Two Brothers Victors MemoriAle Altbier

Brewed by Two Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
Warrenville, Illinois USA

Bottle... VBWT2008... Clear, very, very dark ruby ale with a small, creamy, white head. Vinous aroma and flavor of an English barleywine. Esters and deeply roasted malts abound. Sweet chocolate, dark fruits and caramel stand out. Enough bitterness to keep things interesting and prevent the sweet malts from overwhelming my gustatory system. Medium to full-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and soft carbonation. Lengthy, chocolaty, bittersweet (more bitter than sweet) finish. SoLan provided the bottle. Thanks Alan!

Courtesy SoLan. Clear ruby color with a thin broken white head. Slight suggestion of tannins, yeast, herbs. Tasta is tannic, with plum, some alcohol. Pretty even-handed, and a lot of taste for an alt.

Courtesy SoLan. Thin ruby black pour. No head at all, and very thin, watery lacing. Aroma is plum, malty chocolate, caramel, and taffy. Interesting. Flavor is oyster, caramel, salty fish, wheat. Some smokiness in the aftertaste. Thin-bodied, bitter small alcohol finish. Pretty good.

Courtesy SoLan. Pours dark brown, with a swirly off white head. Smells of sweet dark malts, dark fruits, and some yeast. A little doughy. The flavor was pretty mellow, but still lightly sweet on the palate. Altbiers usually arent very exciting, and this is no exception, but it is solid for his style. Nice crisp smooth finish. This drinks pretty good.

Bomber: Pours a dark brown with a thin tan head that diminishes quickly into nice lacing. Malty aroma is sweet with hints of caramel, nuts, and plum. Flavor is sweet with hints of dark chocolate and dried fruits that finishes with a spicy, dry, and mild bitter finish. Feels like there is something missing in the body, but enjoyable.

Bottle shared by puddintane: Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma, toffee and caramel, nutty, and some peppermint. Flavor, caramel and toffee, some earthy notes, and some spice.

Pours deep bronze with a tan head. The aroma is very fruity with licorice, toasted caramel malt and spice - age is definitely noticeable as well. Medium body that is crisp and has sharp carbonation. The taste is similar to the aroma but has sharpness and metallic traits and the finish is lightly medicinal. Surprised to see this go so far down in a fairly short period of time. Hopefully it will get brewed again and I’ll be able to rate a fresher bottle.

Bomber. Poured clear, garnety brown with a short-lived cap of beige head. My first impression from the aroma was a sour, vinegary note.. not pervasive, but unsettling nevertheless.. caramels and dark fruits provided a sweet base, accented by some herbal and metallic notes. Tart darker fruits and light metallic notes tingle the tip of the tongue with drawn caramel and semi-sweet chocolates rolling over the middle of the mouth.. chocolate and caramel sweetness plus mild herbal bitterness are marred slightly by the sour notes on the finish.. but I’m gonna ignore that for the most part in my score. Medium-bodied on the palate with a nice drawn malty sweetness throughout.. it’s hard to ignore the sour off-notes at the finish.. it’s a bummer that this degraded as much as it did in less than a year.