Alaskan Amber

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Altbier
Juneau, Alaska USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

UPDATED: JAN 3, 2010 OK, I’m puzzled by the favorable reviews. A great amber color, with almost no head, and even the lace vanishes. Mouth is thin and astringent. Taste is very light, a little malt, adequately hopped. Pretty much an uninteresting brew, with a slightly off finish. // rerated ... new bottle, new batch ... Rich golden color, good head, dry and astringent, with a nutmeg and spruce kind of touch behind the malt and hops.//Tried again, draft in Phoenix. Even more annoyingly astringent than I remember.

Pours a coppery color. Initial spice note on the nose. Then the breadiness takes over. A little hop in the background for balance. A little alcohol heaviness is in there too.

Ack! Count me out on this one. Maybe it's because I had managed to drink some very good beers and it just clashed with them, but seemed cloyingly sweet. I left the pint in a bar with friends and wandered to another and back and not only was the pint still there, but the people at the table had all taken sips and said not one of them cared for it. Bland plus sweet does not make a beer for me. Tried it again in airport and thought the same.

No date on the bottle, at least as I can tell. Poured amber with a fizzy quickly fading head. Nose was sour-malt. Taste was the same. While not a "great" brew, very easy to drink. Seems to be right in the style range. Thanks for the trade.

Dark amber pour with a pretty good white head. Smell is sweet and reminds me of sourdough. Quite balanced between malts and hops, but it’s so light bodied it’s hard to form an opinion on. Pretty neutral and somewhat bland. Not a bad beer, but there’s better 6 packs to spend $8 on.

Bottle - Pours a nice copper color with little head or carbonation. Aroma is of caramely malt with just a slight hint of hops. Flavor is well balanced for the style and is of mildy roasted malt without the harsh bitterness of deeply roasted malt and, again, enough hops to balance the malt sweetness. A fairly good effort... reminds me of Otter Creek Copper Ale back home.

Clear copper, thin head. Toasted and caramel malt aroma with a hint of hops. Upfront this tastes sweet but the finish is quick and dry. Decent enough malt flavor but it has a little astringent bite. Bit on the watery side.

Draft at the Sink. Nice dark amber color, medium tan head. Malt dominates aroma, notes of caramel. A mostly malty taste, somewhat sweet, fairly bland.