The Tap Alt-imate

Brewed by Haverhill Brewery, Inc / The Tap
Style: Altbier
Haverhill, Massachusetts USA

on tap, at ummm..the tap. amber with a small long lasting head. Aroma is sweet malt, some fruit notes, bread. Taste is about the same, malt, some dark fruit, bready, with some alcohol sweetness. Dry finish.

Draught pint at Redbones on 5/11/06. A luminous orange-auburn, with some slight violet hints on the edges. An off-white, sandy/beige head, small, is perched atop, showing moderate retention and minimal lacing. High clarity, with medium-sized bubbles rising infrequently. Grassy, spicy spalt and tettnang-like hops, with a sweet buttercream overtone is balanced and of a medium strength. It goes easy on the breadiness, though it certainly is still apparent. The hops play most of the part, with soily and almost soapy notes lying underneath the spiciness. Flavor brings forth plenty of yellow/orange fruits: peaches, nectarines and apricots all spice things up, adding a moderate amount of sweetness. The hops are not quite as flavorful as they are aromatic, with more soiliness, light nuttiness and a touch of tang that is mixed in with the esters. Some melanoidins and breadiness brush, rather robustly, at the palate, but the carbonation is low, and plenty of residual sugars give it a near-creaminess of texture on the end. This allows the sweetness to really build up, taking front stage, while the hops and esters swirl about, perhaps a little bit lost on the palate, but certainly still adding a touch of complexity. A lightly astringent aftertaste, quite dry, with no alcohol but some slight soapiness from the hops.