Alter Ego
Town Hall Brewery

Another beautiful Saturday morning and some new brews to try. Alts aren't my favorite but I'm always compelled to try them. Drank from a generic pint glass.

Appearance- Pours a deeply colored copper with a nice fluffy one finger head with some serious staying power. A decent enough cap and collar remains leaving behind bits and pieces of lacing.
Smell- Full of nicely toasted rich malts consisting of caramel and nuts. Definitely a malt forward nose but the hops aren't totally MIA. A splash of citric earthy hops add grass and lemon zing.
Taste- Starts fairly crisp and clean with a somewhat nutty and toasty malt core. Ever so slightly sweet as a caramelized sugar aspect integrates within the beer. The hops are earthy and slightly bitter with a fairly noble aspect. Lemon zest and dandelion stem from the hops finish things off. The finish comes complete with a lingering nuttiness and bitterness.
Mouthfeel- Medium feel with a almost watery aspect. The carbonation is very light but I think a bit more heft is needed.
Drinkability- Overall not bad. I think I like this better than most alts because it's got considerably more hop bite. Fairly balanced overall and could use a touch more body. Either way enjoyable.

A-Impressive mahogany color...nice clarity

S-Toffee....green tea...smells young to me for some reason..

T-Similar to the nose....Toffee...musty

M-Medium full ...comes off clean despite the musty flavor....

D-Nice effort...herbal and mustyfeel with toffee like maltiness.

Crystal clear dark copper body. Fluffy khaki toned head that has nice grip. Nice aroma of caramel and nougat and fresh yeast. Flavor pulls all the niceties from the aroma onto the palate. Nougat and toasted malts and a little caramel, yeast and toasted almonds. Nice subtle dryness as well. Body is very easy going. Medium at best. Smooth and somewhat silky, though there is a nice little prickle to it as well. This is a solid stab at a sticke. Nice to see somebody take a shot at this style in town.

Just came out on tap last weekend and I had a chance to have some (read 3 of them) yesterday. Excellent beer, I dunno if any of you BA-ers have been to Dusseldorf, but when I had some alt there I was suprised at how hoppy it was. The same goes with this beer. Nicely balanced though, the sweet malt does show up around the middle of your gulp. The place was packed to the rafters before the Vikings vs. Bears game so I couldn't smell a thing...

Served in a pint glass at Town Hall with family and friends.

The color is pristine copper with a small tan head that fades rather quickly to a thin cap. Retention from there on is better, and it does leave some lacing.

The nose is dominated by sweet malts (what I expected) but there is a rather strong earthy hop aroma present as well (what I wasn't expecting). Overall very sweet, but for an Altbier, this one is rather hoppy. Not sure if that is a good thing or not just yet.

The taste is sweet and toasted malts, and a well defined earthy hop character. Again, I find it strange, but now I'm starting to think this is a good thing.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a smooth and creamy texture, with a light carbonation bite. Drinkability is pretty good. I can see myself ordering this again, but not today.

Overall, not my favorite Town Hall offering, but a solid beer none-the-less.

This is a Stikke (special) alt. It is a more hoppy version of the alt style.

Served in a pint glass.

Served with 1/3 finger of tan khaki head. Fades to a thin full layer. Leaves some nice lace walls down the glass. Color is a dark amber copper.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malts. A nice amount of grassy hops. Some sugar flavors as well. Toffee is in the background.

Taste: Roasted sweet malts, caramel flavors, grassy hops. Nice sugar flavors. Toffee and at the end I get some really light chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, a little crisp, and fairly creamy. Medium bodied with a nice refreshing amount of carbonation. Ends with a sticky malty aftertaste.

Overall, a very drinkable alt. I like this one and it is well to the style. However, I would only prefer one of these at a time. Nice job TH with the extra hops.