2.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle from Bockyhorsey. Poured with a huge off-white colored, highly carbonated head over top of a copper body with some slight haze. The aroma was strong caramel and fruity notes with a touch of spicey notes (hops?). The flavor was strongly malty, but unfortunately overly sweet. The caramel, fruity esters (cherry especially), and sugary and spicey flavors ended up way too cloying for a style that demands much more balance, a firmer hop presence for sure (they were lost and gone). The bottle said there was some sugar added in there, and it literally made this taste quite Belgian-like, especially with dark fruit and spice notes mixed in there. A far cry from a true alt (yet from a brewer that normally nails German brews?), I would have guessed dark Belgian / dubbel if I was blind. Mouthfeel was sticky and highly (airy) carbonated. Many thanks to Bill for hooking me up with another bottle of my favorite style. Wished I could have raved about it much more, but it was a fun experience, nonetheless (and I’m clearly in the minority around here... but even on a hedonistic scale and factoring in that I like NG, I’m not digging it like I would have hoped).
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
12oz bottle. A Dusseldorf style Alt this is not. Cloudy brown-amber color, nice minimal head. Sweet, mellow aroma. The taste is reminiscent of Tripel in its doughy sweetness, but there is significantly more caramel malt. Deep and rich, doughy and drinkable. I’d think this beer was at least 8%. Great stuff.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle bonus from thickfreakness. I broke the lip of the bottle when getting the cap off, so hopefully i don’t ingest any glass. I love new glarus, but usually hate alts. Lets see how this is. Pours orange with a big tan head. Nose is sweet and sugary. Taste is sweet and not all that bad.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pours bronze with light haze and light tan generous head. The aroma has phenolic spice, big mushy medium / dark malt, nuttiness and some anise-like spice. Medium / full body with nice soft carbonation. The flavor starts with everything from the aroma with some abv punch, dark toffee and a bit of a burnt taste. The finish is very warm with alcohol, spice and dry toasted marshmallow. This is very well done and much bigger than expect from an alt.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Another nice one from New Glarus. Pours a nice amber color with a slightly large white head. Aroma is nice and sweet, notes of candied sugar, toffee, and yeast. Thin and sweet mouthfeel. Flavor is full of malt and yeast, like bread, sugar water, and toffee. Finishes dry and no stickiness. Nice.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
12 ounce bottle shared by Josh. Pours a darker shade of orange with a bit of white head. Lots of toffee in the nose. Big malty flavor with a big of sweetness. Dry malty finish.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
A great beer. Rich. Creamy. Wonderful, robust malt flavors. Yet not too thick. Smooth finish, not biting or too hoppy. A winner.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle from Ryan. When I drink an Altbier I expect it to be smooth, easy to drink, and very sessionable... This one did not really fit that bill. Pours out an orange color with a white head on it - tons of bubbles coming through it as well. Smell is sweet, kinda fruity, little bit of hops, and alot of vanilla and oak from the barrel. Taste is fairly complex, very rich up front and the finish is very dry. Heavy on the oak and the vanilla. I am not sure I needed the barrel with this beer, in fact, it would be better without it. By the end of the beer I was somewhat used to it, but this isnt one of their better offerings IMO.
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