Saturday, October 1, 2011

Shipyard Double Old Thumper Ale


Double Old Thumper Ale, Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, Maine. "…the big brother of the British Grand Champion beer Old Thumper. Available in the United States under a unique arrangement between England's Ringwood Brewery and Shipyard Brewing Company, Double Old Thumper is a real beast of a beer. Created by Shipyard's master brewer Alan Pugsley, DOT is deep brown in color with a spicy hop aroma and a warming malty finish. This beer …blah, blah, blah…" 11.2 % ABV.


Bright ruby red look, beautiful, creamy, lacy head atop. Very inviting. Urges me onward.


Aroma: sweetness, with a sting. Full, rich malt, kept pace by bracing booze. Leathery, cognac-y, caramel and a cornucopia of fruit (apple, melon, berries.). Complex, and rewarding. Love it.


Taste: Boom! Bam! Pow! Comes out swinging, this one, explodes on the palate. Spills out flavors aplenty, coats the palate with thick, malt, and powerful hops. It's a thumper, all right, a mammoth, a doozy, a ring-dinger. It hums, it roars, it simmers just before it singes, it warms before it burns.


Absolutely formidable, intense, and amazing. So rich, so complex, so round, so fully packed. Bright, fierce, indomitable. Mmmm. I like this. Ought to pick up more for the winter months. It's coming. Gonna need a big, wooly, warming ale like this.

No comments: