St. Stans Dark

Brewed by St. Stans Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
Modesto, California USA

Name: St. Stan’s Dark Alt
Date: 01/01/1995
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Sandy Springs

dark, strong hops

Aroma: 2/10; Appearance: 2/10; Flavor: 2/10; Palate: 2/10; Overall: 5/20
Rating: 1.1/5.0
Score: 4
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Tasting Notes from Fall 2000: Smoky, chocolatey. Good bitterness that works very well with its mild sweetness

Bottle: This poured a dark ruby-brown color with a rapidly fading tan head. Not a bad brew, but it seemed quite unlike the handful of altbiers that I’ve had to date. This had a strong chocolate, coffee, and smoke aroma. Nicely carbonated, it had a roasted malt flavor supported by the same coffee, chocolate, and smoke that appeared in the aroma. The finish is oddly sticky and sweet. Alt?

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.beeronthewall.com/>Beer on the Wall<font size=-1>

Amber with a ruby tint. Smaller tan head. Carmelized malts dominate the nose. Fairly light in body, but smooth with a touch of carbonation zip. Touch of zest distracts form the malt. Too much bitterness for style.

Dark brown color, Medium head. Roasted malts, nearly no hops, little bitterness. Nice, simple beer. Good flavor.

This is an unusual twist on the alt style, IMHO. It’s an extremely roasty, chocolatey altbier that’s heavy on some nice malt and possesses solid hop balance. Very enjoyable.

(12 oz bottle: Wine Time in La Jolla, CA) On the dollar shelf, so I’m not expecting much here, but you never know. There isn’t a whole lot of carbonation release as I open this beer, and a light-tan sheen is slow to form on the pour, but much quicker to dissipate to a small ring. The body is a very dark ruddy-brown with a slight translucence. I’m surprised at how flavorful this beer is, and that oxidation seems pretty mild. It’s malty and moderately sweet, with brown sugar and molasses. There’s plenty of mildly bitter, dark roasted malts, chocolate and coffee, more than I expected from an alt, and the rather potent smokiness in the finish is a pleasant surprise. There is an overtone of green peppers with a very slight spicy character and slightly astringent bitterness. It’s an old bottle of beer, so the moderate earthy flavor is not surprising, and is actually adds a positive note to the overall flavor. The nose is sweet, earthy and malty, with a slight smoky quality. Body is medium "plus", and despite the signs of poor carbonation, it’s gently carbonated, but not flat. All in all, a decent beer with a few minor issues from the age, but given that this is probably a few years old, I think the beer has held up remarkably well. Not bad at all, although it’s considerably different from any of the other altbiers I’ve tried. I’m cool with that though.

On the pour a luminous deep ruby color, the head is mediocre in size, frothy in texture and a light tan color, the lace forms a very thin sheet. Nose is dominated by the malt, caramel sweet, pleasant as noses go, start is lightly sweet, top is skeletal in feel. Finish is temperate in its carbonation, the hops obliging in their spicy presence with the aftertaste desert dry, a weak and watery, so it won’t garner much favor from me.