Widmer Brothers Double Alt (84/09)

Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Altbier
Portland, Oregon USA

Reviewed 7/10/2009 (bottled 15APR09): Pours a nice nutty brown colored body, with a creamy cream colored head, small and diminishing. Dark fruity aroma, some musty funkiness and fig. A little musty, dusty. Creamy mouthfeel, a little dusty. Some dark fruitiness, but not as much as the nose. Malty taste. Too malty for me. A little better as it warms up, more musty.

April 15 2009 Bottle date; Sampled August 2009
A vigorous pour produces a four-finger thick, richly amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a dark, concentrated amber / plum color that shows a brilliantly clear, cranberry red hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells distinctly of concentrated berries and finishes with a light herbal accent. The malt almost takes on a caramelized, cotton-candy like sweetness in the nose and it contributes some brown sugar encrusted toasted grain character to the finish. The nose on this is not bad, it can seem a bit too sweet smelling at times, but this sort of works with the other notes here.

Viscous feeling as this first hits my tongue, it definitely sticks to the palate as it rolls across my mouth. The beer isn’t quite as sweet as the aroma might have suggested, but it is definitely laden with residual sugars. There is a solid herbal hoppiness here as well as a biting hop bitterness that go a long way towards mitigating the thick, chewy malt character here; this actually almost finishes on a dry note because of the ample hop character. In the long finish there is a touch of toasted, almost roasted grain astringency that is noticeable quite a while after the beer has left my mouth. Candied malt and candied hop notes tend to mingle in the middle of this beer; richly caramelized, but still quite sweet malt notes as well as some caramelized, sweetened berry hop notes and sugar crystallized herb notes linger in the middle of each sip. The sweet herbal character at times remind me of a German-type, rustic, sweet herbal liquor (similar to Jägermeister, but with a more herbal note than anise).

Not a bad beer, I was certainly not expecting this to be as flavorful as it is. This beer is definitely a sipping brew though & I would have a hard time finishing a bottle on my own as it can get a bit cloying at times.

Dark ruby brown with a medium sized off-white head. Aroma is of apple, pear, malt, light booze and cardboard. Taste is of malt, caramel, molasses and cardboard.

Bottle: Dark amber pour with a finger of creamy beige head. Aroma is sweet, lightly malty with some nuts. Tastes sweet with dark fruits and light yeast. A faint bit of banana bread. Belgian spices too. Fun little brew is different, but good.
Earlier Rating: 8/2/2009 Total Score: 3.5
Bottle: Pours a dark brownish amber with a creamy finger of beige head. Aroma is mild, but malty and dark fruit sweetness. Tastes sweet with dark pitted fruits, raisons, brown sugar, and a little nutty. Different, but good.

pours a clear dark brown with a red tint when held to the light, a very small beige head, and great lacing. smell of malt, a touch of spice, and a little caramel. taste is creamy, malt, some caramel, a touch of spice, some cocoa, and hops in the back, end is a little dry and somewhat bitter.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a thin smear of an off white head, with some lacing, over a clear, dark amber (SRM 23) body....nose is dried fruit, including the usual cherry, fig, also some caramel and yeasty tones.....taste initially is sharp, then evolves into more balanced malts with dried fruit and toffee, finish is quite astringent....mouth feel is medium to light, carbonation is low. The malt back bone cannot hide the alcohol in this beer. Additionally, even though the malt is present, it give almost no depth to the taste. I believe a bigger malt bill might help mitigate, but then there is the yeast.

Murky brown with a crimson tinge; thinnish head. Chewy, rich and full. Heavy malt flavors, with hints of sweet baked goods, caramel apples, honey and toast. Complementing hops are earthy and flowery, leaving behind an herbal bitterness on the tongue. Faint fruitiness in the background. Flavorful and pleasant beer to drink, yet not bursting with personality.

22 oz. bottle from Plaza Liquors - Pours a clear brown color with a 1/2 finger thick light tan head. Very light spotty lacing. Aroma is toasted caramel malt and dark esters. Flavor is almost burnt crystal malt. Aftertaste is astringent and somewhat bitter. Medium body. Not a favorite of mine.