Anti-Matter Altbier - Blue Hills Brewery

SirSketch

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Beautiful, deep red color. Translucent and tan, foam-like head.

S - Medium toasted bread, multigrain bread, graham cracker, cinnamon and other spicy notes. The hops are underwhelming, but there are some grassy, dank hop characters.

T - Rye and sweet caramel flavors dominate the palette, but is followed by a moderate and smooth bitterness, mild acidic fruit and ends with a darker, raisin-like fruitiness.

M - Medium-full bodied with a semi-slick, yet clean, finish.

O - Munich malt is probably my favorite base malt, as it adds an amazingly rich malt character to the beer, but using only Munich makes for a cloyingly sweet brew. I would mike to see the hops have a bigger impact, too. Still, a very interesting and drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 04:27:23 | More by SirSketch

mcss

New York

1.25/5  rDev -63.3%

06-26-2012 21:59:04 | More by mcss

Gregwa

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

06-04-2012 18:05:50 | More by Gregwa

KarlosT

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

had this at a stone/blue hills beer tasting event

I tend toward the more hoppy/ipa style beers. But I really liked this beer. Seemed very refined, with a very nice richness of malt flavors. A very refined, high quality lager.

Bought several bottles, and would recommend others to try. Discouraged that so few of us have actually tried/reviewed this beer. Strongly recommend !!

Orig Score: 4/4/4/4/4.5 Average: 4.1 (very high)

UPDATE: Jan 16, 2012

Sigh ... had a bottle at home. Drinkable, but definitely not the same. Not sure if bacteria had gotten into the bottle. There was an excessive foamy head, much like suds in a bath tub .... no substance. And the flavor was definitely not the same. Not sure if from different brewing batch. Have one more bottle at home. Hope that is like the first. If my last bottle is no good, will have to drop my ranking significantly.

Update: Feb 15, 2012

2nd bottle: suspect tasted better than 1st home bottle, but still not as good as original tasting event. Still had bath tub foam head. Really disappointed. Lack of consistency from Blue Hills.

Changed Reviews: Was all 4's (or better), now all 2.5 (below average0. Sigh.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2012 19:07:33 | More by KarlosT

Duhast500

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pored from a 22oz. bottle into a Sam Adams pint glass.

The color is a rusty dark copper with a finger and a half of foamy white head and some nice lacing left on the glass.

The smell is a little hops at first but there is some malty backbone coming out to hold things up for the complete first batch of this beer.

The taste is has some grassy flavor that is like some fresh cut grass with a thin malty background that even things out and has an anchor in the finish.

The feel of this beer is here at the finish. The mustles come out to push and shove but the hops and malt make it;s name here in this beer's flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 07:49:07 | More by Duhast500

IHC

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +46.6%

02-25-2012 02:11:04 | More by IHC

CP20

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +17.3%

02-20-2012 04:39:07 | More by CP20

Jason

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz brown bomber with no freshness date.

LOOK: Hazed reddish amber, towering off white head.

SMELL: Biscuity, dried grass, lemon pith, bread crust, yeast, hop spice

TASTE: Toasted malt, mild biscuit, grassy, semi-sweet, herbal hop, nutty yeast, mild spice, grainy finish

I appreciate what they are trying to accomplish here. Does it make for a easy drinking quaffable Altbier? Not as much, but it still stays as an interesting sipper. I'll keep on following this series to see how far they take it.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 03:32:36 | More by Jason

Wally1912

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -41.3%

02-20-2012 01:05:51 | More by Wally1912

BostonBrewins

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -12%

02-01-2012 21:13:58 | More by BostonBrewins

DrinkingDrake

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +17.3%

01-31-2012 02:00:55 | More by DrinkingDrake

mutd8710

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +17.3%

01-24-2012 18:23:03 | More by mutd8710

fortheunheard

New York

4/5  rDev +17.3%

01-19-2012 01:14:30 | More by fortheunheard

LeRose

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle purchased on recommendation of local beermonger. About 45 F. Labeled Anitmatter 3, no date.

Appearance was tan/burnt orange color, pretty hazy. Short, soapy looking head (biggish bubbles) when poured in SA perfect pint. Pleasant looking, actually.

Aroma was strong and pungent. Earthiness for sure, hoppy. Somehow reminded me of slightly moldy bread. Didn't really pick up any malty aroma, but I think it is there in the mix under the hops. Aroma was strong, almost objectionable at first but calmed considerably in a few minutes.

Taste seemed very hops-forward initially - wonder if that is right for the style? Resinous, strong bitterness. Kind of a thick mouthfeel that I liked. There's a lot going on in the flavor profile that I can't quite sort out - a lot of layers of flavors that linger and evolve as the bitter wears down. Get a little peppery tang as the bitter wears through. Nice little tingle on the tongue, pick up some sourness followed by the sweetness of the malt and maybe a little hit from the yeast. Eventually a clean finish but it took a bit of time.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 00:40:52 | More by LeRose

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +2.6%

01-05-2012 04:52:35 | More by mikereaser

morebeergood

Massachusetts

2.98/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I had a chance tonight to have a bottle of the new Anti-Matter release from Blue Hills. It's a German-style altbier, and the label says it's only brewed with Magnum hops and Munich malts. Poured into a stemmed glass. Light brown colored body with a hazy look. Medium white head and droopy lacing. I thought the aroma was unique, but not quite my personal favorite. It had a very earthy, vegetable smell, like a dirty tobacco plant. Taste was balance well between the pungent hops and the bready malt. Mouthfeel was on the thicker part of the spectrum, which I enjoyed, but was still smooth due to the low abv. This is an interesting release, and an all together completely different experience than the first two releases in the series.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 04:54:12 | More by morebeergood