Rio Salado Autumn Deluge Alt Bier Amber Ale
Rio Salado Brewing Company

Dark Rust. Tame, barely existant aroma with mild fruit, heavy malt and subtle German hops. Fruity, mainly plums, but also a variety of German malt notes (chocolate, coffee, roased malts, bread). Noble hops. An odd range of flavors that worked, but isn’t really intune with the best of the style.

Rio beers have finally started to get better after a decline in quality. Tim (the owner) is back at brewing. The beer was a little dark in color for the style but it tasted pretty good and clean although it was served way to cold. Good malt charecter and a decent amount of bitterness that was good for the style. Had on tap at the brewery.

The second of three Rio Salado beers recently collected during an Arizona Beer Trip with Gusler.

Presentation: 12 fluid ounce bottle. The dark blue, black and brown obverse label is broken with white lettering that states ‘Deluge – Rio Salado – Alt Bier Amber Ale’. Listed as 5.00% by Volume. When the empty bottle is held to the light, a red smudge looks like a Best Before Date of 12-28-03. The appearance is all finished with a bronze colored crown cap.

Appearance: This looks bloody fantastic in my 20 ounce straight sided handled Mug. A dark but clear brown mahogany chestnut body that has an awesome ruby hue when backlit. The head is imperious, a light tan 1” thick mass that is a fine collection of small and large bubbles, the surface of the head having the greater majority of the larger bubbles. Fine carbonation levels.

Nose: A true grit nose. Tough and hard, it has lots of grainy malt with a very light smoky feel to it. One-dimensional but attractive.

Taste: Rasping raw grainy Crystal Malts sandpaper the tongue. This feels a little raw but in a very nice way. Malty with a light caramel feel that soon makes way for a nice bitterness amidst the grainy crystal malt ending. A “malty-start-to-bitter-finish” beer with a distinct profile, which is Altbieren in character and decidedly Teutonic in nature.

Mouthfeel: Rather average, the Crystal Malts certainly add to the feel, and give support, but it does not advance this offering beyond ‘just above average’.

Drinkability: Pretty good but just falls short of gaining a 4. A tad harsh in the feel at times and little too grainy at others. Nevertheless, a good drinking beer.

Overall: My second Rio Salado beer and another above average nice offering that was easily imbibed. A very enjoyable drink and a good Altbier to boot.

Appearance – Dark, thick ruby brown in color with a very good head.

Smell – Unsulphored molasses leads off this nose. I’m not talking about something with molasses flavoring, like maybe molasses oats, but pure unfiltered molasses right out of the jar. This is followed by toasted malts and a little hop balance.

Taste – The hops were barely noticeable in this thick concoction. The raw molasses flavor led the way again at the tongue, although the malt was much bigger here.

Mouthfeel – Little carbonation and medium-bodied, this was sweet and sticky in between the teeth.

Drinkability – This was an excellent rendition of the “Old Beer” style and went down very well.

Comments - I have been impressed with this brewery's efforts at some very difficult styles (such as the Hefe Weizen) and this one was just as good. I also want to thank Gusler for shipping this one out my way. Cheers!

Pours a dark brown, with some deep red notes when held up to the light. A thin brown head with roasted aromas in the nose. Lightly fruity but predominantly roasted in character, like a roast porter actually. Taste in not quite so roasty as the aroma, but it is definitely there and a bit out of place in something called an Alt. This beer is lightly hoppy and finishes with some bitterness. If you take a step back from this beer and view it as something other than an Alt bier then it has some merit to it. Quite a tasty brown ale with interesting roasted notes. This is not what I expected form an Alt, it pushes the boundaries a bit much, but it is tasty. The roasted notes and the deep brown color are not really typical. It seems as though the recipe has been change recently. Still a good beer though, no longer the Alt that I remember and was hoping for.

Appearance: lovely ruby red color, with a fine, fluffy, creamy head that fast fizzles down. Aroma: sweet and fruity, but largely clean and dry.
Taste is clear and smooth, with a medium body, and great balance. Delicious hoppiness right up at first, followed by solid malt.
All in all, this was a decent and quite drinkable ale!
Mucho gracias to The Guzzling One for the trade!

I like the theme Salado uses in their names: Deluge, Blizzard, Hurricane, Monsoon...etc...
The Deluge Alt whipped up a nice, frothy, off-white head with a hard-pour, about 3/4" thick. It hung around a bit, finally settling into a thin, fine layer, though lacing was minimal. Color was a clear, rich, dark copper - quite attractive, actually. A good portion of malt aroma attacks the nose - bring it on, baby! The body tended to be just a pinch under the medium level, though it was still fairly smooth tongue-wise. Though listed here as an amber/red, it does have some alt-like traits. The malt upfront is toasty, bready and has caramel laced through it. That flavor then segues into a semi-bitter, though wholly pleasant, hoppiness. A bit reminiscent, on a smaller scale, of Long Trail Double Bag. Highly enjoyable, with another tip o' the cap to my main man (er, western man), Gusler, for another fine sample from out yonder. Zum wohl!!

Slightly hazy deep reddish-tinged copper with a full ivory head that holds well. It eventually drops but keeps a thin 1/8" creamy surface covering and leaves some nice lace. The aroma offers some thin fruitiness and a lightly sweet and mildly toasty maltiness. The body is firmly medium with a fine, median carbonation that's crisp on the tongue but creamy once it warms in the mouth. The flavor starts with a rounded maltiness that's gently sweet & mildly toasty with a touch of fruitiness, and finishes with a firm hop bitterness that's enough to clean and refresh the palate without becoming "blocky". Some floral hop flavor and bitterness linger in the dry finish. Well balanced! There's a wide berth to the altbier style; this one is nicely done with a good amount of character, but it's also quite accessible! Enjoyable and refreshing.

A nice altbier in the Dusseldorf style. Pours very clear, copper/brown in color, with a rocky off-white head which is a bit thin and dissipates fairly quickly. The aroma is of dark malt with a middling low hop boquet. Good malty presence in the mouth, fruity notes are fairly restrained. Hop flavor is present throughout but really kicks in at the end for a nice bitter finish. Well-rounded, extremely smooth beer.

The pour is a very deep crystal clear garnet color, the head is massive, spumous, and a light tan color, the lace is decent and clings mightily to the glass. Nose is malt, caramel, lightly sweet, clean and fresh. Begins malt and lightly sweet, the top is skimpy, the finish has a potent hop bite, persuasive carbonation, dry and somewhat bitter aftertaste lingers on. After my second review, I must say that I find it more flavorful, bigger body, more hops, “Golly and Shucky Dern”; could I have been wrong the first time around?