Ostalgia Rousse
Hopfenstark

Ostalgia RousseOstalgia Rousse
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From:
Hopfenstark
 
Quebec, Canada
Style:
Altbier
ABV:
5%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.47 | pDev: 15.56%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
25
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 31, 2014
Added:
Jun 01, 2008
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bobsy:
Photo of bobsy
Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

3.68/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at Monidal de la Biere.

Ruddy mahogany pour with a small light tan head that left some good lace. Fruity, earthy and nutty aroma. Good fruit in the flavour, along with the earthiness I like in an altbier, and a strong biscuit presence. Slight eggshell bitterness in the finish. Medium body and carbonation.

A good rendition of an altbier, and very drinkable. I'd have this one again for sure.
Jun 08, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.75 by tom10101 from Canada (QC)

Aug 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Christian_Champagne from Canada (QC)

Aug 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Krakpoff from Canada (QC)

Jul 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by ajzy from Wisconsin

Jun 14, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 14, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Sep 13, 2012
Photo of jrenihan
Reviewed by jrenihan from Canada (ON)

3.3/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottled October 2011

Pours a dark red colour, with a smallish off-white head. Head dissipates at a moderate pace.

Smell is malty and bready. Caramel. A bit of earthy hops. Some yeast.

Taste is like the nose, but a little more dull. Malt, bread, caramel and a bit of a ginger taste. Fine but not particularly enjoyable.

Medium bodied, moderate carbonation chewy.

Overall, pretty average. Fine but not something I would return to.
May 02, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by clesius from Canada (QC)

Mar 16, 2012
Photo of ZorPrime
Reviewed by ZorPrime from Canada (QC)

3.62/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Amber color beer with very big bubbles on top of it. The aroma is well balanced between fruits and roasted malts. I like it. Wow, its quite carbonated in the mouth... a little bit too much. Fruity in the mouth and I notice also the roasted malts with some light notes of caramel. Medium body but way too carbonated. Refreshing.

As it warms up a bit, I notice some earthy notes in the mouth. Foam sticks well to the glass.
Mar 11, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by deleted_user_127363 from Canada (QC)

Feb 06, 2012
Photo of Caudalie
Reviewed by Caudalie from Canada (QC)

2.87/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Served in a 3 monts beer glass

A: Amber color, slitghly cloudy.

S: caramel, mainly. Ok smell

T: Pretty sweet mouthfeel, with caramel coming back strongly. Good bitterness at the end.

O: Ok beer, without being really complex, or distinctive. Not a rebuy, and was happy to share it, as it is too sweet for me
Jan 22, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by oldp0rt from Canada (QC)

Dec 22, 2011
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

3.68/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
caramel colored brown. Good carbonation could be seen streaming up from the bottom. A smallish, maybe half an inch high head of white then came up over the top and faded fast, leaving only some light lacing on the sides and not much else in the way of side glass contribution.

The aroma was loaded down with bready malts. Semi sweet with a decent amount of brown sugar like aroma. Somewhat bitter like character could be picked up as well but hard to place. Mostly bready malts here. The flavor was more f the same. Driven by the caramel malt profile, this was a decent effort at the style. Nice musky and earthy tones dominated with a good mixture of grain and sugary notes
Nov 24, 2011
Photo of eat
Reviewed by eat from Canada (QC)

3/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Discretely identified as an altbier in small print on the side of the label but named as a "rousse", since Quebeckers need to know what colour their beer is above all else. "Altbier? What colour beer is that?" I poured this one pretty hard and didn't get much head, which is oddly the complete opposite of the situation with a couple other of Hopfenstark's bottles. Very thin cover of off-white head over a hazy amber body.

Smells vaguely similar to Quebec's most popular rousse, Boreal. Yeasty, "rousse" style malt (a bit toasty with some caramel), trace of hops, wheaty grain, honey and a little adjuncty smelling (though the label clearly lists the ingredients and there are in fact no adjuncts).

This comes off more as a Quebec-style rousse than a German alt. Moderately-toasty grain with honey-like sweetness and a light, earthy hopping. Compared to Boreal Rousse, there are obvious German noble hops here but otherwise it's fairly similar. Well-balanced and without off-flavours but rousse is a style I just don't get into that much. I'd rather this be more directed towards an alt.

The lack of head shows up in the feel, the carbonation is indeed quite low; almost seeming a little flat. Decent medium body though.

In this style I'd take it over Boreal Rousse but really I'd rather just not take this style at all. Well-made but this is the least interesting Hopfenstark I've sampled. I like this brewery but won't be picking this up again.
Nov 10, 2011
Photo of brokensail
Reviewed by brokensail from California

3.06/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Thanks for the tick, Carl.

A: The beer pours amber in color with a tall off white head.

S: Just a light malt aroma with notes of straw, lemon zest, and green apple. There is a touch of grass and a mild solvent note to it. I also pick up some celery as it warms up.

T: Definitely celery flavor to it. It's got only a touch of sweet malt and otherwise it's the same sort of wild and tart flavors of straw, grass, and green apple. The flavor is pretty light and almost seltzer-like.

M: Light in body with medium to high carbonation.

O: Not like any altbier I've had. Not a fan of this.
Sep 09, 2011
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.88/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: The beer is clear copper in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface that never completely faded away.
S: The aroma is of light to moderate strength and is quite malty with some hints of caramel.
T: Like the smell, the overall taste is quite malty and has initial flavors of caramel and finishes with some spiciness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The beer is very well balanced between malty and spicy flavors; the spiciness helps to balance the beer from being overly malty. It’s quite interesting to drink.
Jun 15, 2011
Photo of thagr81us
Reviewed by thagr81us from South Carolina

4.12/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Date filled 11/7/10. Served from gold waxed CBX counter-pressure filled bomber growler into a Mother Earth strange. Poured yellow-orange with a five finger off-white head that subsided to a three finger slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, orange, tangerine, mango, and citrus hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, mango, tangerine, and subtle smoke. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a pretty nice brew. Definitely had a big tropical aspect going on here especially in the aroma. The smoke aspect on the flavor worked quite well with the tropical fruit aspect here too. Really glad that this one was brought up to GBX upon opening their store so I could tick this one. Definitely worth trying even after this long sitting in the fridge.
Apr 06, 2011
Photo of kbutler1
Reviewed by kbutler1 from Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle. Gold waxed bottle from The Charleston Beer Exchange. Poured into a DFH tulip glass a deeper copper clear color with a 2 finger light tan head that slowly recedes and leaves nice lace on the glass. Caramel, light fruit, and a wheaty bread note rounds out the aroma. Medium mouthfeel. Slightly swet caramel start gives way to mild bitterness on the toungue with a slight soapy flavor. Slight toffee as well. Lingering bitterness as well with some slight sweetness as well. Overall, it's not bad. The slight soapy flavor throws me off a tad though.
Mar 10, 2011
Photo of jpmclaug
Reviewed by jpmclaug from South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a CBX counter pressure filled bomber into a pint glass. Thanks to jskoog for sending this to me in a BIF box!

A - dark copper color, if held up through the light you can see through it but it's still a bit hazy. Big fluffy head on top

S - Sweet caramely malt notes. Earthy notes and a nice florally hop aroma.

T - What is present in the aroma is present in the taste. Not too hoppy though that is more in the background. A little bit of a metallic taste.

M - medium body, a slight stickiness, a good amount of carbonation

D - Drinkable and enjoyable. Worth trying for sure but if I'm going to drink this style I would take OMB's Copper every time.
Jan 28, 2011
Ostalgia Rousse from Hopfenstark
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 25 ratings