(swing top bottle) Hazy yellow colour with a firm and foamy medium head. Intense aroma of citrus fruits, wheat and floral hops. Medium body and carbonation. Malty and fruity (kiwi, citrus) taste, dry and quite bitter & lasting finish. Nice and uncommon Weizen.

Bottled. Another bottle dated 04/18. Must have been the lucky day for the entire production! Poured into a .2l lager glass that’s as close to an alt glass as I have. A big stiff head rests atop a body that’s brown, both bright and cloudy. A big whiff of German hops is also the first thing I taste, which on some beers would indicate oxidation, but not here. Surely a barleywine level malt intensity, but it’s a little bit drier than the Bigfoot they cite. Quite a balancing act between the malt and hops: at first I catch the caramelly malt sweetness, then the jumpstart from a hop bill that would have me puckering if they were Aermican hops. And the alcohol only sneaks up on you toward the end. Even though it’s only been out for a few months, it seems to be pretty well distributed here in the States, so I’m surprised there aren’t more ratings.

Bottled on 4/18/2005 consumed 6/16/2005. Copper-amber, with vertical auburn stripes. Light beige head is initially medium-sized and well-retained, but once I begin to drink and it is disrupted, it departs quickly to a ring. Decent lacing. Medium-sized bubbles rise vigorously. Aroma of light cedar wood pulp, bits of toasted grains, light caramel, but mainly bitterness. No one else talks about hops, which is odd. Seems to me to have a lot of hops bitterness, or maybe the bitterness is coming from something else? Smells like an IPA to me. Nutty, floral notes, acidic, pine resin. Acidic and biting, this is powerful stuff. It lingers on the palate on the finish. Flavorful, at least, but it’s so piney. Sugary and fruity as well, reminds me of DFH 90 minutes. Low carbonation. Lightly syrupy body. No real yeast presence that I can find. Odd to say the least, IMHO.

Wow. A new experience for me, my first true alt compared to some US interpretations aka copper ales, and maybe a sweetish commercial example from Germany. They call Uerige a homebrew pub and this does remind me of homebrew with its twangy flavors. Nice earthy caramelized aromas, slightly less present in the palate. Mild herbal, slightly spicy hop aromas. But as I’ve read about alts and their long bitter finish, nothing could be truer - and that’s the real story here. A long, hoppy bitter finish - and it took some getting used to! Much more phenomenally bitter than most double IPAs. While this was novel to me and required some acquisition, I’d have to say its a masterpiece in terms of integrating that finish and getting that clean hop bitterness to linger so well for so long. Oh, and it surely was an attractive copperish amber color, fairly glowing in the glass.

Very dark red-brown. Very thick head. Fun light fruitiness and deep caramel complexity. Full, rich, big deep earthy caramel malts, orangey-fruity yeast and a hint of woody, citrusy hop late. Alcohol emerges slightly in the finish. Unique, intense. 4-7-8-4-16

Gravity cask, BPP, Seattle
The proprietor of the BPP launched this beer the night before, but actually pulled the cask as it got low in order that a couple of us beer writers could get a taste when they opened the next day. For me, the beer was sadly yet another disappointment from one of Germany’s most overrated brewers. Bright, dark amber colour with a fairly rich head. Fresh hoppy aroma (grass mostly) with sticky caramel malts. A little thin, hints of caramel. Timid. I have a bottle as well just in case the condition suffered overnight. 7-3-6-3-13 = 3.2

Bottled at the bräuhaus
Cloudy golden color; big creamy head. The aroma is light, with some malt, very light flowers (original!), perfumy! Quite ordinary taste, with some citrus fruits and surprisingly bitter final. Out of the ordinary, closer to a Belgian Ale than expected; pleasant.

2007-04-17, 7-5-7-3-14=36
Elegant aroma, subtle hops with the caramel. It’s served too cold, the mouthfeel is a bit too dry and the bitterness too high, at the end.

From wooden cask, at the bräuhaus, 2005-04-04, 7-5-7-4-14=37
Beautiful dark amber color; creamy head. Malty aroma, with some malt; later (the temperature...) it develops a very nice (but quite light) hop note. Maltier example than others in Düsseldorf, with loads of caramel, very strong bitterness, partially aromatic. Very strong taste, powerful brew. Less hoppy than the Zum Schlüssel.

Rerate from tap at Uerige. Pretty hazy chestnut, lacing cappuccino head. Roast and light smoked notes I did not find in the bottle. Harmonic bitter roasted finish. Fullflavored yet refreshing. Original rating 7 5 7 3 14 Bottle. Chestnut colouring, small visible bubbles, big brown creamy head. Light juniper and fruity aroma like in the Sticke. Bitter herbal flavors on a relatively light roasted body. Quite unusual and quite interresting. Thanks Dortmunder!

Bottle Pours a medium dark amber that has a little haze to it. Nice white creamy head and thick spotty lacing. Aroma is slightly sweet and dark. Pears, raisons apples. Flavor is woody, dry and with some of the same flavors. Quite bitter and a fine and lively carbonation. Aftertaste is bore bitterness.