Ninkasi Sleigh’r Dark Double Alt Ale

Brewed by Ninkasi Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
Eugene, Oregon USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

Dark chocolate and oatmeal malts with slight coffee on the nose. Pours brownish black with a nearly non-existant foam top. Coffee-like malts up front with a warming presence of alcohol on the finish. Pleasant carbonation and a thin, crisp feel on the palate. Overall, a very pleasant, warming winter brew with lots of delicious malt without tasting too syrupy/thick. A rating.

bottle. dark and smooth. not heavy at all. pretty complex flavors. hints of chocolate roasted malts and a tinge of hop bitterness. one of my favorite winter brews.

Lighter and less complex than many winter ales. Pleasant enough, but not memorable.

22oz bomber bottle. Pours a very dark brown with medium lingering tan head. Not much in the aroma, a bit of toasted malts. The flavor is dominated by those toasted malts, it’s smooth and creamy with a slight alcohol bite in the finish. Not bad, very drinkable.

I’ve decided alts aren’t my favorite (leans too much to the malt side), but trying to be fair here. Brown with a good head. Lots of smooth soft, toasted malt flavor - reminds me a bit of dark bread. Finish is gentle - not much hop bitterness.

Medium copper. Small white head. Aroma is generally sweet. Taste is also sweet, lots of caramel to it, some chocolate and toffee. Good winter brew.

22oz bomber. Deep amber-brown, practically opaque. Thinnish off-white head, sort of patchy. Sweet caramel and brown malt aroma, maybe some gingerbread. Sort of an odd beer, sort of like a Black IPA merged with a big Amber. Oily, with some syrupy sweetness. Odd, like really falling into any category..I suppose I can let it be an Alt. Kind of grows on you, but just doesn’t come off as successfully executed. OK.

From big bottle. Pours root beer color with tan head. Pretty plain. Malt and cereal, with some carbonation bite. Not as heavy as first appears. Meh.