Callys Dusseldorf Sticke Alt

Brewed by Cally’s Restaurant & Brewing Co. (formerly Calhoun’s)
Style: Altbier
Harrisonburg, Virginia USA

On tap at the brewpub on 11/21/2008 as the Dusseldorf Alt. Clear copper body with a medium creamy off-white head. Slightly grainy, almost nutty aroma. Sweet grainy flavor, roasted and chocolate malt hints and light caramel. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

From a sampler at the brewpub. Pours a nut brown color with a sizeable creamy head. Big caramel notes in the aroma with some grainy notes as well. Taste is grain, noble hops, dark fruits and caramel. Medium bodied.

on tap-pours a retaining thin light tan head and dark copper color. Aroma is medium/dark malt-sweet-toffee. Taste is medium /dark malt-sweet-toffee with a fair amount of earthy bitterness, some fruit, some smoky. OK carbonation.

Draught at Cally’s. One of the highest Alcohol content ales you will find at Cally’s, and mostly because it hides the alcohol so well. Medium brown with a relatively clear body, and a dense but fleeting white head. Mostly roasted malts, with a bit of toffee and a sweet finish (like most of their brews).

Draught at the brewpub. Pours a dark, brilliant amber with beige head that leaves serious lacing. The aroma is very sweet and malty with some light buttered toast, a very faint roasty hint, and maybe even some tobacco. The flavor is sweet and very toasty. Toffee-like malt dries out fast to an earthy bitterness in the finish. Quite a decent, hoppy alt.

Thanks to Rob for hauling a growler of this down for me to try! Deep amber, nice head, very attractive. Moderately bready aroma. Flavor is bready, with a nice bitterness from the hops on the finish. Faint floral hop flavor on the end as well. Not as hoppy as I like my alts, but a very well made brew. I could see this as a staple if I lived in the area, just a nice drinker.

Draft at the brewpub. Amber color with little head. Little aroma to speak of, mainly light malt with a bit of bitterness. Flavor is malt-focused, with a faint but crisp underlying bitterness that lends to a clean finish. The palate is to be commended: incredibly smooth, like a fine heavy lager. Per the commercial description and in keeping with the style, they fermented an ale yeast at lagering temperature. A really enjoyable brew. I’ve had this on two occasions and the lager texture was more well-defined the second time around, perhaps to the detriment of the beer’s overall flavor-complexity (in the opinion of my drinkin’ buddy--I think it’s fine). Well done.

I’m actually surprised to see this one on their menu. I have never seen it before, and I should have asked the waiter what the story was behind why they chose to brew this beer. Unfortunately I do not remember the alcohol content. I do remember that it was a very well done beer! Some nice hoppy bite, but also some very impressive malty backing. Unlike any Abt beers that I have had before. This one is amber in colour, lighter than the smokin scottish that they serve, but packs more of a punch. I thoroughly enjoyed it!