Bar Harbor Lighthouse Ale

Brewed by Bar Harbor Brewing Company (Atlantic Brewing Company)
Style: Mild Ale
Bar Harbor, Maine USA

Date: 09/25/1995

rich full-bodied ale, hoppier than thuderhole

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Muddy chestnut; light chocolate & praline notes; a little earthy. Light, muddled.

(22oz bottle, thanks wickedpete) Clear amber body atop medium beige head. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, strawberry, some peach. Taste is medium sweet, strawberry, caramel/butterscotch. Light-medium body, light syrup, undercarbonated.

Any first impressions?
-Ample foam sits over the orange ruby, artfully lacing.
-Toasted bread and dusty fruitiness fails to entice the nostrils.
-Subtle nutty sweetness is overthrown by dry toastiness.
-Energetic effervescence plows through the frail maltiness.

What if you dig deeper?
-Stale yeast bothers with its metallic twinge, even appearing in the nose.
-Almost roasty and ashy, the adamantly dry finish is emboldened by supporting herbal hops.
-The maltiness could have developed some sweetness to balance this out, and make this more pleasant.
-Terribly boring and dusty for their base beer to many recipes. I don’t know if it’s always been like this, but I can’t say I enjoyed this one. I will cross my fingers that their Peach and Ginger aren’t tainted with this stale character.

Bottle; no date.

A drinkable hoppy ale with nice floral undertones. Good as a session beer, but not worth writing home about.

22oz bottle shared by wickedpete. Hazy amber color. Sweaty, moldy cereal grain malt and old banana skin hop flavors, some bakers yeast and some moldy bran bready flavors as well. A simple beer overall, with a couple of defects but it’s not terrible.

A dark amber ale witha thin off white head. Sweetish caramel malt wiht light notes of sulfur, and mineral salts. In mouth, a lightly nutty malt and mineral water, light bodied. Gift from Inertiaboy, August 25 2008.

Bottled (bomber). Medium-brown body, little head. Nice nose, very malty-sweet, caramel and butterscotch. Flavor is what I’ve come to expect from a mild: MILD. I dunno, maybe my palate just isn’t subtle enough for this type yet; though I liked this better than most of the style that I’ve tried, it just seems rather bland and flat to me. Not enough hops, not enough malt. Not sweet, not bitter. Drinkable, no annoying characteristics, and also no problems with staleness like the other 2 Bar Harbors I’ve had. Fans of the style might really like it, though.