Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Alt Route Altbier (brewed with Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, Pennsylvania)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 06/04/14)
Style/ABV: American-style Altbier, 6.6%

Reported IBUs: 50

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

Alt Route Altbier is brewed with Victory Brewing Company. My bottle reads: "Brewers are notorious for refusing to take the easy path. Alt Route is a tribute to the stubborn spirit that drove us to dodge the status quo and build breweries of our own. Together we chased the siren song of beer with this revamped take on an antique beer style."

Alt Route Altbier 

This one pours a dark penny-copper color, producing massive, three-plus fingers of caramel-tinted head. The body is reddish-brown in bright light, with lots of lively streams of carb. The head retention is excellent, and so is the lacing.

The aroma here is a bit of a departure from the rest of the 2014 Beer Camp, with spicy bready notes and caramel sweetness. I'm getting rye, cinnamon, caramel, sweet dark fruits, toffee, Twizzlers, aged Doppelbock notes, and deep bready caramels. The aroma is nice.

This tastes amazing, with bready notes, Twizzlers, caramel sugars, spicy breads, and big spicy hops. The back end is bitter rye bread and rich pumpernickel, fruit bread, licorice, and Twizzlers. 

You would never guess this is 6.6%....it is one of those malt bombs that could go either way: higher or lower ABV. Palate depth here is the only shortcoming, with some watery moments. Otherwise, this medium-bodied banger is super complex with tons of malts and good hop support. Up front: water to malty, transitioning to big bready notes, rye, pumpernickel, Twizzlers; the mids dial up huge Scotch-Ale like breads and malts, more rye, more pumpernickel; the back is balanced with hops. This finishes with lingering bread and Twizzlers. Toasted notes are all over the place. I love this Old Ale/Scotch Ale/Bock thing. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'll go a Strong Above-Average here. I'd go higher if not for those watery moments...oh well. This was still one of my favorites from the 2014 Beer Camp. Such a fun beer with a small footprint...I guess it's not the size of the ship, right.

Random Thought: I'd pair this one with a pretzel bun burger or a pastrami on rye sandwich. Yum.