- Product Reviewed: Schumacher Alt
- Brewed By: Brauerei Ferdinand Shumacher, Dusseldorf, Germany
- Form Reviewed: draft at Goldene Kessel, Bolker Strasse, Düsseldorf
- Date Reviewed: April, 2001
- Style: Düsseldorfer Altbier
- Added to the Tasting Notebook: July 26, 2002
Initial Impressions:
This is the fourth, and final review of standard Altbier. In the past, I have reviewed Zum Uerige, Im Füchschen, and Zum Schlüssel. This coming October, I will attend stickenacht at Zum Uerige, and post the results. While my first experience with stickenacht was in October 2001, I was enjoying myself too much to take notes. By the time that one of the stickewarriors at the table reminded me to take notes on the beer, neither my palate nor my attention span were going to comply.
This review is briefer than the prior three, which include more detailed information on the production and serving of Altbier. While the Schumacher brewery itself is located outside the Altstadt, it has an outlet at the Goldene Kessel on Bolker Strasse within the Altstadt. Also located on Bolker Strasse -- indeed directly across the street -- is Zum Schlüssel. Neither are hard to miss. I took these notes on Schumacher on April 14, 2001, in the delightful company of Steve Jackson and my partner Michelle. I had previously visited this Schumacher outlet in July of 2000.
To my eye, the Schumacher poured the lightest of the four Alts, though the seperation in color is narrow. All four can be described as dark amber to red. It shares the same general characteristics in the glass as the other three, with a fluffy light tan head due largely to the beer being dispensed by gravity from a cask. Head retention for the Schumacher is excellent.
Nose:
Schumacher has a light noble floral hop aroma, with perhaps mineral hint beneath the hop.
Flavor:
The flavor opens light and a bit on the thin side. The floral hop characteristically builds in the middle of the palate, balanced by an equally light maltiness. The flavor profile is clean, with only malt and hop present, and no estery fruitiness, gummy sweetness, or diacetyl butter to muck up the beer, the latter of which are common in U.S. produced Alts. The mineral note suggested by the aroma underlies the flavor profile, and this beer finishes ever so slightly bitter.
Final Analysis:
I found the Schumacher the most subtle of the four brewpub Alts in Düsseldorf, by some distance, and the least distinctive. Uerige is, to my mind, the best overall. While it may be slightly out of balance to the hop, the distinctive flavors in Uerige are what sets it apart with a solid maltiness supporting the larger hop. Some will disagree, but I found Uerige to be sublimely balanced. The Füchschen I found not to blend well at all, with the most distinctive isolated hop component. The Schlüssel had perhaps the most distinctive hop flavor with its resiny profile. Nothing to my mind stands out in the Schumacher when contrasted with this crowd. However, it is still a very good beer, and the convenient location of its altstadt outlet makes it a must.
Rating:
(Very good on my 5-star scale)
