Atlantic Mount Desert Island Ginger

Brewed by Atlantic Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Bar Harbor, Maine USA

For a specialty flavored beer, this ranks among one of my ultimate favorites. You cannot beat pairing Thai food with any other beer...

This is a wheat beer by style, that is spiced with fresh ginger root. It is brewed with pale and wheat malts, then hopped with Target and Golding hops. Now here is where it get interesting. During the boil 20lbs of fresh, ground ginger root is added, giving this already outstanding beer, another dimension. Fresh ginger root is pungent in aroma, and hot and spicy on the palate. Novices to ginger being used in a beer might be shocked, but I can assure you it is a very pleasant surprise. Island Ginger pours to a beautiful, bright, deep golden color with a thick white head and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is fantastic with a potent punch of spicy ginger aroma. The palate is firm with a really nice tart, thirst quenching wheat character paired with a very apparent hot and spicy ginger flavor. Island Ginger finishes with more tart wheat malt up front, then ends with a spicy ginger heat that warms and tickles the throat as it goes now. A fantastic beer just perfect for the warmer months, and a phenomenal beer to match with Asian inspired fare such as Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, or Indian.

Cloudy orange. Crisp, clean and nicely hopped. Lots of tart wheat and spicy ginger, but not overly done. Very refreshing, even in ice cold weather. A sure fire palate cleanser.

Pours a hazy copper, sediment present in the glas, coating the bottom and floating around. Thin tan head with some light lacing. Smells of grassy malt, ginger and some yeasty fruitiness. Taste is also that grassy malt backed with a solid ginger bite. I feared the ginger may overwheln the beer and the palate but happily that is not the case. Quite well balanced with the spice assisting not dominating the overall flavor. Crisp and light to medium bodies. An easy drinker as well. A pleasant surprise, would be nice on a cool spring evening.

It pours an opaque orange-amber with a fairly thick off-whitehead. Aroma is rich and malty with a strong undertone of orange. Flavor is crisp and malty, somewhat citrus fruity, with just a whisper of hops. It goes down smoothly and is very refreshing and delightful.

When you pour it the first thing you notice the sediment which catches your eye. at first sip, it gives a punch to the taste-buds and stay with you. Gives off impression of orange and ginger, and honey. Drink this one in moderation

I was told that this one was being locally used to barbeque steak with. That sounds like something this one could potentially be applied to. On tap at the brewery. Poured dark gold with almost no head to speak of. Smelled strongly of ginger and wheat. Taste was strange with some clove notes that numbed my tongue a bit along with ginger holding up strong on the finish.

Ginger Beer...the non-alcoholic version is one of my favorite potables. How does this compare...quite favorably.
The aroma of this amber wheat was moderate in strength and quite spicy. The taste was surprisingly balanced, with the ginger taking the place of hops. The spiciness in the finish was welcome and quite bearable. At the very least, it cleanses the palate for another beer.