Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: European Strong Lager
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Bottle pours a clear golden yellow color with a fairly thin white head. Minimal lacing along the glass. Slightly sweet, grassy hop aroma. Flavor has sweet and bitter characteristics. Sweet up front and slight bitterness in the finish followed by a bit more sweetness. Very easy to drink considering the 7%, which is well hidden.

12oz bottle. Pours a thick golden with minimal head. Aroma is sweet and just a little alcoholic. Flavors are straight forward but well developed. There is just enough crisp hoppiness to clean up the palate. Simple but nice.

Clear golden pour...very little white head. Sharp biting taste but is a tad sweet for my taste....not what I expected.

Slightly sweet aroma, with hints of biscuity malts, and a touch of grassy bitterness in the back end. Pours a clear golden color, with a quickly fading white head, that leaves a ring and some dusting on top. Crisp hop beginning, blending out to a touch of citrus and finishing a bit sweet. Very drinkable, especially clocking in at 7%, and quite tasty on a hot summer night.

I really liked this beer. It has a strong sweet, malty pilsner profile with a fair amount of hops (not quite enough for the style) that become more present as it warms a bit. If it had stronger hops, I’d probably rate it higher.

A burning gold sun has settled into my pilsner glass while she explodes into a massively soft and fluffy white head. Stubborn is as stubborn does, and neither head nor lace are going anywhere anytime soon. Little pockets of puffy white clumps float lazily atop her eagerly awaiting brew. Caution tossed to the winds, I surrender to her nose. Grass and lemon are immediate while a softer, meatier side of cereal grains, wheat, and biscuits act as the pier upon which she can dock upon. More fresh grass, sweet and bursting with summer join fresh cut pineapple and finish with more grains, wheat, and toasted biscuits. Highly intoxicating, I toss all my inhibitions to the winds and dive deep into her awaiting depths. Soft with a lightly effervescent mouthfeel, she starts with a playful nip of lemon zest and wet, cut grass. Her clean finish settles on top of my tongue with more grassy lemon profiles that start to tease and tingle. It is deep in her finish that her wet cereal grains and biscuits can be found lurking. Waxy lemon skin starts to dry my palate while a touch of honey coats. Small Craft Warning is a very refreshing amped up rendition of a classic pilsner, an accomplishment that not many who claim the imperial pilsner fame have been able to accomplish. As we drift lazily together wherever the tides may take us, each subsequent quaff is a perfectly pleasing remix of the above.

A perfect fishing beer if I ever did come across one. All I need to do is grab my pole, my tackle box, and my cooler, and I am all set for an afternoon of fishing in the summer sun. Small Craft Warning is a winner in my book. What she may lack in extra oomph, she more than makes up for in balance, taste, and enjoyment. Not all imperialized beers need to be a nuclear explosion in the mouth. Ignore the NOAA warning and enjoy your own Small Craft Warning in all kinds of weather.

Darkish gold color with a nice white head, light lacing. Aroma of grainy malt followed by some hoppiness. Smooth flavor, expected it to be more hoppy but it is a good, full bodied brew. 7% alcohol is not evident in the taste. Finishes with a bit of sweetness.

Bottle - Nice golden color with noticable hop flavor to balance out the strong malty base - Plenty of flavor yet goes down dangerously smooth at 7% abv