Bar Harbor Thunder Hole Ale

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

Courtesy of Porterhouse <!-- P --> Aroma holds chocolate malt, mild roast, roasted nuts and freah baked dark bread. Body is a mostly opaque red-tinted brown and the head starts out thumb thick, fluffy and tan, but quickly recedes. Tongue tingling carbonation in the fore is followed by mild roasted malt and nut flavors. Carbonations tickles on the way down too. Flavor wise it is pretty damn narrow though it doesn’t offend anywhere except for being a touch overcarbonated. Mouthfeel is nice just not gobs of flavor.

(22 oz bottle: Obtained 06-Apr-06 in trade with 46er3498, thanks Tom!) This typically uneventful but quite pleasant brown ale features a fairly chocolaty malt front and center, and is moderately sweet, lightly hoppy and bitter (moreso than most brown ales), and somewhat roasty on the back end. The nose is pleasantly chocolaty and mildly sweet, but lacks sufficient aromatics to really drive the point home. Medium bodied from sip to finish with average carbonation and a lingering roastiness. Light-to-medium brown in color with a ruddy hue and a slight haziness. The light-tan head ranges from an inch tall on the pour to a wide ring toward the end of the session, and lacing is non-existent. But overall, with lots of chocolate and a bit of hops, this is a tasty and enjoyable brown ale, not very complex, but how many brown ales are? Easily above average for the style.

22oz bottle via trade with porterhouse - Thanks Kevin! - Pours brown with a good sized tan head that stayed pretty well and laced some on the sides of the glass. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar, nuts, and cola. Flavor of caramel, nuts, brown sugar and roasted malts. A surprising hop finish is there. Palate is medium bodied and somewhat dry. A pretty good brown.

Any first impressions?
-A gangly head slowly collapses onto the maroon dress.
-A pleasantly roasty and nutty nose dims out, once settled into the glass, into a frail herbal cola.
-A filet of caramel sweetness surrounds the roasted maltiness.
-It’s pretty carbonated and lean-bodied, which makes it an easy-to-drink pint.

What if you dig deeper?
-Some mineral character undermines the aroma, but evaporates with time.
-Leafy hoppiness hangs on to the flaky roastiness.
-Finishes modestly, with light roasty dryness, and sweet hazelnut suggestions.
-A decent brown ale, flavorful yet somehow understated.
-By the way, this is a bolder version of their Lighthouse Ale; same recipe with a little more of everything.

Bottle; no date.

Brown ales are what got me interested in the world of beer. I had lost interest in them for a while, but upon going to the BHBC brewery tour I re-discovered my lost interest. This is a great, well rounded refreshing brown ale. Fresh and balanced hop and malt with a nicely lingering palate make this a top pick for me. I’ve had thicker brown ales but this one bridges the gap of refreshing and savory.

This is an easy one to comment. It’s like newcastle brown only a lot better :) Sweet nutty brown with excellent hop and bitterness. This is one of my favorite browns, and I dont really care for browns.

Pours a light tan, three finger head, fades slowly and leaves a good lace. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Deep, clear amber color. Nose is nuts and coffee. Starts slightly malty, hints of burnt coffee, finish is smooth but a touch of bitterness. $3.99 for a 22oz bottle from Otter Creek Market Otter Creek, Me.

2005 bottle drank 8/20/2005. Pours a dull/drab olive-brown with some deep chartreuse tinges, giving it a slight orange tint in the sunlight. Bottle conditioned, with plenty of sediment, leading to a fluffy, light beige colored head, well-retained and providing plenty of lacing. Aroma is dry nutty, earthy dull notes, with musty yeast, milky chocolate like notes, lightly roasted grains, toasted brown bread and a touch of something lightly sour/astringent. Flavor is lightly woody, nutty, very dry raisins and a mix of milk and brown bread again. Medium body, with plenty of carbonation and not as much malt sweetness as I think it needs. Though it’s always better to go less sweet than too sweet. Dry brown sugar and plenty of yeasty, moderately sour notes. I really despise Northern Brown ales, but this one is well-done. Hops are not terribly flavorful, not very bitter either. Just sort of there. Nutty and rather dull. Drinkable though, and as the carbonation recedes, it feels pleasant and substantial on the palate.