Tuckerman Headwall Alt
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Loading ...The last time I climbed a mountain is well documented (feel free to read all about it here). But Mount Monadnock, the New Hampshire bunny slope I so triumphantly scaled, simply cannot compare to the reigning New Hampshire beast — Mount Washington.
Mount Washington is the kind of place where, all winter long, record-setting temperatures are recorded by some unlucky fellow whose mother never needs to remind him to stay buttoned up. Outside of getting one of the tacky “This Car Climbed Mt Washington” bumper stickers that plague New England, I’ve never come up with a good reason to visit Mount Washington. That is until now, when I discovered the Tuckerman Brewing Company in Conway, NH.
Named for Tuckerman’s Ravine, the brewery aims to brew beer inspired by the “majestic solitude and beauty” of the legendary Ravine. By the way, if anyone knows why the Ravine is so legendary, please comment and let me know!
From the Tuckerman website:
Tuckerman Brewing Co. is committed to excellence in brewing. All Tuckerman beers are bottle conditioned and dry hopped to ensure a fully flavored, well balanced beer with a floral hop aroma. Using an age old German brewing method called “krausening”, Tuckerman Ales are naturally carbonated in the bottle, thanks to the injection of a small amount of fermenting wort to finished, filtered beer, just prior to packaging. This results in a secondary fermentation in the bottle that gives the beer a delicate carbonation as well as ensuring the beer will have well balanced flavors.
I’ve never had an Altbier before, and this simply tastes like a mild brown ale to me. It’s hard to judge without a frame of reference, but after a little research on Alts, it seems like this Headwall Alt may not be a good representation of the style.
The beer poured darkly, foaming a thick head that sent cascades through the dark brown body. Held up to the light, the dark, cloudy beer turned the color of wet rust, and I just barely made out the wisps of spent yeast floating near the top like a hidden nebula. The aroma is toasty, roasted malt, and the flavor carries through with the toasty, nutty malt.
Hops don’t play a very noticeable role in the taste. The bottle says the beer is dry hopped, but the hops are not translating to a strong flavor. The bitterness that characterizes Altbier is missing, but the smooth malt is front and center.
According to the label:
Tuckerman Headwall Alt is our interpretation of a German Style Brown Ale, brewed using the finest German malts and hops. It’s dry hopped and naturally carbonated in the bottle, thanks to a small amount of fresh fermenting word we put into the final filtered beer. This ale-old conditioning process creates a “live” beer, with just a little yeast remaining in the bottom of the bottle.
So which is it? An Alt, or a Brown? Or is an Alt also a Brown? And speaking of Alton Brown, what’s up with his hair in that Welch’s commerical?
Whatever style you want to call this beer, it looks great, has a very smooth taste, and is easy to drink. With beer like this at the base of the mountain, why would anyone be silly enough to climb to the top?
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