Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Baltimore, Maryland USA

[GABF 2006 – Denver, Co] Yellow in color with a nice thick head. This was a very good session brew and I liked the subtle flavors. The high alcohol was a tad off for this style but this was a easy to drink sitting beer. Good Stuff.

Draft at GOBF ’08. Pours a clear medium-light golden color with a foamy, off-white head. Aromas included cereal grains, pale, sweet malts, light fruits, sweet, bready yeast, and some cinnamon. Flavors showed an increase in sweetness, as candy sugar joined the sweet, fruity malts and yeast. Cinnamon and clove are there, but just don’t seem to work that well here. It feels like some sort of Saison/ Hefeweizen hybrid. Medium bodied, the brew is slightly syrupy and cloying. This one did not impress.

Pour is clearish golden with a big bubbled off white head...smell is sweet and grainy at first with some yeasty and citrus hints as it warms...some white pepper too...taste is sweet with tons of grainy flavors...some bubblegum and banana...strange musty bitter finish with more banana and lemons...8%? Couldn’t tell...

hazy golden, sweet aroma, sticky tongue feel, with a slightly sweet taste with a lot of spiceness. The flavor is complex and quite enjoyable. Thanks PintOfAle

Rerate; poured a gold color. Aroma was nice with some musty elements and some good banana/yeast; some sugar and fruit. I like the flavor more than most of the raters; probably due to the heavy wheat/weizen elements. Not a "true" version of the style in my opinion, but more of a hybrid. Right amount of must and spice and bitterness. Surprisingly better the second time. 3.4 to 3.6. Bottle; poured a gold with not much white head. Aroma of banana/yeast, spice and possibly some fruit. Alot of carbonation in the mouthfeel; pretty light body. Flavor was refreshing, if not great. Flavor was slightly sweet, with some banana and spice. Flavor was a little muted. For the style, I liked it more than most.

Golden color with a big foamy white head that bubbles away. Aroma is a little peppery and doughy with a hint of fruit. Flavor is sweet with some undertones of wheat bread, banana, and some peppery spices. Some bitterness and alcohol in the finish. Mouthfeel is quite nice - a little syrupy, but not too much. This thing has 8% alcohol? Wow, it’s pretty well hidden then! I think this beer has some subtle complexities that can be over looked if finished too quickly. 12 oz bottle (best by Jan 07), $1.50 from Party Town.

Hazed straw yellow, tumltuous tornado of carbonation swirls from the bottom of the glass, and goes on swirling, ...head is big and fluffy, but drfits down, smug as a cloud, with affable ease. Aroma smacks of citrus and spice from the git-go, a trifle sour and overwhelmingly lemony, with dry spices peppering the affair. Quite in line with the saison style, but without the authentic feel. Taste begins with sour citrus again, and spices dripping along the palate and all over the mouth, but behaving themselves. Quenches, then dries, and softly treads away. Lightish, but more medium in body, with significant texture, but excellent drinkability. the abv is higher than most traditional saisons, and it’s starting to show, raging alcohol peeking through what should be a gentle summery session ale. I like the label, though, pirate and parrot lounging in a makeshift hammock, as emptied bottles drift by into the sea...this is what this type of beer is meant for, lazy summer days, but this one misses the classic profile by a bit. Not as smooth, nor as succulent. Decent attempt, though, gotta give them that.

Medium amber, head lasted about 10 seconds. Sweet coriandr laced aroma, struck me as a saison meets a wit, with a bit of candy sugar chucked in. The 8.25% is utterly hidden. Struck me more as a belgian ale than a saison due to the sweetness, strength, and lack of farmhouse funk, but an enjoyable brew.