Original Schlüssel
Hausbrauerei Zum Schlüssel

 

Hausbrauerei Zum Schlüssel "Alt"
2,40€ / ,25L on tap at the brewery on 28 September 2021

Look: Clear dark russet brown with golden, orange, and copper colored highlights beneath a full head of off-white foam. The head holds well, and then drops, but leaves great lacing behind.
Smell: Aroma of grainy malt with caramel and fallen apple.
Taste: Grainy, sweetish malt with dark caramel, underlying apple and dark fruit, and herbal and spicy hops. A stiff, median bitterness balances it and it finishes dry with a lingering herbal note.
Feel: Medium bodied and crisp with a natural, fine-bubbled, median carbonation level.
Overall: This is probably the best altbier in Düsseldorf in the spicy/bitter class.

From the flip top bottle, it pours a clear brown color with reddish highlights and a very light brown head that lasts. The scent is malty with notes of caramel. The taste follows,with a delightfully pleasant altbier.

5l keg, 1m old. (Did not drink it in one go while reviewing)

Ruby shade of clear mahogany, fine foam that quite quickly subsides.

Nose is very definite münchener malt, accompanied by a hint of caramel and dark chocolate.

Taste takes the nutty, toasted münchener to the front, but also pulls along some pleasant subtle hop bitterness to settle on the sides of one's tongue. Mouthfeel is perfect for drinkability. Just a bit of bitter chocolate in the aftertaste, and a mouthwatering silky roundness to the nutty finish, spreading across one's tongue.

A classic example of the style, eminently drinkable. In some ways a bit like a very good (and strong) dark mild, without the fruitiness.

 

 

 

 

 

What a beautiful head this gave in my Stange glass!
Aroma and flavors were deep with roast, nuts, smoke, burnt sourdough bread and butter. Not certain if I enjoyed all of it though
goes down nicely
Interesting expressive Alt.

Pours a slightly cloudy, deep mahogany coloration with a large, creamy head. Smells of bready, slightly grainy and roasted malt and herbal, earthy hops, with hints of dark fruit and nuts as well. Taste is an excellent balance of bready, grainy, slightly roasted and caramelly malt and herbal, earthy hops, as well as a distinct walnut presence and hints of dark fruit, with notes of raisin and fig. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some bready, roasted malt and herbal, earthy hops lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Schlüssel is probably my favorite Alt beer, as it's the most dark, roasted and complex of the Düsseldorf Alts. Even though it could be a bit more bitter for my personal taste, the overall balance of bitter, roasted, and sweet notes really is outstanding here, with a great dry and lightly roasted character, good bitterness and light sweetness. The rather herbal and earthy hops fit this flavor profile perfectly, while the distinct, nutty walnut presence and subtle dark fruit notes leave a rather rich impression here. Overall, I think that Schlüssel is kinda underrated. While it could be more bitter and full-bodied, it makes up for that with that certain roastiness, great overall balance and richness of character.

 

Tap @ Schlussel Brauhaus, Dusseldorf - Pours light brown with a large white foamy head. Nice lacing. Aroma - yeasty/malty front, roasty notes in the middle, leading to light crisp bitter finish. Solid alt bier.

L:
-pours a clear copper with a medium,foamy,offwhite head
-medium carbonation
S:
caramel,spicy,nutty,plums,cinnamon
T:
-caramel,spicy,plums,grassy,nutty
-low to medium bitterniss for the style
F:
-medium carbonation
-light body
O:
Very good Altbier.Noticeably sweeter than other Examples

 

 

 

Pours a hazelnut brown, clear color, with some ember sparks to it. Offers up a very stable, huge, froth head, coating the glass for the whole time.

Smells of an intriguing blend of toffee malts, leafy, herbal hops and a faint, skunky yeast reminiscence. An utmost rustic, whole grain bread appearance forms the fusion of those different aromas, completed by malt enhanced straw.

Has a very soft, almost silk mouthfeel from the beginning till the end, making this an easy drinker, also due to its refreshing, light body. This still provides more taste than your typical Lager, as for its profound hop punch, making this perfect to go with rich meals.

Way less maltier than the beer's color indicated, certainly the malts lay out the foundation in this, while they produce a unique wooden dryness, once the hops appear. Garden herbs, straw, and grass get coated up by toffee malts and a hint of bakers chocolate. Finishes very clean, soft, with fresh yeast lending a light tartness to caramel malts.

A perfect example for this style, producing a fairly dry, yet malt driven beer, benefitting from a world class, long time established balance.

 

This brauhaus in the old town of Dusseldorf is swankier feeling than most. The alt bier here is very different than all of the others I tried in the town. It is less bitter than some and has an almost coffee taste from the malts. As usual, nice copper color and very little aroma.

 

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a pils style glass. Best before Dec 11th 2014.

Deep mahogany red, and hints of lighter brown toward the edges and bottom. Even with the darkness there is exceptional clarity in this beer throughout. The head is a booming, and thick whipped up large light creme color, and leaves lots of ring and spider web lacing. The retention forms a big cap and island in the middle. Great looking beer.

What a unique and impressive aroma, if a little simple and small. Great clove sweetness with a sense of nutmeg and hazelnut milk chocolate going with it. Wow never had an aroma on an alt like this before ever and it's really nice. Very enjoyable.

The palate brings the goods. The chocolate notes really come out on this, and just fill with a great nutty dryness that takes over on the finish. Controlled tannic nut and dry finish, with more clove and dry brown spices. The sweetness hinted on the nose is almost gone as some malt thickness comes and takes over with a husky and dry ripping grain action. A little bit of light body even for an alt, but it all carries very well still regardless.

This is unlike any other altbier I have ever had, with the chocolate angle being a big surprise.

 

 

Pours a clear light brown color, topped with a decent tan colored head. Retention is pretty decent too.
The aroma is surprisingly weak. Truthfully, all I could pick up were some laty notes.
The taste is quite neutral, but it develops a somewhat bittery feel.
Drinkable, enjoyable, but... a bit more taste perhaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: copper brown, foamy white head, decent clarity

Aroma: toasty malt aroma, but overall quite restrained in aroma (less than Uerige, about same as Schumacher)

Taste: strong toasty malt character with hints of nuts and a minuscule hint of dark fruit (much more subtle than Uerige), flowery noble hop bitterness to curtail malt sweetness, sweet malt finish

Mouthfeel: thicker than either Schumacher or Uerige, more like an strong ale than lager in mouthfeel, biting moderate-high carbonation, medium-full body

Overall Impression: A heartier, darker, and nuttier version of the Altbier style exhibiting lager like clarity, crispness, and carbonation, but certainly an ale-like mouthfeel and flavor profile. More filling than Schumacher, but less fruity than Uerige, Schlossel exhibit it's own interpretation of the altbier style.

 

My second alt brewery visit on 4/11/2013. First of two served in a .2l stange. Pours a mahogany hue with a latte-like, half inch cream-colored head embedded with tiny craters. Nose smells primarily like wort. Taste follows nose - a bit thin and watery. Hops bittering comes out at the finish and is both earthy and subtle. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with a carbonation just shy of lively, with a crisp, slightly dry finish. Overall, a nice altbier that is a bit less hoppy than Uerige's offering.

On-tap at Schlussel itself, on to the beer:

Here's an alt with a lighter cola brown color and an inch thick of head which retains itself well and leaves thicks rings of lace around. The aroma is filled with bread dough, bread crust, and a touch of vague fruit. Something different happens in the taste; sure, the crusty bread and toffee notes are common per style, but this one brings a noticable spicy hop note , making it hoppier than the other alts that I tried in Dusseldorf. It's medium bodied, with a modest crisp snap in the finish.

A little different, but still a damn good alt to cloth yourself from cold weather.