discussed how oxidation had marred the perception of some promising entries. The final results were: Otter Creek Copper ale — first place, Abita Turbo Dog — second place, and Southampton Secret Ale — third place.
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