Alt
Chuckanut Brewery

On draft at the Portland location

Clear dark amber color, off white colored head. Lacing left on the glass as I drink. Toasted malt and mild caramel in the aroma and taste. But balancing bitterness. Thin to medium bodied.

Bottle from Market of Choice.

A clear light copper with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing, this looks great. The nose is pretty hoppy up front, earthy, dusty, mildly minty and lemony. There's a mildly grainy note, but with a grist-like character. Burnt light brown sugar, a little toffee are present. The palate opens mildly bitter but with an interesting (and appropriate) water profile, a little mineraly, a little dusty, working to integrate the hops and malt in a unique way. With a beer this dry, there's not a whole lot of room for error, and Chuckanut deliver. Mineral, toffee, burnt sugar, a little bit of crushed grain and grist follow the hops, and the bitterness lingers in the finish, along with a light brown sugar flavor. Light in body, moderately carbonated, this is a very good expression of the style. I do prefer the stronger Sticke Alt for its richer body, but this is a very worthy beer.

 

 

 

 

32oz grunt purchased at the Growler Guys location on Spokane’s South Hill for $7.99. I've loved Altbiers ever since I first encountered the style in the Ruhr area of Germany in the late 90s, and I consider it a greatly overlooked style that doesn't get it's due and that it's a shame it seems to have been mostly ignored by American brewers when compared to it's regional cousin, Kölsch.

Poured into a Chuckanut Brewing pint glass, this is a sort of burnt-orange shade of copper that takes on a slightly more rubyish look when held up to light. Decent clarity. Good-sized beige colored head that took a few minutes to drop and left lots of lace on the sides of the glass.

Bready, caramelly, slightly fruity aroma to this. A slightly mineral note is also saying high to the workers on shift at my olfactory.

Malty in a subtly caramelly, bready kind of way, with a mineralish taste in the background that’s a nod to the water of Düsseldorf. Some people might think that’s an off-putting imperfection, but it’s really a sign of authenticity. Subtle, grassy hop notes, and a pinch of apple-like fruitiness round things out. Very mild, almost imperceptible dryness at the finish.

Medium bodied, with a slightly coating and slightly prickly mouthfeel.

In my experience, Chuckanut knocks it out of the park with their German style beers, and this is no exception. I particularly like the subtle hopping and the slight, mineralish backbone, and take it as a sign how dedicated Chuckanut is to making authentic German-style beers despite being in the seemingly hop-obsessed PNW. I’d drink this again in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handsome dark auburn brown color with a creamy head in the pint nonic. Plenty of fine-grained carbonation on the tongue. Wonderful grainy aroma.

Taste is slightly tangy but rich with malt. a smooth caramel taste with a hoppy edge. Lots of browned malt. Toasty with a fruity note of something like raspberries. Bitter tany for the finish. So many unassuming but ideal beery flavors. No wonder the Germans led the world in brewing for so long.

This is one of the best Alt-style brews I've had. the fizzy mouthful actually goes well with the malty mellowness. A great glass on the terrace at the brewpub.