Bar Harbor Special Amber Ale

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

Great for long summer days. It’s light and better than mass produced American light beers.

Pours from the 22 oz. bomber to a reddish orange, with thick off-white head that lingers well into the glass and leaves good lacing. Nose is malty sweet with a hint of hoppiness. Mouthfeel was of this full-bodied beeer was complex, almost bittersweet, as the malt and hops collided. Flavor was more of the same, and this all led to a long, pleasant finish. The unique thing I noticed about this beer was that unlike many qualitly beers that taste better as they warm, this was actually better served cooler (not ice cold). Still one of the more enjoyable ambers I’ve had.

22oz bottle shared by wickedpete. Wet crackers and maple scented wheat in the nose, along with some strange fruity hops. Has the distinct flavor of sweet-n-low or aspartame, and the texture turns from oily to pasty. Sorry, but this is a pretty bad beer.

(22oz bottle, 2007 Vintage, #897, thanks wickedpete) Medium beige head atop lightly hazed dark amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, grapefruit, floral/orange, caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, grapefruit/orange/floral, light chocolate. Medium body.

Provided by wickedpete. Hazy amber with a small off-white head. The nose is fairly sweet with caramel, toffee, light citrus and cracker. The flavor is fairly sweet with light orange, tea, caramel and honey. Medium body is thinish with moderate carbonation.

22oz bottle, #897, courtesy of wickedpete. Thanks, Pete! Pours a hazy, ruby-orange color; off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Plenty of candy sugar and oily, almost inky red fruits in the aroma; a hint of alcohol showing. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: lots of candy sugar, dried fruits, and chewy caramel; especially dense and viscous for an amber ale; minimal hop presence coming through, such that this becomes a bit heavy on the palate after a while; still, generous maltiness and reasonably tasty. Lengthy finish, showing candy sugar and sticky malts; a bit much at the end.

This beer ought to be rated higher as it is really exquisite. I got 4 bottles (2007) from the brewery (only available on site) last summer and I wish I had bought more. It’s a dark amber color with a cloud like white head and leaves thin lacing on the glass. The aroma is sweet and malty with some holiday spiciness to it. Flavor is much the same. I was told the recipe changes every year so I will have to revisit this again in years to come. This beer, along with the Cadillac Stout, make this brewery one of Maine’s truly unknown treasures.

Bottle #1061 from the 2007 bottling. Purchased at the Brewery. Pours amber with a 3 finger thick creamy tan head. The nose is sweet and malty and pretty decent. Taste is sweet, robust, and malty. Better than expected but could really use some more alcohol to kick it up a notch.