ALTBIERE from the VCBW (Vancouver Craft Beer Week) - Parallel 49

The holy grail of the Vancouver Craft Beer Week (VCBW) is the highly anticpated Altbiere (5.8% ABV, 50 IBU). Why? Because 14 different breweries had a hand in crafting this altbier, which is supposed to top the Crooked Coast from Driftwood Brewery. That's definitely a difficult task if any.

What am I waiting for? Let's do this!

ALTBIERE from Parallel 49 (& Collaborators) for Vancouver Craft Beer Week

There's a picture of the bottle, in case you want to skip the review and go grab one right away. (Hint: You might want to do that before it sells out).

ALTBIERE from Parallel 49 (& Collaborators) for Vancouver Craft Beer Week

Okay, so I poured this baby into my glass, and it's beautiful. It's a very dark brown/amber and has excellent carbonation. I can see it in the side of the glass. There's a quarter inch of head and it doesn't just dissipate like other beers. This is a solid contender from the get-go.

On first sniff, I get hints of breads, caramel malt, and some greenery like grass or flowers or some plant stuff. I'm not the best with flowers. Gotta ask my girlfriend for that kinda stuff. Anyways, it smells incredible.

The first sip is surprisingly good. This is a true Altbier done in every possible way to keep it completely real. I don't know how to explain it in a better way. Girls: It's like buying that real $3000 bag for the price of a fake. Guys: It's like ordering a Hyundai from a dealership and getting a Lamborghini instead.

There is no overwhelming flavour; everything is well-balanced. It's like all the breweries got together and put the best of everything they have into one beer. This is remarkable. This is most definitely a sipper beer, for those who don't know a lot about altbiers.

The texture of the beer is quite dry, not overwhelming at all, and has a moderate thickness. Not too thin like a lager, and not thick like a porter.

Would I buy another? OF COURSE! This is probably one of the best beers I've ever had. It's on my top five for sure.

What are you waiting for? Go and get one before they're all gone!


The ALTBIERE from Parallel 49 (& Collaborators) gets a deliciously perfect 10 / 10