Shipyard Brewing Co’s Old Thumper – Review #0005

It has been at least 10 years since I’ve last had an Old Thumper and I have to say it has been too long. This ESB once held an esteemed place in my heart and was a regular brew in my weekend rotation. A recent listing of regional winners in All About Beer magazine resurrected my interested in this beer so I picked up a six pack tonight on my way home from work.

Old Thumper pours a slightly opaque orange/caramely color with a mousey head that quickly dissolvers to not much more than a ring around the glass. Strong aromas of browns sugar and rum dominate this beer with hints of hard candy and spice (not unlike a root beer hard candy).

A dry, fairly light mouth feel that leaves a prickly sensation on the tongue. Malty, with hints of dark bread crust and caramel with a lingering hop resign aftertaste. A seemingly authentic and traditional ESB well worth a try.

Glassware and Sam Adams Noble Pils

Last night my wife, daughter, and I stopped at our local pub for dinner and was pleased to see they had the new Sam Adams Noble Pils on tap. I enjoyed it but found it hard to critique as I was eating dinner, had my daughter in my lap, and they served it in a frozen pint glass.....argh frozen glasses are a real pet peeve of mine. No beer should ever be served in a frozen glass, especially one that boasts hop flavor. So, sorry to say there is no review of the Noble Pils, however for all the unrefined beer drinkers here is an excellent link to an article on proper glassware from BeerAdvocate.

Mikkeller’s All Others Pale – Review #0004

I’ve been wanting to try Mikkeller’s All Others Pale for some time now and finally took off the skirt and picked it up this past weekend. I enjoyed it and would pick it up again. As always I try and expose my wife to good beer and she, true to fashion, dismissed it as terrible; she really doesn’t like hoppy beer.

All Others Pale comes right out of the gate with a huge candi sugar aroma followed up with a bready/biscuit backbone. It's a radiant, hazy, light orange to the eye that, once settled, has a long lasting thick head with aromas of bready malts and citrus, specifically orange, grapefruit and nectarines.

The flavor is very complex and rapidly changes as it warms up. My initial sip offered a dry mouth feel with almost an astringent hop character that very quickly faded to a silkiness on the tough not unlike a vanilla cream soda. Once warmed up that same silkiness becomes more reminiscent of a dry cracker, and a strong, herbaceous hop character. Over all a very complex pale ale reminiscent of an American style but distinctly European.

Electric HERMS vs RIMS

Now that my brew system is up and running again I’ve been contemplating some future moves. Propane is a pain in the neck and I would love to go all electric, would be nice to have my daughter join me out side on a nice brew day, but my eclectic is 120v so I’m limited. As a small half step upgrade I’ve been kicking around the idea of a small HERMS or RIMS set up for step mashing or mash outs. I’ll be picking up a 5 gallon beverage cooler tomorrow from someone on Freecycle and I’ll be stashing it away for a while until I decide what to do…hell, it’s free why not.

21A’s Monk’s Blood – Review #0003

From the 21A:
"Monk's Blood is the first installment in our new Insurrection Series, a limited edition, four-pack release of a very special beer that rises up in revolt against common notions of what canned beer can be. A Belgian dark-strong, brewed with dried mission figs, Belgian dark candy sugar, vanilla beans and aged over oak chips comes in at 8.3% ABV available in 4-pack cans and on draft at your favorite good beer place."

First let me say this beer really delivers as promised and does not disappoint. Pours a gorgeous dark ruby red with an off white, dare I say linen white, head that just cascaded down the glass as I enjoyed this beer.

Initial aroma impressions are similar to a dark fruit bread: stone fruits (cherries and plums) with raisins and figs; notes of vanilla, hard candy and a sourness not unlike a Flanders’s Brown all underpinned by dark bread.

Medium bodied with a dry, mildly hoppy, earthy/spicy finish. It tastes malty and bready with currents, cherries, figs, and hints of spice; no sourness or acidic flavors as indicated by the aroma. The oak is not over done and is barely noticeable, perfectly balanced; adds a subtlety that almost can’t be placed.

Over all a fine example of a Belgian Dark Strong; I wouldn’t go so far as to say a true classic example….more of a classic example that leans toward an American interpretation. Well done 21A, well done indeed.

Weekend score

My sister-in-law got me a $25 gift certificate to Shoreline Beverage in Huntington, NY. It's one of the better, if not the best, beer distributor in the area near my Mother's house on Long Island. Has a very large selection of American Craft Brews as well as some hard to find imports.

I was able to get there over the weekend while visiting the Fam for my wife's birthday. Picked up a 4 pack of 21A's Monk's Blood, a bomber of Herculie's IIPA by Great Divide, a bomber of Mikkeller's All Others Pale, and an Avery The Beast. I've had both the Monk's Blood and the Herculie's before and both are excellent beers. Stay tuned for the reviews.