24-Aug-08 (330-ml bottle: Free sample bottle for stewarding the 2008 World Beer Cup in San Diego, CA) Entered into the Düsseldorf-style altbier category, this deep-copper beer pours perfectly clear with a fluffy, off-white head that is supported nicely by dozens of carbonation streams. Dry and very clean malt nose with a light, but somewhat balancing noble hop aroma, but a touch of metal too. Pleasant enough, but not all that inspiring. Highly attenuated malt profile is toasty and minimally sweet, but also fairly corny, with a touch of caramel and a quiet suggestion of that trademark German malty richness in the finish. Floral hop flavors are very light in the entry, but show more assertiveness in the finish to bring a pleasant balance to the beer. Medium in body, dry on the palate, very clean, moderately carbonated. Dense, patchy, well-spaced patches of lace sporadically coat the walls of the glass. Overall, this isn’t a bad beer at all, in fact it’s quite drinkable and could be a pleasant session beer for casual drinkers, but the corn flavor is a letdown and it does seem to lack the rich and complex malt flavors that should be present in this particular style of altbier.

330ml swing top bottle - Altstadt Alt on the label, Barre Brau on the bottle. Same brewery same abv. Dark reddish brown colour. Very malty with wood tones. Some toffee. Moderate sweetness. Reasonably firm mouthfeel. Few hops. Some tea. A decent enough brew.

nice copper color, hint of that uniquely crisp hop and malt combo that I have come to expect from the classic Duesseldorf alt producers, but not enough to make close to being in the same league. As a regular beer, it is nicely flavorful, slightly caramelly with a hint of hops, but for an Altbier is seriously lacking in the classic flavor characteristics.

Copper color. Grainy flavor with a hint of licorice. Some vague pear fruitiness. Disappointing. Swing top bottle from MoritzF.

Draught at Niedermeiers Hof, Oberbauerschaft, Niedersachsen. Niedermeiers Hof was a brewpub. When I got there I found out that they had stopped brewing the month before. That sucked. Luckily they still had a beer which I had not rated. Light brown coloured. Malty and bready aroma. Sweet malty flavour with a slightly dry and grassy finish.