Headless Man Amber Alt - Tyranena Brewing Company

ZAP

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Well the years have passed since my first experience with Tyranena and this beer deserved to be revisited.

I'll be brief....this is much better from the tap or growler than in the bottles I have had recently. Fresh this is outstanding....perhaps not as bitter as some but I prefer it that way...it is clean and clear looking....and has a clean, but smooth drinkability.

The taste has subtle bready and caramel notes. HIGHLY enjoyable to drink and one that would be a standby of mine if I lived in the area. One of the the better alts I have had.

---
7/7/2002
My first experience with this brewery is a good one...dark golen in color..pretty clear which this style should be...a nice creamy white lace....GREAT nose...grains/malt...and a herbal hop smell as well....the taste is nice...clean maltiness accented by a dry herbal hop finish....maybe a little too hopped up for my liking but I am still getting to know this style...definitely finishes on a dry note...a pretty nice little brew....thanks to Cokes via BigHugey for the beer..=4.1-Bottle

Serving type: growler

11-15-2008 04:52:44 | More by ZAP

mfnmbvp

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle, no bottled on date present. Purchased as part of Tyranena's The Legendary Collection assorted twelve pack, which says Packaged on 04/02/2013.

Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours a deep golden amber color, that's for sure. Half finger of white head that dies away extremely quick. No sediment, no carbonation showing.

S - The smell is very inviting. Smoked wood. Vanilla. Caramelized malts. Earthiness & a light creamy nutty smell.

T - Taste follows the nose, light cream, wood, earthiness, malt, a strong nutty characteristic not unlike peanuts.

M - Feel is smooth & creamy, light bodied, some brisk carbonation, and lightly bitter & dry in the aftertaste.

Overall, a nice beer from Tyranena. I don't know a whole lot about the style of altbier, but I do know that this one was better than the last one I had, Metropolitan Brewing Iron Works Alt. It's probably not a beer I would go out of my way to try again, but I'm glad I had the chance to try it. I'm liking what Tyranena is doing, and I enjoyed the blurb about the pyramids at the bottom of Rock Lake in Wisconsin. Sounds epic.

Tyranena Headless Man Amber Alt ---4/5.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 23:54:01 | More by mfnmbvp

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

(Served in a Nonic)
A- This beer pours a dense clear aged copper with a gentle carbonation and a thick deep beige head that turns bubble.

S- The dry woody malt has hints of woody green hops in the finish but the smell is pretty clean.

T- The watery flavor has some clean lightly toasted malt flavor with some cardboard oxidation note to follow. There is a green pine hint that lingers a bit.

M- This beer has a medium-light mouthfeel with a scrubbing fizz that covers some of the flavors.

O- This beer is a bit watery with some nice malt hints but also taste like it is a bit old.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 16:16:48 | More by rhoadsrage

rlee1390

Indiana

3.6/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A-Cloudy orange, not much carbonation or lacing.

S-Very malty, bread molasses caramel, sweet smelling.

T-Bland. Similar to the nose, malty bread some caramel and no bitterness.

M-Light to medium bodied, some to very little carbonation.

O-A bland boring beer. Other Altbiers (Long Trail's) were more complex but this one brought very little to the table.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 22:32:30 | More by rlee1390

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass

Appearance: amber in color, 1/4 inch head, clear, moderate carbonation

Smell: big toasted malt, toffee, and light roasted malt--smells wonderful

Taste: Biggest taste is toasted malt with some roasted malt and earthy bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium bodied, moderate carbonation, sweet start with a slightly bitter middle and a sweet end

Overall: A solid sessionable amber. Not a beer I would go for every day, but certainly once a month. It has a wonderful combination of toasted malt and earthiness.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 13:02:13 | More by tigg924

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.45/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from session notes.

Pours out a copper color with a flash head that dies back rapidly to a 3mm collaring ring of fizz, minimal lacing is present. The nose contains a light amount of toasted bread and nuttiness with just a nuance of ester fruitiness. Honestly, If it were my call I would have amplified that fruitiness level by about 15%. The flavor follows suit, but also has a faint herbal and grassy hop tone on the back end. Crisp, sharp carbonation on a medium body.

Another middle of the road offering from Tyranena.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 23:32:52 | More by WastingFreetime

dexterk1

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from into pint glass. Color is deep amber and head is a little small.
Odor is sweet, caramel and malt all in one.
Taste is of malt at first and then comes some toffee and coffee. Finishes with a little hop bitterness, but this is more of an afterthought.
Mouth feel is light, but still has some smoothness. It also coats the tongue.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 22:34:27 | More by dexterk1

tvv375ia

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

poured from 12oz bottle into pilsner glass

A-light burnt orange color with a 2 finger off white head that stayed around for awhile before fading

S-some malt with some doughy bread and some fruits, maybe fruitcake

T- some smoky malt with a slight dark fruit finish

M-light carbonation leaving it a little watery

O-its ok, not anything I would go out of my way to get, but definitely wouldn't turn one down

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 01:57:01 | More by tvv375ia

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Trying the Headless Amber Alt from Tyranena. The beer is v ery interesting....at least for me. The beer is clear rich amber in color and the decent carbonation forms a nice thin head which seems to be lacing nicely. The smell is sweet belgium malt/sugar. The taste includes an earthy zest, almost comes across with a coffee bean zest. There is definite malt and hint of sweetness. The mouthfeel is good, at 5% ABV, it has a huge flavor, and would be a good session beer if you like malty/earthy/peat/coffee tones.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2011 03:44:32 | More by WoodBrew

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

On tap at the brewery. Amberish colour and a small head. Neutral aroma. Lots of caramel, little bitterness. Low carbonation. Not so drinkable. A tad of complexity, caramel,coffee grounds, chocolate, and some spice, but need more complexity. Good ideas not well executed.

Serving type: on-tap

09-08-2011 23:30:06 | More by northyorksammy

JLeege

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From notes. Poured into a stange.

Appearance- Pours a sunset orange, with a small, and fairly quickly dissipating head.

Smell- Caramel, toffee, a touch of campfire smoke, and a bit doughy.

Taste- Caramel and toffee again at the start. Toasted bread, with some subtle jumbled dark fruits, and a slight popcorn taste towards the finish.

Mouthfeel- Medium body with good carbonation, very smooth.

Overall- I think it is a very solid altbier, haven’t had one in years, and this was pretty enjoyable, and you could definitely session this. I would probably drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 23:24:32 | More by JLeege

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.38/5  rDev +21%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle into a Duvel tulip. 4.0/4.5/4.5/3.5/4.5

A: Crystal clear red-orange body with a finger of coarse, creamy off-white head. Ok retention, light lace. Attractive.

S: Intense, aromatic nose of nuts, fruit (grape in particular), toffee, and molasses. A touch of spicy, herbal hops. Luscious maltiness. Great.

T: Follows the nose – robust, sweet, nutty maltiness dominates, with just a hint of bitterness on the finish. Delicious.

M: Fairly light bodied with light, soft carbonation. Ok.

O: This was probably the best Altbier I’ve ever had: it was simple, rich, balanced, and utterly enjoyable. I could see making this a regular in my fridge if I lived in Wisconsin, as it would be a perfect spring or fall choice – flavorful enough to hold one’s interest, crisp enough to drink several. For the summer it was a trifle heavy, but still a terrific beer. By far the best I’ve had from Tyranena.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2011 23:12:38 | More by woosterbill

Blakaeris

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours red-orange in color. Head is a thin soapy sheen that leaves no lacing.

Aroma is slightly smokey dark grain bitterness up front. Then an odd mix of chocolate, caramel and oxidized mineral character takes over. Unusual.

Taste is grainy malt sweetness with a touch of citrus fruit up front. Then the chocolate makes an appearance with the addition of dry woody tannins. Finishes with more of the unusual oxidized mineral character and earthy bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied. Slightly sticky.

Overall a drinkable malty session beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2011 00:47:42 | More by Blakaeris

bashiba

Iowa

3/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a dirty copper color with a light soap ring of a head and some yeasty sediment.

The nose is light and toasty malt with a touch of sourness.

The flavor follow the nose quite closely with a nice toasted and bready malt flavor up front with just a hint of sourness in the finish.

The mouthfeel is light with a lingering tartness in the finish.

Its ok overall, clearly a bit flawed with the lingering sourness, but it almost adds a little something that would otherwise be missing.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2011 00:28:25 | More by bashiba

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.08/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

again i have to give huge thanks to dave for all of these fantastic tyreanna extras. i never would have guessed i would be able to try all of these. muchas gracias.

The pour was standard fare, light amber in color with copious amounts of carbonation bubbling up toward the surface throughout. Nice white head on top, maybe an inch and a half before settling down to coat the inside of the glass for a minute. Interesting aroma, mix of grains, light bready malts, and a touch of a grassy, herbal hoppiness. Nothing crazy here but nicely balanced. Same could be said for the flavor, nice pale taste, light bready notes balancing a herbal sort of hop. Lightly sweet with a decent amount of carbonation, this one could go down like water.

Overall not bad. I am not really sure one would look for this one in any way, but you really cannot complain too much about it

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 01:53:12 | More by mikesgroove

secondtooth

Indiana

3.73/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Clean amber, with full head (contrary to the name, hah!). Nice bicycle-spoke lacing.

Nose is buttery bread, biscuity. Very nice.

Taste is smooth toast and honey. Sweet and malty, but not overbearingly so.

Overall, I give this one props as a fine session ale, enjoyable and well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2011 14:10:44 | More by secondtooth

TCMike

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass. It produced a one finger light tan head, which quickly dissipated. It was a medium caramel/honey color.
The aroma was of malts, honey, and bread.
The taste was of bread, slight honey sweetness, mild malts, and just barely a hint of hops.
It has a lower medium mouth-feel, and low carbonation.
It is tasty, and easy drinking, but not a beer to rave about.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 22:17:28 | More by TCMike

aasher

Indiana

3.48/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Finally, my first Altbier! This one pours a cloudy dark amber in color with a white lacing around the glass. The aromas are very sweet. I'm picking up a lot of malt with light yeast. There is also some dark fruit apparent. The taste too is of sweet maltiness. It has a little fruityness to it but they're hard to define. It's kind of like a potpourri. It drinks medium in body and isn't too bad. It isn't too good either. This seems like a wannabe Belgian. It definitely doesn't seem German. This one is average at best. I'll have to try the Uerige Sticke next.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 03:42:07 | More by aasher

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear coppery amber, with a couple thick foamy fingers of shiny off-white head. There's a rich and frothy look to the retention here, leaving back robust soapy lacing that coats the sides of the glass. The aroma is grassy, with some green citric hops. Notes of caramel and bread mix in with the fruitier character here to add an earthy tanginess to the nose.

The taste is similar, being sweet and tangy up front with caramel and bread. Earthy hops initially balance this out well but then come off a bit too strong in the finish, leaving back a dry gritty bitterness that sticks in the mouth. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a sharp crispness that mostly stays easy and smooth on the palate. The overall feel definitely helps here.

I liked the mellow blend fruit and sweetness here and the body helped keep this approachable but the hop profile just seemed to come get in the way a bit too much, leaving this with an unbalanced feel overall. This is an interesting Alt for sure. I'd be willing to give it another look sometime.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2011 16:40:53 | More by Kegatron

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Another beer thanks to my brother's random buying habits. (Lovin' it.) It pours a sunrise russet-amber topped by a half-finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises mild toffee, very light buttery biscuits, light greens, and a hint of orange peel. It's all meek and ineffective. The taste holds notes of grass, wheat, light orange peel, very light buttery biscuits, and greens. With all the meekness, this beer must be inheriting a larger portion of the Earth than others. Not only is it mild, though, but it's overly grassy and leafy, with nothing else going on. Kinda odd, if you ask me. The body is a straight medium, with a just-under-moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a sad beer, one that just doesn't seem to accomplish anything but disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2011 08:00:44 | More by TMoney2591

richkrull

Wisconsin

3.25/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I might be a little partial since this beer is brewed in Lake Mills only a couple miles from where I live. Pretty good beer. Good flavor throughout. Light head that dissipated quickly.

All of the Tyranena beers have good names, artwork and stories on the bottles and this one is no different. I enjoyed this beer and would recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 01:24:09 | More by richkrull

cooch69

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This brew poured an amber-orange with some very light brown tones. It had a small head which broke up pretty fast.
Nose consists of caramel, biscuity malts and a faint herbal hoppiness.
Taste is biscuits soaked in caramel. It is semi sweet upfront but the finish brings out some dryness. There is a small amout of hoppiness waiting to be noticed at the very end.

All in all this brew was lighter side of medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation and a semi creamy texture.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2010 02:14:13 | More by cooch69

chicano4craft

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a nice clear amber with a small white head.

Nose is mostly sweet. Toffee and a little cherry.

Smooth taste. Good carbonation. Sweet with a slight bitterness. Decent.

Nothing special but enjoyable. Easy drinking and refreshing. I wish I could describe the taste and smell better...but I don't get very much.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2010 01:00:07 | More by chicano4craft

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a moderate amber color with a bit of an off white head and some mild lacing. The nose brings forward some mild sweetness with a bit of caramel and bread. The taste doesn't bring much more--a bit of dough, caramel, and toffee. The body is light to medium with decent depth. Drinks okay, but not a terribly eventful beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2010 01:57:07 | More by Thorpe429

scaliasux

Wisconsin

3.4/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Amber. Clear. Medium off white head with good retention.

Smell - Light sweet roasted malt aroma. A little yeast. No detectable hops.

Taste - Opens with a brief light malt taste then turns quite bitter. Burnt toast or dark chocolate bitter. Not much in the way of hops. Leaves something of an aftertaste. Has a watery character.

Mouthfeel - Medium and smooth.

Drinkability - I'm not crazy about this beer. It's something different and it has that trademark Tyranena fun about it, but I'm not sure I'd purchase this again. Maybe its the style.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2010 04:02:25 | More by scaliasux