Beer Review: Atlantic Coal Porter

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 6.5 percent

Appearance: Here we find ourselves with yet another brew that if it didn't have the color similar to that of its title we'd have a problem. Luckily, everything ended up just right for this one. The color of the body was in deed coal black! It also boasted some golden brown hues. The head rose to a thickness of about a half-inch and appeared to be somewhere in between a white and a beige. It did look flat after the initial pour, but after foaming up it did leave a ring of foam entirely across the glass without any breaks.

Smell: Very dark, but with some interesting layers. I got plenty of cocoa and roast. Behind that came some sweeter and darker malts.

Taste: I was bombarded with some cocoa and dark chocolate up front. I haven't come across too many porters that had a layer of cocoa and one with darker chocolate playing off of one another. The dark chocolate became more prevalent and noticeable about mid-way back. It was at this point that some robust coffee flavors came out and combined with the dark malts perfectly. I think this assisted in the roasty and bitter after taste I got after each of my sips of this brew.

Overall Rating: 

This was an aged beer on my part. If you grab one of these today you're likely to see a completely re-branded bottle. I couldn't find anything wrong with this. It definitely was complex for a porter, which we get used to being basic and not featuring quite as many layers of flavor. Different chocolate tastes and some robust and bitter coffee notes. A good beer.

Beer Review: Atlantic Mount Desert Island Ginger

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.2 percent

Appearance: If there was ever a beer that resembled iced tea, Atlantic's Island Ginger would be it. The body's color was somewhere between an orange and an amber. I felt that saying it looked like tea was a fine compromise. The tea-colored body has a strong haze to it as well. The head of this brew is thin throughout most of the drink, even the initial pour. Carbonation also seems to be lacking.

Smell: If you had to guess one scent that's found in this beer it'd be ginger, right? That's exactly what I got. Aside from that, the only other thing my nose picked up is a sweet, wheat-like malt presence. That wasn't too strong, though.

Taste: On the front, I got plenty of the previously mentioned ginger. There was also a sweet, syrupy presence at the very same point on each sip of the brew. The wheat backbone just touched my tongue on the back, but I had to think twice to see if I really experienced it. Once again the wheat was kind of weak.

Overall Rating: 

This beer was highly recommended to me. If I could classify this beer in one word it would have to be "odd." I've never had a ginger beer before. So, that probably played against me in some facets of drinking this. One glaring hole in this beer is the lack of hop character. You hop heads out there know I'm not a proponent of very hoppy beers, but I do enjoy a decent hop presence in some styles. I would have enjoyed it in this beer.

Beer Review: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.2 Percent

Appearance: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale pours a lighter shade of copper. It's almost an amber, but the deep purple highlights throughout the brew remind you that this is a fruit beer. There's a bluish-white head that is pretty foamy and has fair retention. Expect a decent amount of lacing on the inside of your glass.

Smell: This beer smells very, very sweet upon initial waft. Tart blueberries and a touch of maltiness flow in just behind that.

Taste: This is where it went wrong for me. The tart blueberry taste I expected seemed weakened. The maltiness I experienced in the aroma seriously lacked. It also came off as a touch too boozy for me. The ABV isn't the biggest number in the world, but I didn't expect to get much of it in this department.

Overall Rating: 

This is a really appetizing brew when you look and smell it. When I drink a blueberry ale, I like a brew that's stained by the fruit, as most blueberry ales are. This one has that and the tart aroma. Unfortunately the blueberry wasn't active enough in the taste. I was expecting big things from this beer as I've heard raving reviews about it.