Rhine Heights - Vintage Brewing Company

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Looks like Vintage Brewing has got themselves an Altbier!

The info blurb in the beer menu states:
1.054 OG 43 IBU 5.7%ABV
"A throwback German Amber Alt with refined noble hop presence and a smooth mellow character."

Well, I'd better find out if this brew behaves as promised.

Ordered on tap, it was served to me in a tall slender glass that was sort of halfway between the taper of a pilsner glass and the traditional columnar shape of a stange. Appears on the darker brownish side of the amber color spectrum, no visible haze and a one and a half finger white head that receded to a thin foam slick in about five minutes without leaving lacing behind.

Sure enough, I smell the classic peppery spice sprinkled on a moist earthern basement floor that noble hops bring to the table. As it warms up, it gains a pleasing smokey haze to the scent and a mild overtone of alcohol booziness.

The taste follows the nose, with the addition of some mild floral hop zing that I didn't detect in the nose for some odd reason. The biscuity and toffee malts are pleasantly sweet to my tongue, yet well grounded by the high levels of earthy-toned noble hops. The hops and malts do indeed fit well with the Altbier stlye.

I'm not sure what to think of the mouthfeel. One the one hand, I find myself wanting to award bonus points for the extremely silky smooth and well carbonated medium-bodied character of the texture, but on the other hand, I also find myself having to subtract points for an annoying greasy oiliness that accumulated up gradually as I worked my way through the glass. Its...mildly buttery in texture is the best way I can describe it. And that is very much a double-edged sword. If only the beer had the heavier body, the higher gravity malt and hops bill of a "sticke" styled Altbier I would have called the oiliness completely appropriate. But as is, it comes across as distracting. And it is worth emphasizing that this oiliness is the ONLY thing I could really find a fault with in this beer, and I'm being sort of nitpicky about it. Everything else about this brew is quite well done.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2011 18:00:52 | More by WastingFreetime