Schell Schmaltzs Alt

Brewed by August Schell Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
New Ulm, Minnesota USA

Served at cellar temperature, and poured into my tall, straight-sided Gosser glass, this beer is dark brown with a huge frothy head of tan foam. The head bubbles down in a minute or so. Moderate lacing. Mildly fruity and chocolate malt in the aroma. Nice sweetish chocolate malt flavor, not overly complex, and truthfully, not really ‘alt-like.’ A nice hop bitterness comes into play in the finish with some additional bitter roasted chocolate malt. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel, prominent carbonation, and medium body. Very drinkable (he says after polishing off his second and looking for the bottle opener again). Even though I’m not convinced its an altbier, I really enjoy drinking this beer, and have missed it during its absence. I am very glad it is back. As Eric Clapton once sang: “Hello old friend, Its really good to see you once again.”

12 oz bottle from Woodmans on Gammon Road, Madison WI (August 2006) imbibed from a Zwiec lager glass at cellar temperature. Pours out with a huge, fluffy light taupe head topping the dark maple-brown clear body and lacing nicely.....caramel and light herbs in a somewhat mild aroma, hints of cocoa powder and lightly charred malts show up with patience.....very light, effervescent body manages to support a beautifully full caramel-malt flavor, nice light dry woody notes, a hint of sugared pecans....low, natural-feeling carbonation towards the finish, which is a bit drier and somewhat tart/bitter but elegantly done....really juicy and easy to drink; simple but effective.

Finally found a sixer of this at Cellars in woodbury! I had this last year, but wanted to wait to rate till i could taste again. Never had this style brew before but oh so tasty. lacey glass with the head, ruby red color indeed, and very smooth. This might be my fav Schell brew now, to bad its hard to find and not available for long...

12 oz. bottle. Malty aroma with roasted nut notes. Pours a very dark brown with a small to moderate amount of tan head, almost like a porter in appearance. Subtle flavor of roasted malt and lemon with hints of coffee and dark chocolate; quite tasty. Good coffee bitter aftertaste. Full-bodied and creamy but still crisp and drinkable in the palate. Schmaltz’s Alt is like a cross between a German dunkel and an English porter. Crazy thought: This might work well in nitro cans.

Pours dark brown with a small off white head. Seems to have a fair amount of carbonation. Aroma is sort of a raw malt and mild chocolate. Flavor is of light malts. Rather crisp and a touch of sour. Pretty decent beer.

superd alt just tasty deep rich color smooth toffee chocolate etc. one of schells best GET SURLY ROUTES

Pours a five finger, light brown head that fades to a shallow layer leaving traces of lace. Deep mahogeny color. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Strong malty nose. Starts as sweet molasses becoming balanced at finish, slight burnt molasses aftertaste. New label has ABV at 5.1%. $1.29 for a 12oz bottle from John’s Grocery Iowa City, IA.

Darker than some alts I’ve tried previously. When held up to the light, this one is gives off a dark brown hue. Toffee aroma. Good flavor, chocolately and rich with spices. Nice. One of my favorites from Schell.