Tuckerman Brewing Co., Headwall Alt

Tuckerman Brewing Co.
Grade: B+

An offwhite head tops a slightly hazy, auburn-colored beer. The nose has only a little of the lager sulfurs one might expect with an altbier. Mostly there are sweeter caramels and some toasty, bready aromas. The mouthfeel is fairly light, going down very easy. There's a good sweetness here, like a light caramel, but there is some hop bitterness in the background that counters it nicely. The body, while light, does carry some of the malty heft that you would want to find in this style of beer. While not going over the top by any means, the result is a very balanced, drinkable brew. On my recent trip to the brewery in New Hampshire, I found myself enjoying quite a few of these.

Tuckerman is a relatively small brewery that makes only three types of beer (for now). Their distribution footprint is very New England centric, focusing mostly on the New Hampshire markets. However this works very much to their advantage, as their beers and marketing focus on the local culture of New Hampshire heavily. The name "Tuckerman" is taken from a section of Mount Washington, which looms over the brewery and the town of Conway.

My friends and I decided to brave some of the trails of Mt. Washington and climb to Tuckerman Ridge, where we would stop and enjoy some of Tuckerman Brewery's offerings. Strangely, they tasted much better after ascending a few thousand feet.

Naturally, the trip back down was a lot more enjoyable than the trip up.