Sea Dog Summer Ale

On tap at brewpub in So. Portland. Poured a nice, golden color with a very small, white head. Slightly hazy with no particles. Doesn’t smell too much like a typical summer ale; no real wheat to speak of. Smooth on the palate with a medium-lasting aftertaste, and a nice flavor (some citrus?). Goes down very easy; a good summer beer, but nothing really special to set it apart from all the other summer ales out there.

Pours yellowwith a thin white head. Smells of wildflowers, dry malt. Tastes sweet and perfumy with a soft finish.

Bouteille de 12 oz achetée chez Hannaford (Brewster, ME). Arôme: Odeur de céréale avec une pointe fruitée. Apparence: La couleur est dorée avec une moyenne densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de céréales avec une pointe d’houblons herbacés. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est mince avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de zeste de citron en arrière goût. (Rating #1898)

Blah. Always try to give fair consideration to good local brewers. This one just fell flat too many other quality summer offerings to bother with this one.

Pours to a bright orange-yellow with medium thicvk white head that lasts to mid-glass and leaves a little lacing. Aroma is mildly floral hops, and the mouthfeel a lttle thin and slightly tingly. Flavor started out as floral hops, but I could actually taste a hint of apple and citrus fruit toward the end. The finish is okay, but nothing special. This would make a decent session beer on a hot night.

Thin, hoppy, a little light malt flavor present, a little bitter. Tastes like one of the weaker German beers...but too thin, weak. It could be a lot worse...there aren’t any objectionable qualities, it just tastes a tad watered down.

Bottle, from Duvel tulip, at cellar temp. Best by Oct ’07. Clear, deep orange color. Massive frothy white head fades away completely, leaving no lace. Herbal hop aroma. Light body, thin texture, flat carbonation. Flavor is bitter but soapy. Finishes sweet but the soap lingers. Reminds me of a poorly done English bitter.

From what I can tell, Sea Dog does no marketing of this beer on their Web site, which isn’t suprising as they didn’t appear to put very much effort into making this a great summer ale. It pours a light amber color with a fizzy white head. Fair lacing trails behind a mostly-diminishing head, above a clear body. Aroma is of light lemon-scented hops and light soapy yeast. Initial taste is watery with a light bitter finish. Very watery on the mouthfeel, it has flat carbonation that does nothing to quench our thirst. Reviewer’s notes: I’m not out to kill any beer, certainly not from the people that bring us the Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale. I think that is what makes this ale so disappointing. They produce such a high quality ale in the blueberry, and then release this summer ale which does not even come close to being in the same league. Unfortunate.