Atlantic SOB Special Old Bitter Ale

Brewed by Atlantic Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Bar Harbor, Maine USA

One of the best beers i had while in Maine. I loved the crisp hops. Great summer beer for the hop lover.

Draft at McKay’s Public House. Very nice bitter with a good balance of hops and malts. It is clean and crisp as advertised — a nice summer beer. Clear copper body with a good-sized off-white head that diminished but didn’t disappear. Hoppy aroma of fruit with floral notes. Some malty grain, lightly toasted, and caramel. The flavor is lightly sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. The finish is moderately bitter. Medium body with a watery texture and lively carbonation. Easy to drink more than one.

Draught at the brewery. Pours medium brown with a thin off-white head. Nose is sweet caramel and a bit of citrus, not big. Taste is somewhat sweet caramel up front, with a citrus hop presence emerging very quickly and asserting a nice firm citrus and lightly resiney pine bitterness that really attaches itself to your palate. Moderate carbonation over a medium body. Decent take, fairly balanced, somewhere between an English bitter and an American Pale in hop character. Bonus points to Atlantic for serving this, and all of its beers at its brewpub, at almost the perfect serving temperature.

22 oz bomber purchased at Super Saer Pennington and shared with jimmack and joeec. Poured a clear reddish orange with an average size frothy light beige head. Aroma of grainy biscuit, chocolate notes and malts. Medium to slightly full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and average carbonation. Flavor starts off with an initial sweet burst but then the malts take over with slight chocolate notes, and lots of grainy biscuit and brown bread. This was one very solid beer that I really enjoyed.

En fût. Verre de dégustation chez Knox Road Grill (Bar Harbor, ME). Arôme: Odeur d’houblon herbacé avec une pointe de céréales grillées. Apparence: La couleur est ambrée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel avec une pointe d’houblon. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de caramel en arrière goût. (Rating #1784)

Thanks to Ian for this. Pours a deep brown copper color with a huge head. For an ESB, this is an insane head. Very grassy, hoppy, bready malt aroma. Taste is more of a sour bitter apple than and english beer with lots of bitter hops and bready malt. Finishes with a bitter aftertaste. Not great.

Bottle: Amber hue with a huge frothy head and very good lace. The aroma has notes of aromatic and grassy hops, biscuity malt, apple esters and smells a bit oxidized. The taste is twangy (infected?) and bitter. Yeasty and biscuity midway before the herbal finish. The mouth feel is lively and over carbonated, dry finish. I wonder how old this bottle is? Bought at Greens in Atlanta.

Mar. 2007 - Dark pour, small head and lacing. This beer is ungood. Burnt aroma and burnt flavor. One in our group reminisced of the old days of uncoated aspirin, when it gets caught in your throat and comes back up...that is the flavor of this beer. Ungood.