Full Sail Brewers Share Phil’s Existential Alt

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
Hood River, Oregon USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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Bottle. Light brown with pillowy tan head and decent lacing. Smells like a sticky bin with raisins and metal. Tastes sweet initially then a mild hop kicks in. Full mouth feel, mild hop finish with a hint of pithiness. Not bad.

Bottle share....poured a light/medium color, small amount of beige head. Has a slightly bread-y and caramely aroma. The taste starts slightly sweet and becomes progressively more hoppy. A little bitter in the finish and aftertaste. The mouthfeel is a little thin. Overall, not bad but definitely not my favorite from Full Sail.

Smells nice, looks lighter than the style should be. Taste seems thin. Starts with a decent sweetness and ends with a not so appealing tartness. The bitter at the end could probably be mellowed a little and it would help to get it closer to style.

Bomber. The smell is sweet and malty to me, with a little funk. The appearance is a light brown with a creamy head. The taste is a sour malt taste that finishes a dry sour. The palate is a dry sour, with a funky malt aftertaste. Overall, this beer is ok. Alts are not my favorite, so that prolly has something to do with it as well.

The color is med amber with a light brown head. I smell sweetness of fruits, caramel and I taste the same with bitterness and some nuttyness. It finish clean and fresh.

Hard fruity aroma laced with alcohol notes. Murky brown color. Initial sharp sweet-tart transitions to a mellow starchiness. Slick body with a nice bite, too sweet to qualify as crisp. Initial Pub Offering? Very funny, and goes down better than those of GM and FB.

22oz Bottle. The pour was a clear caramel brown with a large (2-3 finger) off white pillowy head that was mostly lasting, finally receding to a large cap with excellent streaky lacing. The aroma was nice and enticing with a toasted sweet grain malt, light floral hops and a mild doughy yeast and had hints of caramel, honey and a slight fruity ester. The taste was good and malty with a nice caramel sweetness in the beginning, and then took on a mild fruity hoppiness with a slight bitterness creeping in at the end. The flavor hung on for a good duration proceeding the swallow with a mild citrus peel bitterness lingering for a little while longer. Mouthfeel was a few steps above light in body with a smooth creamy texture and a somewhat mild carbonation. Overall probably the best Altbier I have tasted to date, it was malty-sweet with a good hoppiness and a great drinkability. There is not much more one could ask for within this style...

Pours a dark yeasty brown color with a huge white head and good carbonation. Aroma is caramel sticky malts. The taste is bread, yeast, caramel malts, very little hop characteristics. It’s an OK beer but I’m not a big fan.

Bottle. Pours a very hazy dark amber with a moderate head. Malty and surprisingly hoppy in the nose. An odd malty bitterness to the taste that’s awfully heavy.

From notes, 7/31/12: Poured from a 22oz bomber into a dimpled stein. There’s a space for "Enjoy By", but nothing stamped in the space. A: Deep reddish-copper color, off-white, 2 finger head. Minimal lacing down the glass. Edges are burnt orange when held up to the light. S: Caramel and bready malts up front, fresh lager-like aroma, noble hops. T: Balance tilts toward the bready and caramel malts, bitter hops come out more here. Slight nuttiness in the finish. M: Clean and crisp like a lager, but I found it to be on the thin and watery side. O: A solid Alt and worth the relatively low price tag. Easy-drinking and great for a weeknight.