Atlantic SOB Special Old Bitter Ale

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

Date: 10/13/1997
Mode: Bottle
Source: ME

clear clean copper with a lasting thin off-white head, so much grapefruit aroma you could have it for breakfest, mild ale, strong grapefruit flavor, nice lingering underlying bitterness, slight tartness
-------- /> Date: 11/16/2006
Mode: bottle
Words: Pop’s
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opaque dark amber, pours with a big creamy beige head that settles down wispy and fine, sweet malt aroma with light floral hops and a touch of fruity character, rich creamy body, nice lasting mild bitter hop flavor, dry caramel malt, has changed a lot in 10 years

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

(22oz bottle) Crystal clear copper body topped by medium beige head that diminishes rapidly. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, woody/earthy. Taste is medium sweet, earthy, wood, caramel/bread. Smooth medium body. Nice bitterness, and a good (American) session beer.

Pours a transparent copper orange with a large, frothy, full-lacing light tan head. Aroma of big citric earthy English hops with some mild slightly toasted malty notes. Body starts lightly sweet crystal maltiness quickly drying out and revealing some flavoring hops, but mostly overrun with bittering hops toward a crisp, but lingering, overly bitter finish. Needs more balance to be in the upper echelon of ESBs.

Any first impressions?
-A veil laces minutiously atop the bronze haze.
-Wooden, fruity hops slowly rise from the pint glass.
-Juicy, herbal hops dominate, paired up with their wooden counterparts, as lean caramel maltiness takes some time to be noticed.
-The svelte maltiness is not frail at all, but rather healthy enough to remain nicely drinkable.

What if you dig deeper?
-Firm wooden bitterness evolves into a dry finish.
-Peachy fruitiness helps it in the sweetness department, but it never quite reaches balance (and probably wasn’t intended to be balanced either).
-Carbonation’s a little too active to be considered an English Bitter.
-A very nice hopped-up pale ale if you ask me, but not defined enough (or malty enough) to be stellar.

On tap in Bar Harbor.

In stark contrast to the summer beer, I was nearly blown away by this one...relatively speaking. Poured copper with a straw-like head. Smelled of roses and grapefruit. Tasted of yogurt with some very nice floral undertones.

This pours a clear copper body with a large ecru head that coats the glass in sticky sheets of lace. The aroma is pome fruit, sweet malt, and an earthy, floral hoppiness. The commercial description lead me to believe that the drink would be more bitter, but it’s still a pleasurable balancing act between the fruity malt and the flowery bitterness. A solid sessionable ale.

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Bottle. Poured brown color with a moderate off-white head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Medium roasted malt aroma. Medium body. Medium roasted malty flavor with a medium pleasing bitter finish. Very enjoyable drinkable brew.

Thanks to Santa for this one. It pours coppery ruby colored, with a 1-finger ecru head. Aroma of caramel malt, some vinous fruit, nuts, cabernet. The flavor is indeed bitter, but well rounded with the solid caramel malt base and plenty of hops. Gets more bitter and hoppy as it warms.