Amber
Alaskan Brewing Co.

 

 

Drinking out of a pint gl.
Pours a dark red-copper with a nice fill tan head.
Smells of caramel.
Good mouthfeel.
Nice sweet malt forward with caramel overtones.

Had this beer a long time ago and don't remember to much about it. Talking with friends about good beers and this one came up and checked to see how I had rated it and found out I hadn't. I remember it being a good beer, so flavor and hops must have a good balance with a good malt body and not too much hop flavor. Use to drink this beer regularly, before I started trying new beers. 18 IBUs

 

 

Stripped naked and standing before the world, what is a beer when you remove all the bells, whistles, marketing, and just stick to the basics?

Alaskan Amber Ale might be my favorite of just the drink and enjoy without thinking.

A. Looks like liquid bread. It’s an amber color…. Obviously. Carbonated. A little cloudy. Nice head. Lacing on the glass.

S. Smells of molasses, bread, spice. Light smell.

T. Syrup, grain, spice.

M. Thick. Nice.

O. The syrupy taste has me squirming. I’m not a fan. But some people might like it.

 

 

Poured from a 12-oz can well within its date range into a stange.

Look: Truly amber, with a massive cream-colored head that lingered long and left considerable lacing.

Nose: Bread, with a little caramelized-stone fruit sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium, with maybe a little too much carbonation.

Attack: Actually follows the nose pretty closely, with the addition of darker roasted grain typical of the brownness of the style.

Finish: Hops are evident, perhaps even overbalancing the attack’s slight sweetness.

Overall: Quite drinkable. I think this is the only altbier I’ve ever had — maybe a cross between a brown and a pilsner. While I’m drinking this one on a warm summer afternoon, I have very pleasant memories of drinking one in a cafe in Centennial, WY on a cold, blustery fall evening, just having come off a hike in the Snowy Range that finished with rain, snow, and sleet. It tasted incredibly good that night and, thinking about it, I’d wish for this beer again under the same circumstances. Yep, that would be perfect.

 

 

Look: Rich amber-red in the glass and on the pour, which jump starts a silky off-white to form and settle to a lid, leaving nice lacing behind

Aroma: Toffee, freshly baked bread, light floral and earthy notes, bread crust, and some caramel

Taste: Opens up with a whole lotta bread with freshly baked bread, crust, some dough, and toasted bread, along with rich toffee. Floral and earthy hops dance around as toffee and caramel go back and forth atop the bready malt and closes with toffee and floral notes

Mouthfeel: Full but light feeling, clean, medium-high carbonation, and clean on the finish

Overall: I dig it. This is a classic beer and one I cut my teeth on when I made the craft beer jump almost 20 years ago so was amazed I’d never reviewed it and vowed to change that. It’s funny too as I always thought this was a regular old Amber Ale, as did most of us young-ins, but the Altbier in it comes out nicely as it has a really clean feel overall and I think would stand out in a side-by-side with other Amber Ales, which are sweeter, more cloying, and richer/heavier/softer on the finish. Still winning after many years and a nice and readily available change of pace beer suited for anytime drinking

I had this beer on a Holland America Alaska two-week cruise. So happy they had craft beers like this and Washington State Pike brews available. This one is very different than most beers as its an Altstyle German style beer that’s fermented cold producing a big robust body for most beers. The beer pours with a low head and a dark color like a brown ale. I found bottle at Roths in Salem Oregon. The unique flavor has a grainy taste with molasses, Carmel, cedar,toasted bread and brown sugar taste. The brew has a low acid level as the abv’s are very low and as you drink there appears a Suttle daikon radish flavor which shows it presence to this very favorable beer. It’s a good beer with a unique flavor.