Ringwood Old Thumper (USA)

Brewed by Shipyard Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Portland, Maine USA

Light tan head, dark orange body. Mild fruity and malty aroma with peach and orange tones. Peachy flavor, rather thin with a harsh end.

A hazy orange beer with a small disappearing beige head. The aroma is sweet with notes of peach and hints of strawberries. The flavor is sweet and sour with notes of garlic. A weird beer.

On my first encounter with this ale, my judgements were rather harsh. As the word "Old" This or That is most often used in the names of barleywines and imperial stouts, and with such a menacing boar fiercely glaring on the label, I’d been geared for something exciting. I was let down to say the least. But bottle #2 was taken in more judiciously. Amber color, small off-white head. Aroma: nutty and malty, caramelly, traces of vegetal notes, and sweet, overall. Taste is nice, body light/medium, and residual sweetness rides through the finish. Good malt taste, but I couldn’t pick up on any hop activity at all. It’s called "Extra Special Ale", is it meant as a slightly tastier ESB? Quite drinkable, and an easy candidate for a session brew, but lacking in any zip or zing that would make it a choice for me.

Bottled: Golden coloured. Off white medium head. Sweet and light hoppy aroma with fruitnotes. Flavour is grassy and somewhat artificial. Ends up in a medium bitterness. Is dry.

Poured amber with thin off white head...smelled caramel first, fading into cherry Robitussin...taste was a little better, caramel, grass, earwax...finish syrupy thick...

Hard to perceive really... fadé with a slush between a typical belgian blonde and an American Pale Ale with a creamy mouthfeel, laid back hops and some palate cleansing ability. As such it’s a perfect "utility" beer for getting your taste across with chicken wings, pizza, burgers, etc.

Light copper appearance with a thin snow white head, thin lacing. Faint toffee aroma with caramel accents and some fresh lake water. Pleasant bitterness, detect some fuggles hops in there. Hints of caramel, maybe a touch of mint. Decent mouthfeel. Overall, a decent bitter. Could see making this a regular strandby.

Bottle. Amber, off-white head that goes kinda fast. Yeasty malts, a little bland; probably goes with British foods pretty well ;) Something about it made it nice for me. Hard to put my finger on it. A little woody, like something that you’d like to drink in front of a fireplace. Some red apples in the finish, I like it.