Uerige Sticke

Brewed by Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei
Style: Altbier
Düsseldorf, Germany

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

Gravity cask at Blind Tiger. Deep brown beer with a very cloudy appearance. Aroma is very herbal and earthy. Lots of noble, herbal/spicy hops. Flavour is also hoppy with fresh cut wood, herbs and a light mintiness. Lingering herbal bitterness. Undertones of earthy grainy malts. Really tasty.

11.2 oz bottle. tawny chestnut color fills the glass. the brew is a little hazy, with an even caramel tone. well formed creamy light tan head. nose of soft sweetish grains. caramel and bread crust with a touch of honey and dried fruit. dry english style malts provide a fine earthy flavor. mild hop finish is crisp and clean. lasting piney taste stays on the tounge. yum

Slightly hazy muddy brown. Very fine white head settles to an incomplete cap leaving some lacing. Slightly rummy caramel malt nose, with a hint of sharp herbal hop aroma. So much better in the mouth. Where did all of the complexity come from? Brown bread, touch of caramel, Spalty spiciness all abound. Touch rummy as it warms. HUGE whack of bitterness kicks in almost immediately and comes to dominate the long, long finish. There’s enough malt to balance the bitterness through most of beer. Strangely high rate of carbonation accentuates the bitterness. An odd beer to be sure. Looks weird, smells pretty uninteresting, tastes pretty good. Given the level of bitterness, this is definitely the freshest batch of this I’ve sampled, but I’m still not convinced.

Bottle: Poured a flat deep brown color alt with a small foamy head with no lacing. Aroma of huge caramel malt with some sweetness. Taste is also dominated by some sweet malt with loads of caramel notes. Body is quite full with no real carbonation. Interesting and refreshing but nothing really earth shattering in here.

bottle, and killer bottle description below from GarretB. Had this bottle for a while, I think I bought it at High Times up near Irvine. Pours copper and gets orange towards the bottom. 2 finger tan head with nice lacing. Nose is sticky and sweet, with hints of molasses. Its sweet, but all too bitte and really really not my thing, not really tasty to me, and all in all alts are really not my thing. The bottle made me try it I guess.

Uerige Sticke’s distinctively craggy bottle and its ambiguously pointed super "U" give it a prominent place on the beer shelf no matter what height it sits at. The long, gun-barrel pour whips up a clotted and webby head, its many bubbly threads clinging tenuously to the glass. The acorn colored liquor is murky and hazy, hinting at a well developed and assertive flavor. Verification comes in the aroma where an array of spices affix themselves to strong and obstreperous flavors - cinnamon with honey, raisin with leather, all-spice with wildflower. The alcohol is strong too, accentuating the stinging leather flavor to a chemical burn. The obligatory hops profile merges with the spices to produce Uerige’s distinctive tongue raking sensation, but is subtly tamed by a droplet or two of white grape juice sweetness. Despite the Uerige’s aromatic assault, furiously engaging the olfactory with a barrage of intense, pungent rounds, the flavor is unusually plain and neutral. A quick dip of the tongue in the beer invokes a springtime flowerbed, tempered by an unexpected cloud of chalk and dust. This transmogrifies what would otherwise be a nice, pure floral note into a aged, senescent potpourri - not too palatable. Hops and grapefruit escort Uerige the rest of the way to a brief aftertase, after which the beer’s extravagant carbonation muddles any remaining flavor, criss-crossing the taste with cutting bubbles. It is yet another case of a beer’s internecine flavor profile, with an over eager carbonation vying against the delicate flavors for control of the palate. The carbonation almost always wins. With a mouthfeel wresting control of the flavor and hijacking my tastebuds I can’t help but think the beer is a bit of a bust, but let me tell you, the bottle makes an incredible infused oil container for those of you who are culinarily inclined. Might even be worth the pricetag.

2006? Pours a copper color with an off-white head. Aroma is of toasted malts, dark fruits, slight roasted malts, and molasses. Flavor is of toffee, caramel malts, slight toasted and roasted malts, molasses, and some dark fruits. I’m glad I came across this beer.

Appearance: Pours a clear mahogany body with a lasting, lace-inducing white head. Smell: Lovely aroma of toasted fresh bread with earthy hints of nuts, vanilla, and molasses. Plenty of those dark fruits, too. Taste: Upfront, there’s the flavors of dark, scorched caramel with a bit of chocolate. Sweetness remains light. There’s a flash of lemon juice midway which leads into an earthy bitterness with strong notes of wood that further builds into an exceedingly, and rather surprising dry finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Starts off with a great aroma, but the taste slips just a bit. Oh, and what an adorable looking bottle!