Simcoe Spring Ale

Beer Name: Simcoe Spring Ale
Brewery: Peak Organic Brewing Company
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Sept 2012

Peak Organic was having a beer tasting over at Ryan & Casey, so I figured I'd return some bottles and check out their wares. The tasting host was a very friendly guy, and I was the only person there are this particular time, so we got to talk about beer, and he got to hear the woeful tale of Kate's and my failure to procure any Peak beer at the 2010 Vermont Brewers Festival due to a thunderstorm. It is a very sad story. Also, I got a free pint glass because I ended up buying some Peak beer. Good times.

Simcoe Spring Ale is one of Peak's seasonal beers, and, despite spring having only just started, is about to be phased out in place of their summer brew. All these calendar shenanigans are a direct result of Sam Adams sending Summer Ale out at the beginning of April, and it's starting to annoy me. It's getting to the point where I need a beer spreadsheet to keep track of what seasonals are available when. Actually, that's not a terrible idea...

I'm getting sidetracked. Simcoe Spring is a slightly hazy copper beer that poured from the bottle with a nice fluffy head nearly two fingers high. (I did not drink the beer from my newly acquired pint glass, as that was hanging out in the packie and probably should be washed before use.) The head faded away fairly slowly, and it left a heavy lacing behind. The aroma is a bit hoppier than I remember it being at the tasting, but that could be because I tried the Hop Noir first, and its intense hoppiness dulled my senses. I'm getting some piney and citrusy hop notes, which makes sense given that this beer probably uses Simcoe hops. Unfortunately, this means that the beer I picked because I thought Kate might like it too is obviously going to fail in that department.

This is a nice citrusy beer, although the hop bitterness isn't nearly as much as the aroma might led you to believe. It's still hoppy, but it's an easily manageable amount of hoppiness. Maybe even someone who avoids hoppy beers would enjoy it. There's not really any maltiness here, so the hops have the whole stage to themselves. It's a fairly carbonated beer, but it's still pretty smooth. The finish is a little bitter, and there's a mild aftertaste of pine.

Final thought - Everything about this beer seems like it would be enjoyable in the gradually warming spring weather, which makes it baffling that it is around in January, February and March. I should probably write myself a note to pick some of this up next year and store it for later, but I am lazy and I won't. I will make a point of saying that this is a nice beer, and I would be glad to drink it again.

-Jon

Cadillac Mountain Stout

Beer Name: Cadillac Mountain Stout
Brewery: Bar Harbor Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Kate wants to go to Bar Harbor for a vacation. Since there is a brewery there, I'm up for it. We could do a mini Maine beer tour.

Cadillac Mountain Stout is a limited release, so it might be tough to find. This is a very black beer, all the way to the edges. It poured with a small head that faded away pretty quickly, leaving only a faint lacing behind for the first glass but a heavy amount for the rest of the bottle. Maybe it needed a little bit of moisture on the glass for the lacing to stick. There is a big roasted dark chocolate aroma here, which is pretty great.

The flavor here is very roasted, mostly chocolate although there is something else happening as well. Sort of like a grainy flavor, but with toast notes. Whatever it is, it seems to be working, as the beer is easy drinking. There is a only a low carbonation to this beer, so it's very smooth. A very light bitterness shows up for the finish, but the aftertaste is sweet and malty.

Final thought - There isn't anything that really stands out about this beer, but the whole thing is very delicious. It's like a basketball team where even though there isn't a superstar, they manage to keep winning games. This beer works well with food, but it's even better on its own where there isn't anything else to mess with its flavors.

-Jon

Oak Aged Mocha Stout

Beer Name: Oak Aged Mocha Stout
Brewery: Peak Organic Brewing Company
ABV: 8.4%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer is brewed with chocolate, gets coffee added to it during its conditioning, and then hangs out in an oak barrel which is supposed to impart some vanilla flavors. So basically this beer is some fancy stuff. So fancy, in fact, that the top of the bottle was wrapped in foil, which is annoying. Don't do that, breweries! Especially if you're going to adhere the foil with some sort of sticky adhesive. Now I can't add this Peak Organic cap to my collection.

The Oak Aged Mocha Stout is a velvety black beer. It poured with about a finger of head, which faded after a short time. The beer tried to leave a lacing pattern, but for some reason it just wouldn't stick. I think that may actually be a fault of myself as opposed to a fault of the beer, in that I may have not used a properly cleaned glass. I can live with that, because I have to. This beer smells fantastic, with great stout aromas of coffee and chocolate. I suppose maybe I can pick out some oaky notes in the aroma, but I think it's probably a psychological thing because I know the beer is oak aged.

This beer has some very complex things happening in its flavor. There are roasted coffee flavors (sort of like a burned flavor, but in a good way). There are chocolate flavors. I am also getting some very faint vanilla flavors. There is really a whole of stuff going on here, and all of it is pleasant. The beer has a light carbonation, and even with its fairly high ABV, it's nice and smooth. Bitter coffee takes the spotlight in the finish, and it has a light mocha aftertaste.

Final thought - I was a little skeptical after the first few sips, because the beer seemed like it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. Then it warmed up slightly, and it became amazing. I am a little embarrassed that I didn't think to give it a few minutes, what with it being a strong stout and all. Obviously a beer like that needs a chance to meld its flavors. What a rookie mistake. Also, I may have to rethink my position on barrel-aging beers after drinking this one.

-Jon

Full Throttle

Beer Name: Full Throttle Double IPA
Brewery: Sebago Brewing Company
ABV: 9.1%
Serving method: Draught beer in a goblet
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Again, I get a beer in a new and confusing glass shape (it's a goblet! Like I'm a king!!), so I don't really know how much beer I am getting. On the plus side, this beer had a surprisingly high alcohol content, so I would still be getting my money's worth if it wasn't a full pint.

Full Throttle Double IPA is a fairly dark IPA, with a deep coppery color. It arrived with very little head, but there was a thin ring around the outside that left a little bit of a lacing pattern behind. I am not positive, but I think that the etching pattern on the glass may have made it difficult for any lacing to remain for any long period of time. The aroma is a whole lot of hop, with both fruity citrus hops and piney hops distinctly noticeable. There also seems to be some kind of tropical fruit hops, and some malt as well. It's a complex aroma.

The flavor here is pretty hoppy, but it's not as hoppy as the aroma advertises. There just seems to be a conflict of hops going on. Maybe the hops are all big-flavored ones, and they don't know how to play nice together. There's definitely some kind of inconsistency happening in the flavor. The back of each sip has a nice malty flavor, so the sips are nicely balanced. The beer is lightly carbonated, which works well with the flavors.

Final thought - I like this beer, but there's something jarring about the combination of the different hops. It was very good with the food, but I'm not sure it would have worked on its own. Maybe a trip to Maine is in order for some more taste testing.

-Jon

Applehead

Beer Name: Applehead
Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company
ABV: 4.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Is this the spiritual successor to the widely loved Pumpkinhead? Only a bottle or two can answer that question.

Applehead is a sort of coppery beer. I guess the best description of its appearance would be that it looks like apple juice. You can try to force some head during the pour, but, much like its pumpkin cousin, this beer just does not produce any kind of head. And, it follows from that, it also doesn't produce any lacing. That's just how it goes with this type of beer. There is a strong spice aroma, sort of like an apple pie.

Hmm. I taste lots of spices, but I am not tasting much apple. If I really concentrate, I think I can convince myself that I'm tasting in the background. But it's definitely overpowered by the flavors of the spice. The beer is very lightly carbonated, and it's super smooth. If you enjoy the flavor, you could easily drink a bunch of these in a sitting.

Final thought - Needs more apple. It has a lot of apple pie spice flavor, but it's missing the actual apple. Not a bad beer, but not something I'd be looking forward to year after year.

-Jon

Pumpkinhead

Beer Name: Pumpkinhead Ale
Brewery: Shipyard
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Jan 2012

How did this not get a post last year? Did I skip all the beers in the Pumpkin Beer Breakdown? I might have since that was last August and Mmmm, beers! didn't launch officially until September. I guess I'll let it slide.

Pumpkinhead Ale is a golden orange beer that doesn't really look like or smell like beer. It doesn't really have much head or lacing, and it smells like a pumpkin pie. I have sadly learned that the pumpkin flavor in this beer is artificial, which made me a little bit sad. The aroma is just spices, most notably nutmeg I believe.

Much like the aroma, this beer tastes like a processed pumpkin pie. Which is not a bad thing. There is a little bit of pumpkin mixed in with the spices, and it's not very carbonated. This makes for a fairly easy-drinking beer. There is no hoppiness to this beer at all. I wonder if hops are even used in the brewing process. There's a slight aftertaste of spice, which makes sense since pretty much every step in consuming this beer is sort of dominated by the spices.

Final thought - I used to love this beer, and I still enjoy it, just not as much. When I learned that there are no actual pumpkins harmed in the making of this beer, things were slightly ruined for me. Especially when I learned about the organic pumpkin beer from Wolaver's. It's still better than a lot of the other pumpkin ales out there.

-Jon

Apricot Wheat

Beer Name: Apricot Wheat
Brewery: Sea Dog Brewing Company
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by... I forget. Sometime a long time from now.

I grabbed a Sea Dog mix-pack and a Magic Hat mix-pack to complement my chili, because nothing goes with chili like beer. Except for maybe beer and football. You know, if there is actually football next season. I believe I've covered most of the Magic Hat pack already, so the honor of being featured as the next new beer goes to Sea Dog's Apricot Wheat.

Since I drank this one straight from the bottle (my Mom's house as a disturbing lack of appropriate beer glassware), I couldn't get a great look at the beer's coloring. It seemed to be fairly light colored beer, but I can't be sure because of the brown bottle. The aroma was very strongly apricot, to the point of seeming a bit artificial. There was also a little bit of graininess in the background, but it wasn't very noticeable.

I can tell that beer snobs aren't going to like this beer. It has an apricot flavor to a ridiculous degree. Where #9 has a fairly subtle hint of apricots in the background, Apricot Wheat is all about it. I would guess that the apricot flavor is not from natural apricots. This beer is very sweet, and it doesn't have much carbonation. They could probably pass it off as an apricot soda.

Final thought - If you go in expecting a big beer here, you're going to be disappointed. This is just a sweet beer for the summer with an absurd amount of apricots. Sadly, too many people are only concerned with having imperial beers or double/triple IPAs to enjoy anything that isn't in the category. Enjoy Apricot Wheat for what it is: an enjoyable, easy-to-drink beer that isn't overly alcoholic.

-Jon

Blueberry Ale

Beer Name: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale
Brewery: Atlantic Brewing Company
ABV: 5.2%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle poured into a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by Feb 2011

I wonder who the first person was that decided that combining blueberries with beer might be a delicious idea. Obviously this man was a genius. I realize that it's pretty sexist to assume it was a guy, but I'm just playing the odds here. As they say, don't hate the player; hate the game. I am not exactly sure how that fits in here, but let's just go with it.

This particular blueberry offering comes from the folks who brought you Coal Porter: Secret Agent. It's an amber-esque colored beer with hardly any head. And that little bit is not there very long. I also did not get much lacing. Blueberry Ale smells mostly like blueberries. Big surprise. There is also a background smell of something grainy, which gives an overall impression of a blueberry muffin. That's good, as blueberry muffins are delicious.

The first sip is dominated by blueberry. Strangely, the berry taste faded as I continued drinking it. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The beer has a crisp taste from the carbonation, and finishes without an aftertaste. Very refreshing.

Final thought - As far as fruit beers go, this is a good one. I'd like to enjoy a few in the summer while sitting in Kathryn's hammock and pretending I'm not going to fall asleep. Hopefully I finish the beer first so that I don't spill it all over myself.

-Jon

Coal Porter

Beer Name: Coal Porter
Brewery: Atlantic Brewing Company
ABV: 6.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle poured into a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Coal Porter sounds like it could be the bad guy in an action movie. Or the good guy in a video game where you do a lot of shooting. Either way, it would be spelled "Cole Porter," but you get the idea.

Atlantic Brewing Company is a microbrewery in Bar Harbor, specializing in small-batch brewing and also soda. Mom and Chuck got us a sample pack (and also a 6-pack of root beer that was entirely consumed in my absence) during their delayed honeymoon, and that is exciting because it means new beers to try.

Coal Porter is a dark brown beer with a thin head and a whole lot of lacing. The lacing is so thick that it's practically not lacing, but rather more of a foamy cloud left behind on the glass. There is a deep roasted aroma with a hint of sweetness, probably chocolate.

It tastes like a porter. Obviously that's not very helpful, but if you know porters, you know what you're getting here. There's a brief taste of sweetness, and then the roasted bitterness at the end. Light carbonation in there as well. The ABC site claims that there is a subtle hop flavor to this beer, but I'm not getting it. Maybe it's because I am expecting the flavor of Cascade hops, and this one doesn't use those. The point is, there's not a whole lot of hops going on here, so don't be expecting major hoppiness. There's also a mild aftertaste that hangs around a bit after each sip.

Final thought - The Coal Porter is a good beer if you're looking for something heavy. It's got a fairly strong flavor, although it's not overpowering. I don't know when I'll ever get another one, but I'll be keeping on eye out for it.

-Jon

Old Thumper

Beer Name: Old Thumper Extra Special Ale
Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown, best by Dec 2010

So this beer has been hanging out in my fridge for a while for some reason or another, probably because I forgot about it or had other beers to drink or it was in the back behind some other beers and I couldn't see it. The point is, this is long overdue.

The first impression I get from this beer is that is sort of smells like bread. I am not sure if that's a possible beer smell, but there's something starchy going on here. Or grainy. Or buttery? Is that even a possibility? I really have to learn more about beer. Whatever goes on in bread is also going on here, ok?

The taste is alright. There's some breadiness happening here too. Maybe some malt or caramel as well. It's got a sweetness to it, but I don't know if it fits with the other flavors. There's also a medium carbonation in this beer, which is probably too much. I believe it would have been better if it had been a little flatter, like a British beer. Especially since this seems like a beer that is brewed in imitation of a British beer.

Final thought - I don't know, I just don't care for Old Thumper. I want to like it, because it has an awesome name. It's also got a sweet label, but those things don't really come into play here. I don't think I'll be drinking much more of this in the future, especially since Shipyard has some other stuff that is much better.

-Jon