Schwelmer Alt

Brewed by Brauerei Schwelm
Style: Altbier
Schwelm, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

1/2 liter swing top bottle. Altbier is one of my favortie beer styles, and it is always a great thing to find another German altbier available on the US market, especially one as good as Schwelmer. This beer pours to a bright, deep, ruby red color, with a thick, creamy, white head, and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is excellent with lots of good, zesty, herbal hop aroma paired with fresh, estery fruit aroma. The palate is smooth and firm, with lots of good sweet and nutty malt flavor, paired with a nice back drop of estery fruit. This beer finishes with more good nutty malt up front, then ends with a zesty and bitter herbal bite that lingers. Very well done example of altbier, with great hop, malt, and estery fruit character, on a smooth, polished, drinkable body. Altbier is such a great beer style in the fact it delivers so much flavor, yet is so drinkable. This is a very food friendly beer as well, and would match with with hearty German fare, or a nice grilled NY Strip, Porterhouse, or rib eye.

Pours dark red and clear with a small frothy tan head. Aroma is complex, malty, hay floral and perfume, earthy and grape, raisins and plum. Flavor is sweet mostly, with light bitterness, and the finish is the same. Slightly sour and plumby, light to medium bodied watery, and softly carbonated. My first Alt beer.

Swing top bottle. Aroma was sweet, nice bouquet. Appearance a nice brown color. Flavor started smooth and slightly sweet. Nice on the palate, just slightly watery. Finish was good, leaving a malty hop character, just a trace of chocolate which complements it nicely. I could drink many of these without a problem. Who cares what my favorite is; just drink this and enjoy a good beer from a good, small brewery.

Pretty standard dark brown with a orange hue. Taste is wheaty with some sour hops and decent malt. The beer seems to be a little on the thin side for my taste. All in all a better than average beer.

The aroma has cola, caramel, toasted bread, and nuts. The appearance is like cola (red/brown). The head is average and fades fast but leaves a lot of lace. The flavor is like the aroma. The palate is smooth but a little on the thin side. The aftertaste is slightly acidic with well toasted malt. This is well made but not my thing.

16.9 oz. swing top bottle. Weird freshness date on back label. Poured out a dark amber color, with red highlights. Decent tan colored head. Faded quickly though. Aromas of sweet malts, roasty notes also. Flavors are of burnt sugars, caramel, earthy hops. Decent beer, but not my favorite.

Clear dark cherry body with a small creamy tan head. Sweet molassas aroma with a malty hint. Sweet light honey flavor on a dark malty backgorund.

Clear ruby with a nice full rocky tan head. The aroma is subtle, caramel and some light floral notes. The flavor is similar to the aroma though it has a decent bitter bite. Light body very quaffable. Nothing speical but drinkable.