New Glarus Brewing Co.
New Glarus, WI
Available: WI
The alt beers of Düsseldorf are, together with Cologne’s Kölsch style, rare examples of German ales, in a country renowned for lagerbiers.
ABV: 9
ABW: 7.2
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Original gravity: n/a
A bit too bold for a traditional alt (the "alt ego" for the style, perhaps?), but this isn't the first time (and won't be the last) that a U.S. craft brewer added its signature to a traditional beer style. Deep copper color. Notes of creamy toffee and burnt caramel balance earthy grit, resin, bourbon barrel char, tobacco leaves and subtle dried fruit. Lots of grip on the finish.
Your first clue that this is no ordinary alt comes from the distinct presence of oakiness in the nose, embodied in a profusion of vanilla and a whiff of campfire. Your second arrives in the body, which starts with a soft, caramelly sweetness, bulldozes through a malty middle of vanilla, toffee, toasted grain, light smoke and faint, burnt orange peel, and finishes with an impressive alcoholic flourish. A winter warmer altbier? The burghers of Düsseldorf might not approve, but I do.
John Hansell is an equal-opportunity drinker. He writes about beer, wine and spirits. He is the creator, publisher & editor of Malt Advocate, a magazine for the whisky enthusiast.
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn't looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he's not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.
