Ringwood Old Thumper (USA)

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

(Bottle). Yeasty aroma. Copper amber with large off-white head. Flavor is caramel, medium sweet. Not wonderful, but pleasant.

Hand pulled at Abbey Brewing in Miami Beach. LIght head on reddish copper. Almost a sessional, except for the ABV. Nice caramel toffee flavour with a bit of mouth drying hops.

Had a hand drawn pint of this at the Cricketers Arms in Orlando. Poured a light amber with a frothy head. Flavor was pine and grapefruit with a nice bitter finish.

I drank this frosty cold in a restaurant overlooking the rocky shoreline in a Maine tourist town. The view was great, but the beer was only a little above average. Cool label with a boar on it. Amber pour and a nice head. Faint skank in the aroma. A fairly well-hopped pale ale (OK, a bitter - I thout it was a PA), fairly dry with a medium body.

Taste 8/8, Bottle (best by 10/08). Looks: Iced tea with a thin, yeasty top. Aroma: Sour and doughy. Taste: Decent bitter with the abv of a premium ESB. Fresh, thin full bodied. Nice yeast/sour ratio. May need a bit more bite.

I found this beer a little hard to characterize, but very refreshing. Mildly bitter hop taste, balanced by nice caramel and malt tastes.

I had no idea when I was drinking this that A) It was a Shipyard brewed beer and B) This was an ESB. Go figure. It was a light brown in the pint glass with a small but nice head. It is sweet and a bit creamy on taste. I liked it but it was a bit flat.

I love when I can walk into one of my local haunts and be greeted warmly by name, and then asked by one of the owners/managers if I have tried a beer yet. I say no, and voila, like magic a freshly drawn glass full of Old Thumper appears before my eyes and lips. Is it heaven? Is it nirvana? Close enough for me.
I take my glass of precious liquid cargo, pull up an empty stool and rest my laurels at the bar. not sure what to expect, I pulled out my tasting notepad, and raised my glass in anticipation for my first quaff of this virgin brew.
Bad pun intentionally intended, this is one damn good Extra Special Ale (ESA). Old Thumper is amber in color with soft notes of caramel and malt in the nose. While there is a mild hop bite, the overall flavor profile is one of smooth malt creaminess with a buttery mouthfeel. A heavier medium body, I get the impression of drinking a very "wet" beer as it lingers and coats my mouth and tongue. A soft head floats on top, eventually settling down to a thin layer, leaving a rather impressive show of brussels lace as I drink. Near the end of my glass (always a sad reality) Old Thumper finishes even smoother with sweet caramel malts and butter cream, the hop spice takes a backseat, though they are still present.