Alaskan Amber

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co
Style: Altbier
Juneau, Alaska USA

Why can’t all their beers be as tasty as the wonderful Smoked Porter?

Knocked back a few of these at the sports bar of the Seattle airport waiting for a connecting flight. Orangey Amber with a beige head. Fruity, caramel, decent feel. A bit sweet but really easy to quaff. Pity I was at the airport or else I’d have had several. But with SNPA on tap, this will have to wait till next time.

Had at jacks in San fransisco fishermans warf area. Poured a clear amber ruby red with creamy white head. Aroma pretty malty and sweet with slight citric hop undertone. Flavor is very smooth, a bit creamy, and watery with slight citric hop. Refreshing, but nothing outstanding.

Pours a dark red color with small white head. Aroma is feint, of fruit and malt. Flavor is cherries, malt and hops. Palate is happy, beer is a decent one! Thanks to Indiana Red for this tasty brew!

Very light-tasting beer. Clear amber color with moderate head. Aroma of flowers and malt. Taste wheaty and maly, with deifnite fruity-sweet flavors and and minor hops. Above average beer.

Copper colored with a thin white head. Sweet; toffee and malt aroma. Lightly sweet malts, light fruitiness. Crisp hops balance out the finish.

Sweet caramel in the aroma mixes with lightl roasted malts and some hops. Brilliantly clear amber with a nice white head and plenty of effervescent bubbles. Caramel malts bounce around in harmony with some toast and bitterness. Some tin in the flavor, but delish otherwise. Thanks Andre!

Alaskan calls this one an "alt style" beer. Like the classic altbiers of Dusseldorf, this beer is indeed an ale, and enjoys a long, cold conditioning, which is traditionally done with lagers not ales. The similarities end there however, as Alaskan Amber Ale ,just does not have the right amount of hop aroma and flavor stylistically to be a classic example of altbier. Alaskan Amber is actually based on a 100+ year old recipe, from the Douglas City Brewing Company, a 19th Century Alaskan brewer. So stylistically, if you are looking for a classic Dusseldorf altbier, you will not find it here. That is OK though. I have yet to find domestic version of alt, that really comes close, to the altbiers I enjoyed vom fass in Dusseldorf. So what you do have in Alaskan Amber Ale, is a rich, malty, smooth, and drinkable ale, just packed with character. Alaskan Amber Ale pours to a beautiful, bright, deep amber color with a thick and creamy head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is fantastic with lots of good sweet malty aromas paried with some light herbal hop aroma. The palate is soft and full on the tongue with lots of good sweet malt and biscuit flavors. Alaskan Amber finishes with more good malt flavor up front, then ends malty but with enough herbal hop bitterness to take the malty edge off this beer. Wow. This beer is just so fresh and flavorful, and just so smooth and drinkable. Alaskan Amber is a wonderful session beer, one you could pound with impunity. It is also a very food friendly beer that would match up with a number of dishes. I really enjoyed this one. Its only flaw is the fact that it too malty as an altbier, and it would have been a better example of alt if it had more hop character. That being said, this beer is one you will want to try, one you will enjoy, and one well worth seeking out in markets where Alaskan beers are sold.