John Harvards Alt Bier

Brewed by John Harvards Brewhouse (Corporate Office)
Style: Altbier
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

On tap at the Pittsburgh JH in Monroeville. Dark brown with a slight haze. Nice dark beer palate. Without any rudeness. Enjoyable yet has enough personality to claim itself a craft. Good example of an accepatable beer, fun to be with. Just a hint of bitterness on the finish. Alts in general, are a pretty fine style.

At the Monroeville, PA location. Part of a large sampler. Dark orange ruby with off white head. Aroma is faint malt. Flavor is faint malt, grapes.

Wayne, PA. Clear, rust-colored body with a velvety beige head. Aroma of toffee and berries plus sweet, toasty crumb cake and a light edge of tobacco. Medium sweet with good German malt qualities, moderate Noble hop flavors, and a firm bitter and toasty finish. A nice, full-flavored altbier.

Sample at the Pittsburgh location. Clear amber color with a medium thin off-white head that lasts pretty well. Sweet aroma of malt and caramel. Medium-bodied, borderline thin at times, with roasted malt and nut flavors. Just a bit of hops are present too. The finish is roasty and lightly bitter and ultimately short-lived. This one is fairly average in all respects.

Rich, red-bronze. Very clear. Sweetish cereal aroma. Grainy, medium tartness. Cereal, medium-light bittering. Medium-light body. Goes watery. A rather flaccid interpretation of a style that I’m usually inclined to be charitable towards. Nutty sweetness in the finish.

Sampled at manchester, ct location. Pours a slightly hazy medium to deep amber, light tan head. Aroma is a bit dirty- modest amounts of yeast in the way, bready, very sweet toffee and some maple syrup character. Definitely not as clean as it could have been. Flavor was very sweet- almost too sweet, sugary, not like the toasted and nutty sweet balance you get from uerige. Ok finish, but still a bit dirty, and not really hoppy in the finish. Too sweet.

On draught in Monroeville. Mild sweet aroma and a bit malty. Light dusty papery hop bitterness. Dry with some nuttiness. Medium amber hazy with thin off-white lacing head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with mild nuttiness and good malt character. Carbonic acidity. Medium hops bitter at the finish with light astringency. Decent tasting ale but not up to par with true German alts - though most U.S. knock-offs aren’t, so that’s not really a detraction of the overall rating.

2005 GABF Gold Medal winner. Sampled from Growler courtesy of weeare138. Poured a medium and clear mahogany color with a very small sized off white head. Aromas and tastes of caramel, citrus, nuts and yeast. Thinner body.