Schwelmer Alt

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

Deep brown beer with some amber highlights. Dark herbal maltiness. A touch of buckwheat honey, black licorice and molasses. Herbal and slightly fruity. Strangely dry and sweet at the same time. Earthy with a dark caramel nuttiness and a rosemary/thyme herbal character. Anaesthetic hoppiness. Decent brew.

Bottled, 500ml swing top, courtesy of Der Doppelbock. Chestnut brown with light, short head. Initially, thin and slightly watery, not giving an Altbier impression at all, but gradually the nutty, fruity and slightly acidic flavours come through with touches of toffee & caramel. A nicly drinkable beer with enough going on.

Date: 04/15/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark ruby red, wispy beige head, specks of lace, huge sweet dark caramel malt aroma with a huge caramelized sugar character, sweet and fruity malt flavor, nice dark fruits, light bitterness adds a touch of balance,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *4

Pours a three finger off-white white head that vanishes quickly to a ring leaving traces of lace. Cloudy amber color. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Sweet toffee nose. Flavor is sweet toffee that is balanced by the hops. Clean finish. $1.90 for a 330ml swing-top bottle from Tully’s Beer and Wine Wells, ME.

Dan H. brought this to the Islands ’07’. No head to speak of. Redish brown in color. Aroma of sweet malt. Flavor of toasted malt with nuts and some hops. Slightly bitter ending. It was ok.

Half liter swing-top bottle from brewfiend. Pours a very deep copper to brown color, darker than most alts, head weaker than most, lacing very weak for the style. The aroma is malty, caramel, molasses, somewhat bready. The flavor was off-malts, caramel, molasses, fruity (cherry-ish), roasty (beyond the normal and style-appropriate nutty-toasty flavor), finishing with an ample herbal / grassy hoppiness that made it drinkable. Too bad these things don’t travel better across the pond. Mouthfeel was moderate, a little slick, in need of more carbonation. Thanks, Brad, for yet another alt to add to my alt resume!

Pours chestnut brown with a somewhat fizzy tan head. The aroma has dry nuts, paper, dark caramel and very toasted malt. Medium / thin body that’s a bit harsh with some more harshness from the carbonation on the finish. The flavor is quite oxidized and has light brown sugar, hazelnuts and toasted sweet malt. The finish has more sweetness then there is a lingering of tree bark. A fair beer ~ nothing to go out of your way to obtain.

Dark brown color with no head. Grainy aroma with a bit of oak. Very sweet grain taste, coupled with a dusty hop finish. Nothing fancy, but definitely enjoyable.