Schwelmer Alt

Formerly brewed at Brauerei Schwelm
Style: Altbier
Schwelm, Germany

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

1/2 liter swing top bottle. Altbier is one of my favortie beer styles, and it is always a great thing to find another German altbier available on the US market, especially one as good as Schwelmer. This beer pours to a bright, deep, ruby red color, with a thick, creamy, white head, and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is excellent with lots of good, zesty, herbal hop aroma paired with fresh, estery fruit aroma. The palate is smooth and firm, with lots of good sweet and nutty malt flavor, paired with a nice back drop of estery fruit. This beer finishes with more good nutty malt up front, then ends with a zesty and bitter herbal bite that lingers. Very well done example of altbier, with great hop, malt, and estery fruit character, on a smooth, polished, drinkable body. Altbier is such a great beer style in the fact it delivers so much flavor, yet is so drinkable. This is a very food friendly beer as well, and would match with with hearty German fare, or a nice grilled NY Strip, Porterhouse, or rib eye.

Very true to style! dryish, yet nice body, though not too full. malty and a bit roasty. do pick up some chocolate and a little grain. Color is an old dark cherry to walnut color. Nice big foamy head that settles down quickly with slight remenant to the end with little lace. Had this tonight at the Bodega downtown La Crosse.

Very good Alt. Body is lighter than all 3 Uerige versions. Moderate strength, about the same as Uerige Alt.

Pours a deep copper brown, topped by a couple-three fingers of creamy tan foam. Good head retention, coamy lacing. Malty and chocolatey aroma with a trace of hops in the background. Smooth and creamy beer, light chocolate malt and grain with an herbal hop bitterness. The hops shine through a little more in the finish. Dry chocolate malt and the hops linger in the aftertaste. Good carbonation, towards the lighter end of the spectrum in body compared to other altbiers that I have had, though still satisfying.

Nice cola brown color with average head that lasts as thick lacing. Aroma is clean malt and hops. Flavor is very dry, somewhat smoky and refreshingly bitter, with some caramel on the finish. Very fundamental beer -- if this is what Altbier is supposed to be then I LIKE IT! This is my first German alt; the other products I’ve come across are mostly U.S. domestics and vary widely in quality, most towards the lower end of the scale.

Bottled (from bierzwerg.de). Amber colour, small off-white head. Aroma is nutty, sweet maltyness, and some earth cellar. Flavour is caramel malts, crystal malts, some mild nutty notes as well as some mild wood. Very pleasant and actually gets better when it gets closer to room temperature.

New arrival. Bottle. Brownish clear orange in color with a tan and nice lasting head. Fruity aroma. Malty and hoppy flavor. Enjoyable. Drinkable.

Beautiful dark cherrywood auburn color when up to a strong light, nealy black in shadow with an immense puffy cap of light sandy brown, finely foamed froth. Cap slowly levels off and down to a good amount of skim and collaring. Lacing glazes the glass in webby curtains. Aroma is stiff and bready with light touch of cocoa powder. Taste is mild yet firm with not a whole lot going on unfortunately. Semi sweet. Clean with a fluffy coating. Big on bready flavors mostly but it doesn’t last long. A little brief on the buds with this one. Has some light hints to sunflower seeds, cocoa, and toasted grains. Finish has a bit of subdued and muddled smokeyness and earthy yeast under the last remainders of toasty stuff. Lots of pretty decent bread tones though. Feel is smooth and fairly fluffy with an easy carbonation to slurp down but lacks some depth. Its lighter then medium in body with a weak-ended front but picks up some as it finishes. A good enough drinker, pleasing if not all together simple.