Sea Dog Old East India Pale Ale

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

A very hard to detect aroma. That might have a little to do with the fact that I let it breathe before pouring, but I doubt it. Pours with a bubbly, white head. A faint syrupy hop note, but nothing to distinugish it as a true IPA. Tastes more of a APA than an IPA. Good malt character, sweet, with a bitter back end. A quaffable beer; a session beer in the same vein as a bud light. This would be good to use to introduce someone to a different beer, but not a good example of the style. It is also sweet on the back end. This is not a bad IPA, per say, but not a good one either. For 5.49, if it were more available, I would buy it instead of bud light. I could drink about the same amount of these.

I love IPAs, but I’ll probably give away the other Sea Dogs that I bought. Looks okay, weak smell with a bit of hops. The bottle reads best before Dec. 06, but there could be a problem here. The palete is heinous, almost a caricature of what an IPA should feel like in your mouth. Feels artificially bitter A real disappointment.

Found the aromas hard to detect after initial bottle opening. Until later when I spilled the beer on the floor did I actually get a scent of the IPA fruitiness. The appearance is of a dark amber/copper, with a surprisingly thick tan head. Lacks in power and shallow in bitter astringent flavors, instead favoring a sweeter fruity style of IPA. It’s a mild IPA, tolerable but better around in it’s price class.

<!-- B -->Bottle. <!-- /B -->A little cloudy pale gold. Teeny white head. Bready aroma which goes well with floral-yeasty tanginess. Too filling; I hate that. Bitter on back of tongue. Strong hops presence. Most likely my very least likable style, and this beer reaffirms that. Doubtful I will ever drink this again as it’s just not for me.

From a 12 oz. twist cap brown bottle with a notched best before along the left side of label, Aug/07. Poured a slightly hazy amberish copper with a foamy head that settled into a thin lacing. Aromas of leafy and floral hops, a slight buttery and sugary malts with a nice fruitiness, berry bubble gum-like. Moderate carbonation overall and a crisp, dry, softly textured lightish medium bodied mouthfeel. Pleasant tasting, leafy, floral hops with a soft bitterness, bready and light tasting caramel malts, a spicy nuttiness, and a dry leafy and bready malt finish, not bad, but an average tasting English IPA, decent drinkability. For the price, a nice IPA, tasty enough for $5.49 a six at Trader Joe’s.

This is a tasty IPA for a small Maine brewery! I really enjoy this IPA because it is a little hoppy and has a bit of a kick to it. Enjoyable.

Bottle. Pours thin amber, bubbly and a hollow head. Aroma is tangy sweet malt and old banana. Flavor is coppery strawberry. Palate is a bit thicker than expected. Not terrible, but not worth repeating.

Verre de dégustation, provenant d’une bouteille de 12 oz, dégusté au Mondial de la Bière 2006 (Montréal, QC). Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes avec une pointe d’alcool. Apparence: La couleur est blonde orangée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’houblons et d’agrumes. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est mince avec une texture huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence d’houblons en arrière goût. (Rating #517)