Full Sail Brewer's Share Phil's Existential Alt
A generous amount of Munich and Vienna malts give this beer its copper color and toasty-caramel aroma. German noble hops provide complimentary [sic] bitterness and a clean, dry finish. The beer has been cold-conditioned for six weeks and goes down smooth.
3.3
151 reviews
Hood River, United States
Community reviews
Rated from notes taken on 25 Sep 2013 -- A blind taste-test side by side with my homebrewed Alt. This had a nice woody flavor, I thought it was highly overcarbonated. Flavors were nice but didn’t meld well together. I thought my alt was better, side-by-side this one didn’t taste as authentic. Of course I’m biased, right?
Reddish amber in color. nice off white head with a hint of caramel. Toasty malt lager-ish aroma. Crisp and dry with a bit of dark toasted bread note mixed in. Overall, not a bad find for $4.99 per 22oz. I’ll buy this again...
Reviewed from notes.
The appearance was a slightly transparent yet has a hazy brown/amber coloring. Nice one finger frothy creamy white head.
The smell had sweet German malts delicately balanced into a decent smoky meaty quality.
The taste was sweet and slightly meaty and adds a decent breadiness as it warms, and has exactly the same aftertaste, but the finish is a bit drier.
On the palate, it sat at/about a light to medium, good carbonation for the Altbier style and good for me as there’s a decent harshness that typically felt in altbiers, also there’s a decent sessionable quality to this as well.
Overall, whoah, Full Sail, where did this come from, as I think I just found my favorite altbier by an American brewer as I would definitely love to come back to this.
Aroma - Vienna malts and German hops
Appearance - body is a red amber; clear liquid; beige head about 1 1/2" that fades slowly into a nice foam sliver on top
Taste - mix of dark grain malt and German noble hops; combination of malty tang and mild to moderate hop
Palate - body is light to medium; texture somewhere in between thin and thick; carbonation average; the finish has has a tang around the cheek and gums.
Atlanta, Ga. - Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits - 22 oz bomber. Murky dark orange pour, very light off white head clings to the edge of the glass. Aroma is sweet, with some dates and prunes, a touch of banana. Flavor leans to the sweet side of the spectrum with dates and raisins being the most prominent. Pick up some ripening vegetables similar to what one would find in an Oktoberfest. Somey bready yeasty notes round it out. Not feeling it on this one - Full Sail usually impresses me.
Bomber. Sweet caramel malt aroma to start followed by toasty malt and some nuttiness. Pours caramel-copper colored with a light, off-white head and some lacing. Some sweetness from the caramel malt to start, but as pronounced as in the aroma. Nuttiness and hops quickly overpower what sweetness there was. Finishes dry and quite bitter. Enjoy by date was august of 2013. Wonder if I would like liked it better before that.
Brown color. Rich, dry malt with bread and the hops are perceivable. Good flavor and true to style. Great alt.
Pours clear copper brown with off white head. Oaky, nutty flavor profile with bitter notes afterward. Fairly hoppy. Not awesome, not bad, somewhere in between.
Complex and delicious. Pour is like apple cider with a nice head. Aroma is sweet,malty,fruit and a little hop. Good flavors that are all over the place malts,hops,sour but just a touch and dry but still fruity like dates.
(bottle) dark copper with tan head. Malt aroma. Flavor is bready malt with some grassy hops finish.
Tap. Copper pour with minimal head. Tasty, nuts, dried fruit. Medium body. Dry and slight bitter yet clean finish.
Location: Draft at Ginger Man (NYC), 8/15/13
Aroma: It has a light malt nose, with some nuts, caramel, and a little bit of toast
Appearance: It has a clear reddish brown pour with a small beige head
Flavor: This one has a medium sweet flavor, toasty and malty, with a mild bitterness
Palate: It has a medium body, a pretty good drinkability, average carbonation, and a clean finish
Overall Impression:
This wasn’t an absolutely amazing beer or anything, but it worked pretty well. I didn’t have too many complaints here.
Good sized light tan head of dense bubbles. Light chocolate malts, roasted grains, crusty biscuits and some smoke. Color is a dark mahagony brown. Hoppy flavor. Much more than expected. More roasted grains and toast. Flavor is a bit weak but is backed up by a decent herbal bitterness. Finishes sharp, dry and bitter with a lingering tingling sensation on the tongue.
My first altbier, that’s not from Dusseldorf. And you can’t tell, it’s that good. Nice mellow bitterness and roast grain flavor, nut brown color with thin beige head. Aroma is malty, burnt toast. Very tasty.
Pours a clear golden brown from the bottle with no real head or lacing, but a bit of bubbly carbonation. Aroma of basic malt, grain and a hint of caramel. Taste is a little better with a bittersweet finish. Meh.
Draft at The Full Sail Pilsener Room in Portland, OR on 5 June 2013.
Pours a clear copper colour with a sightly off-white head. Malty, slightly nutty aroma. Caramel flavours and some dried fruit, sweetness is pronounced, but offset by a grassy bitterness.
Dapper scotch colored brew topped with layers of beige foam. True to the description, this sports a toasty and aroma with a dash of munich malt imparting a balanced nuttiness. This one is redolent of German autumnal brews and German Oktoberfest halls. Rich, fresh-milled grainy flavor, flush with caramel malts and toasty, nutty character. A bit tannic and could probably stand to age a while longer, but enjoyable nonetheless. Sweet wort underpinning.
Bomber: Pour is mahogany brown with copper highlights and a thick off white head.
aroma is sweet caramel and dusty vienna malt. light woody hop.
flavour is pronouncedly sweet though not overpoweringly. Strong caramel and and toffee blend with toasted malt, nutty and woody tones and a floral earthy bitterness lingers in the finish masking the sweetness. All round decent and drinkable.
Bottle, shared with Parksy and Smitty. Medium amber, average beige head. Aroma and flavour are centered around caramel malt that is both lightly fruity and lightly earthy, ending in a gentle hop bitterness. A very sessionable beer, well-made. I think this is exactly what an altbier should be.
Barcade, Brooklyn tap ($6): Pours amber with an off-white head. Aroma caramel, toffee, and a tiny bit of hops and grains. Taste is slightly sweet with caramel and toffee being all up in there. Minimal bitterness. Mostly just a really smooth and easy drinking session ale.
Poured dark amber, copper with a tall head of off white foam that really didn’t want to fall. Great retention and lacing like cloud patterns in the glass. Left a layer on top that finally fell off to a thick cap. Clear and bubbles up bombing from the bottom. Nice looking dark beer. Nose is herbal with caramel malt. Grainy with a little spice. Malt is sweet and full and offers a little toast. Taste is biscuit and burnt sugar. Grain and toffee sweetness alongside a sturdy bitter. Roasted malt, toast with an herbal, lingering dry finish. It’s sticky, it’s not quite chewy. Long on the palate but not only from bitterness. The grain tastes of earth and has it’s own perfume. Drinks as clear as it looks and it even tastes dark.
This is a very amenable beer with a forthcoming and friendly malt character together with a stately hop bitter.
22 ounce bottle. Dark reddish brown color topped by a big fluffy beige head. Tasty toasted malt aroma has notes of toasted walnuts and burnt sugar. Toasted malt flavor has a spicy complex hop balance that makes for a nice smooth character. Medium bodied with dryish notes. A nutty spicy hop finish makes this a pleasant interpretation of a classic German style.
Bottle. Pours dark ruby with a thin white head. Aroma is a bit nutty. Taste adds some dark fruit and a strong pilsner malt finish. Mouthfeel is light with a crisp carb. Solid lagerish beer. Good intro to alt.
Hazy dark amber color with ivory sheen. Toasty, caramel aromas.medium body, average carbonation. toasted caramel flavors with some mild flora---decent
Malty nose with some caramel notes; it’s heavier on the biscuit/bread than on the caramel/sweet side. There is also a dash of earthy/noble hop character. The taste is a creamy concoction of bread and caramel, with a little bit of biscuit at the end and a balanced bitterness. More tilted to the caramel side than the aroma, I rather like the flavor. Mouthfeel is medium with a good, creamy carbonation. I like it.
Copper hue foamy tan head. Strong overtones of malts mixed with slight notes of the german noble hops lemon peel and coriander.
Poured a finger of head on a dark amber colored body. Looks great.
It smells old (it is an altbier after all). Seriously, it has a good barnyard/hay and earth smell to it.
It’s fairly complex for an alt with some mild maltiness to start, then some hop spice and finishes with a bit of burnt wood.
The texture is crisp with moderate carbonation.
I haven’t tasted many, but this is the best altbier I’ve had.
Aroma of graham crackers, lemon, coriander, and cinnamon. Copper colored and very clear. Tastes medium sweet, lightly sour, and medium bitter. Not bad, but don’t want the whole bomber.
pours a clear dark copper with a small ten head, and some lacing.
smell is of caramel, some fruit, a touch of grain, malt, and some hops.
taste is of caramel, a touch of citrus, a little fruit, malt, some corn, and hops in the back. ends a little dry and a little bitter.
Bomber pours a bright reddish/copper with a large bubbly khaki head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, and cereal grains. Taste of cereal grains of dry caramel with a bitter hop finish. Simple and enjoyable.