Sea Dog Old East India Pale Ale

Brewed by Sea Dog Brewing (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Topsham, Maine USA

BOTTLE: orange pour, monster white head. Seems like a very average IPA right out of the chute - mild nose, taste is somewhat malty and wheaty, mild hop taste, not much interesting going on.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Trader Joes (Short Pump), 11/25/09, under the alias "Kennebunkport IPA"

Overall Impression: Eh, this was a half decent IPA, but nothing overly exciting. Wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Sweet aroma with some honey and yeast. This tastes pretty yeasty for an IPA, fairly astringent too. Seems like it could use a few more hops, or maybe the right kind of hops. So far as appearance is concerned, there is lacing on the glass, but Sea Dog’s labels don’t really appeal to me. Not bad, but not one of the better IPAs. Ratebeerians seem to agree - it is in the bottom 10% for the style.

Super cloudy, super dark orange. Large puffy, pillowy head. Thick and hazy. Looks awesome. Mild citrusy and flowery hop smell. Slightly toasted sweet, bready malt. There is a dark raisin aroma here. Strong blast of alcohol in the taste, followed by a strong woody hop. The alcohol is very very strong. Sharp burnt malt, roasted and gritty. This is a strong ale with hops. A unique taste for an IPA. There is even some coffee in the malt. Bubbly and thick feel. Milky on the palate. A strong but remarkably balanced IPA. The malt really holds its own here. Heavy, but not extreme. Less an IPA than a strong ale with some hops.

Not thoroughly impressed with this one. The initial pour is orange with carbonation that lingers for a whole two or three seconds. Aroma is not particularly strong, though some hints of malts are present. Initial flavor presents some very weak hops, similar from traditional english ales. There is also some sweet malts but neither the hops nor the malts are particularly memorable or interesting. According to the bottle this beer is not past expiration, but it certainly tastes like an ipa that is well past its prime.

mildly hazy orange color, moderate off whitre head, a bit of lace sticks to the glass. good smell of citric hops, trace of musty malt. sweet malt flavoroffset by a citirc hop flavor. creamy mouth feel, lightly bitter finish. only a slightlly better than average IPA. the sweet malt dominated the bitter hops a bit ytoo much. single bottle from binny’s orland park.

Bottle from Trader Joes rebadged as Kennebunkport IPA. Pours a copper amber with a two fingers ebony head. Fruity aroma, mostly grape juice, with some cheap malts in the background. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Flavor has a caramelly cheap British malt base, countered by underwhelming hop profile. Finish is horrible, grape seed astringency, green apple, diacetyl- what a mess. Crappy

Bottle. Poured a hazy amber color with a small creamy white head. Nose is malty with earthy, grassy notes. I also picked up a strange phenol note in the aroma. Medium body, crisp mouth feel. Flavor is underwhelming, mild hop flavors of citrus and grass. Decent caramel backbone. Finish is mildly bitter.