Atlantic Bar Harbor Real Ale

Brewed by Atlantic Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Bar Harbor, Maine USA

I am not sure what makes this a real ale as opposed to a fake ale. Light in body and low in hop bitterness makes for a nice malty ale to drink on a Maine like Saturday afternoon (Cool and Cloudy With a Chance of Rain). Overall, a nice intro into darker beer, for people who say they don’t like dark beer

POurs a medium brown/amber with a nice tan head. The aroma hints at some darker brews. I smell nut and malt. And some hops. Also a smoky-roasty quality. the first sip is a little watery with some roasted nut and malty flavor. It is sweet with a trace of hop bitterness in the finish. I seem to taste a little sour aftertaste.

Bottle (12oz). Via trade with Ruggedman. Clear amber with a decent creamy white head. Light roast malt aroma, a little dry, some floral hops and a hint of cocoa. Taste follows the nose, maybe a bit of grapeseed bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is average body, slightly watery, a little too flat, slightly astringent - pleasant, nothing special - a decent mild brown ale.

12oz bottle pours light brown with a short offwhite head that stayed pretty well. Aromas of caramel, roasted malts, and a touch of chocolate also some light nuts. Flavor is caramel, a bit of chocolate, some nuts and some hops on the finish. Palate is medium bodied and pretty smooth to drink. Not bad at all for a brown.

Brown, aroma of light hops and roasted malt. flavor of roasted malts and tonic water and a hint of hops. This beer lost flavor as it warmed. not exciting but drinkable.

I was very impressed with this beer. It looked nice, dark with a little head. The taste was strong, but not overpowering, well-balanced and delicious. Brown ales are generally not my thing, but I’d make an exception for this one any day.

On draught at the brewery in Bar Harbor, this beer is incredible. It pours at a number of bar and restaurants in Bar Harbor, and is the most popular draught beer on Mt. Desert island in Down East, Maine. Stylistically this beer is billed as a Nut Brown Ale, but it tastes more like a Mild to me, and a very good one. Bar Harbor Real Ale pours to a beautiful, slightly murky brown color with a nice tan head that fades, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is excellent with lots of good sweet malty and nutty malt aromas. The palate is full, but by no means hefty, with good sweet malt, pale, and nutty malt flavors. Some light flavors of estery fruit play a supporting role. This beer finishes with more good sweet and nutty flavors up front, then ends with just enough flowery hop bitterness to balance the cloying nature of this beer out. Contract bottled version from Ship Yard is quite good as well, but not as impressive as the Atlantic Coast brewed version in Bar Harbor. Well worth seeking out if you are in Maine, or markets where Bar Harbor Real Ale is sold.

Pours dark brown, near black with ruby hues and a thin fully receding tan head. Aroma of dark fruits, bready malts, sweet caramel, and slight metallic notes. Taste is raisins and dusty yeast with a hint of roasty malt. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with smooth carbonation. Simple, one-dimensional with some yeasty off-flavors.