Schwelmer Alt

Formerly brewed at Brauerei Schwelm
Style: Altbier
Schwelm, Germany

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

Pours dark amber with a light amber head. Unusual carbonation with an initial fizz explosion that quickly calms down. Taste has some dark fruit and reminds me of a watered-down port. Quick finish with a cardboardy aftertaste.

Swing-top. Very dark brown, ruby under light, with a beautiful and rocky thick tan head. Fruity nose (including banana and berry), spice, and even some doughy yeast. Doughy, merrily berrily fruity, and lightly caramelly, mildly bitter with decent hoppiness and a little toffee in the aftertaste. There’s a real nice sweetness from the fruitiness, though the beer is fundamentally dry. Creamy smoothness, but a little thin. Not what I was expecting, but excellent nonetheless. Thanks to MortizF!

This bottle tastes a little dated, and this is not a style of beer that ages well in the least. So, kind of a musty aroma, reminiscent of dark chocolate. LIght to medium bodied on the palate, with some well rounded roastiness, lots of malt, and very littel fruit flavors. Overall pretty mild, and worth passing on.

Corked bottle opens with a big pop.....good start, and an aroma of malty chocolate. Pours to a dark brown with hints of red, thick tan head that lingers awhile, and decent lacing. Unfortunately, the beer goes downhill after this. Flavor is okay, more malt and hint of chocolate, but a very thin body and watery finish makes this a less enjoyable beer at the end than at the beginning.

Bottled. Aroma of dark malts and burnt sugar. Brown color, beige head, good lace. Light sweet, dark malts in the flavor as well, herban, grain, hint of veggies in the finish, sparkling. I more and more come to the conclusion that there’s only one way to really enjoy a Altbier: fresh from tap at the brewery.

Pours deep brown into a shaker. Cola-like appearance except for the health micro-bubble head that extends beyond the rim and does not recede. Date and fig notes. Upfront sweet malt with long bitter finish.

Poured a reddish mahogany with a thick lasting off-white head. Very faint aroma with sweet malt and a musty cellar-like character. Flavor is predominately munich malt with a touch of caramel malt. A moderate bitterness and a smooth hop flavor. There is no fruity yeast notes that a would have expected from an altbier. Taste very much like it was cold-fermented with lager yeast. Would have made a better munich lager.

Copper body with no appreciable head. Rich malt and some impressive hops. Hints of caramel, molasses, ink. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Roasted malt in the flavor. A mediocre beer.