Springfest
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

A friend popped this one over to me, date stamped June 22, 2002. Wondered if it would still be good or not... he has had it before so I had him try it first to make sure it was still tasting as it should, he yepped it.

Color of rootbeer with a bit of head that left almost completely except for a tiny dusting of tiny beige bubbles in one side of the pilsner. Looks almost flat. Scents of malt, bit of caramel and sasafrass. Smooth with a perfect amount of carbination. Not exactly creamy, just silky. Just enough of a hoppy bite to it. Caramelly malt flavors but not much else jumping out at me. Nice flavors that are nicely blended. Medium body. Very easy drinking.

Medium brown color, medium white foamy head. Aroma is malts, fruits and a touch of sweetness. A medium bodied 'alt - style' ale. Nicely hopped and malted. Nicely balanced. Light and refreshing beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.Nice beer.

The first thing that strikes me about this beer is the aroma. Has the nose of a dark Belgian ale. Yeast, alcohol, and caramel malt are very noticeable. Pours a deep amber with a red glow. Head dies out quickly. Flavor has a good amount of complexity while still remaining light and refreshing. Dark fruits, yeasty spices, and a slight hint of chocolate is found in the aftertaste. I am surprised that I am describing a spring seasonal. Mouthfeel is rather bubbly and could use to be a lil bit smoother. I like this one, and its a nice interpretation of the style.

A beautiful sanguineous color, with a pertinent sized head, decent lace to cover the glass. Malt dominated nose, caramel, sweet and a tad yeasty. Front hits your palate sweet, top limp, with a meaningful hop spicy bite, carbonation middling and a dry long lasting aftertaste, quite quaffable.

"May 17, '02" stamp. Not sure if that is born on or freshness date. A unique tast. First I have had of this class. Deep brown color, semi cloudy, thinnish head. Smelled alot of deep malts, alcohol, some bitterness a well. Taste was an earthy maltness, crisp finish though, enough hops to notice. Thin body, perhaps due to abv which is unknown. An interersing unique beer. Also a cool message under the bottle cap "Prost to pregnant chads" which strikes a special chord with those of us in South Florida during the 2000 presidential election.

This is one of my favorites, this is the Alt which is available year around at the brewery on tap. The bottle pales in comparison to the tap version. Love to spend a rainy afternoon enjoying an Alt and the good company at the brewery. When at the berwery, I hope you get to meet Nick, one of the last great bartenders - great way to spent a Portland afternoon.

Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck with raised glass of a “W” within a star signifying the name Widmer. A drink before date is printed on the neck.

Appearance: Mahogany colour, fluffy and bubbly well-built off white lace. Crystal clear with an above par head retention.

Smell: Sweet toasted malt aroma, slight peppery herbal hops to round out the malt. Subdued fruitiness with a mild alcohol note in the nose.

Taste: Medium malty body and smooth mouth feel, carbonation is at a perfect level after the semi vigorous pour. Faint plum fruitiness, alcohol is slightly evident. A relatively sweet brew with a touch of residual sweetness for a good balance. Rustic toasted malt flavour runs from middle to finish with a light husky flavour, faint suggestions of chocolate and coffee are more towards the end. Clean drawn-out hop bitterness cuts into the malt and stays right to the end. Traces of hop flavour linger into an almost everlasting after taste.

Notes: Sadly this beer is a seasonal, one of the most balanced beers I have had in a while. As for the Altbier style this is right on the mark. A top pick for spring seasonals, superbly crafted and a delicacy for old German tastes. 4.9% abv.