Sticke Alt
Heater Allen Brewing

Canned just one month ago, Jan 15th. Light head, pleasant aroma, all from a medium-dark amber pour. Take a sip and on the tongue you'll get a delightful and definite roasted malt taste, mild bitterness along the side. Very clean finish, just the right amount of carbonation. I could see drinking a liter mug of this sitting in a Bavarian beer hall along while putting away some hearty German fare.

Umm. Hmm. Buuuuuuu. Yeah, this one is ok. I wouldn’t bring it over to princess Jasmine’s house if I was trying to woo her though. This one is more like kicking it old school wit da homies and sippin’ just cuz you can on a Saturday night. And that’s what Raul is going to do (even though it’s Friday).

Peace!

Yummy. Darker amber bodied, light brown hued head, nice medium caramel backbone which smooths out the big floral and herbal hop bite just enough, smooth carbonation, grain and a bit of spice on the backend. Just the right bit of bitterness, very solid.

 

 

 

 

*Poured into a Teku glass from a 16oz can*

The beer was a slightly cloudy dark brown color and had a khaki colored head with a good amount of rocky bubbles. The head didn't have much retention to it despite looking very crisp and carbonated.

As expected, the aroma on this was pretty malt-forward. Upfront, I got a combination of sweet dinner rolls and a bit of apples. I felt like the sweet dinner roll aroma came from a combination of biscuit and light caramel aromas from the malt. The aroma was overall pleasant, but there was a bit of a weird wet laundry aroma undertone throughout the entirety of the aroma, which ruined it a bit for me.

The taste on this was pretty much a bread bomb. Very malt-forward presenting big notes of bread/biscuits and light caramel throughout. Along with a bread-y aftertaste, there was also a noticeable but albeit small amount of hop bitterness in the finish. Again, there was a it of a wet laundry undertone to the taste,similar to the nose--which despite the nice malty taste to this beer--kind of ruined the taste a bit for me.

The beer was of course, high in carbonation and was medium bodied. The biscuit/bitter aftertaste was nice and satisfying but it wasn't long or lingering. The body was also soft/ABV was low, which made this super drinkable.

Look: Dark brown/ruby red, clear with a tan head receding to a pillowy lid leaving behind solid lacing
Aroma: Toffee, brown bread, raisins, melanoidin, noble hops all in play here
Taste: Follows the nose but the bready and melanoidin notes are stronger initially, then tapering into toffee and raisins which leads to a big noble hop punch before finishing slightly sweet and very crisp
Mouthfeel: Solid. A little velvety but not soft and good bodied but the cleanliness of the finish screams ‘lagering’ and begs for another sip
Overall: Another winner from one of my favorite breweries and in my opinion the best (or arguably one of the top) lager brewers in the state. Lisa and her team knocked this one out of the park again and once again, I’m not at all surprised. This beer is awesome – I will buy more.

This one pours a fairly dark brown color, with a tight fluffy head, and lots of lacing.

This one smells like nutty malt, roast, dark breadiness, and spicy hops.

This is more hop-forward than I expected, but that does seem like the style at work. It's got a dry and bitter finish, with spicy and grassy hops, along with a deep crisp malt backbone, with just a touch of sweetness. It's more just dark and earthy bready goodness.

This is light bodied, creamy, and super crisp, with a great drinkability to it.

Heater Allen seems to consistently be one of the absolute best lager breweries out there. This is one of the best altbiers that I've ever had.

 

 

 

Bottle from New Seasons Market. Pours kind of flat, medium brown, skin of head. Aroma is nutty roast grains. Taste is roasty, dry, bitter and nutty. Right where it needs to be.

With a nearly silent and unpromising pop of the cap, a pretty vigorous pour displays a deep rusted red color with hints of brown. "Unfiltered" clear would be the best way for me to describe it as it is almost clear. The khaki small head does show some promise as it coats the surface and does cling to the glass.

Sweet caramelized sugar, lightly toasted bread, raisin, and an earthy-flowery finish make me start to believe this smells like a true German bier. Now we are getting somewhere!

Nevermind. It's not very often that earthy and bitter are the first two perceptions received. The mild sugar and toasted bread come later on, but the flavors are so mild and distracted by the bitterness that they seem nearly transparent.

Having said that, it's obvious that this is not well balanced at all. It's kind of flat feeling, pretty watery thin, and bitter.

As impressed as I was by the Pilsner, Heater Allen sadly does not deliver on this one. I know that the style is interpreted differently all over, but without a strong biscuit and caramel presence I believe this is categorized incorrectly or I got a bad bottle. It falls short in too many areas for me. Prost.

 

Original Review 5/12/15
Bomber bottled on 10/20/14 at 40 degrees into shaker
Aroma of malt
Head small (one cm, aggressive pour), light brown, creamy with rocks, diminishing to 3 mm ring and partial layer
Lacing excellent – complete rings of tiny bubbles
Body medium brown, cloudy
Flavor slightly bitter malt; no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate medium, watery, lively carbonation
Appearance 4, Aroma 4, Flavor 4.25, Palate 4, Overall 4

Edited review 1/14/17
$ 13.57 (Including $ 6.57 shipping)/bomber ($ 0.617/oz) from Blackwell’s, San Francisco, CA
Undated bomber at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – same as previous
Head - same as previous
Lacing – same as previous
Body – same as previous
Flavor – begins with bitter malt, has a dry, dusty mouthfeel. The bitterness remains as the only aftertaste. No alcohol, no diacetyl. No hops flavor but possibly some of the hop bitterness mixed with the bitter malt.
Palate – same as before

Alts are one of my favorite styles, to the extent that I brew my own every year. I have never had one this bitter. I would not buy this again.
Appearance 4, Aroma 4, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4, Overall 3.75.

The caramel malts are smooth and subtle, but there's a long spicy hops finish that makes up for the light showing from the barley. I'd enjoy a pint, then try something else.

 

Attractive dark brownish amber with a long-lasting foam in the Petrus goblet. But flavor is weirdly bitter with a watery mouthfeel. Smell is musty with leaf mold. Aftertaste is an increasingly revolting medicinal bitterness. Faint sweetness disappears into the murk. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Bottlecraft in San Diego. No date. Maybe it's old. This one's watering the plants.