Saint Arnold Altared Amber

Here at Pub Hub out here in Katy. Feeling good that I didn't have to drag so much ass to the inner loop for this beer. For those not in Houston, the Movable yeast series is a series of beer from Saint Arnold where they take their regular line-up of beers with the same malt and hops bill, but with different yeast. The first one I found OK, the Lawnmower with a German Hef yeast.

Beer log: Right now

Saint Arnold Amber

Nice toasty amber ale flavor. The aroma is a touch more metallic than I remember. High carbo out of the bottle, good and tingly. Light moderate hop aftertaste. Has a nice amber color to it, maybe some chill haze but that could be from just bottle storage and whatnot. I always like that English Muffin thing and whatnot.

Saint Arnold Altared Amber

Finally. Ooh that's a nice clear amber color (on draft) with a strong belgian clove and banana nose. Taste is rather belgiany. The American hops with the belgian ester yeast flavor kinda reminds me of those American-Belgo IPA I like so much, just toned down a little bit. Very tasty. Has a nice mixture with the harsh hops and whatnot that sits well on some sips and not so well on others. The body is a touch smoother and the carbo is a little less choppy, but of course that could be attributed to the difference b/t draft and bottle. I lose some of the English muffin and malt character that I get with the unaltered amber until the beer warms up. I would consider the regular Amber of this one if I had to choose which one they continued to keep in rotation.

I'll need to grab a bottle somewhere, but it seems like a stronger version of (dare I say it) Stella Artois. Getting a sampler of Stella right now...

Stella Artois
Crystal clear and simple. Oh no, not even close. Tastes like the Budweiser Movable Yeast series. I can see the belgo influence in Stella, but it won't work. Forget I mentioned it.

Overall impression: I still find it amazing that yeast has THAT much affect on a beer. If someone told me they put some clove in this beer, I would have believed it. 3 Stars for both the regular and altared ambers, though I prefer the regular amber. Keep 'em coming baby.