     Harbor Lighthouse Ale (Bar Harbor Brewing Company)
The first thing that will surprise you is the very low alcohol content. This one is a flyweight, weighing in at only 3.2%. Not a bad looking light beer though. It pours a dark amber to ruby red color with a big soda type head that is made up of decent sized bubbles. The head clings to the glass quite well and once it settles their is about a quarter inch of foam still hanging on. The smell is malt sweetness, some honey, maybe a little grainy and slightly syrupy. Not a whole lot of strong smells with this one. Taste is pretty thin. Big sips of this beer are in order. I don't do that very often. I taste some slight malt, some breadiness and that is really about it. This is the type of beer that defines the term "session ale". You can drink lots of this in one sitting and probably the only thing that'll slow you down will be how full you get on liquids. Much like the Weenie Rocket IPA (another mild, low ABV ale) from Portsmouth Brewery, the Harbor Lighthouse is a refreshing beer that can be consumed as a thirst quencher on a warm day here in New England.
Posted by Russ Labels: English Milds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Weenie Rocket IPA (Portsmouth Brewery)
Fine, so techinally it's classified as a mild and the bottle does say "American Mild" on it, but this beer is more affectionately known as "Weenie Rocket IPA". That is what you'll see it called at the brewery and that is what I had to ask for a glass of this past weekend. Makes you wish they had to come up with a real label for it! Regardless of its name, I really enjoyed it on tap and made sure to grab a bomber at the bottle shop before leaving Portsmouth. Pours a slightly hazy straw color with a great carbonation level and a very nice looking head. Pretty much a perfect looking pour for a refreshing summer time beer. Smell is grassy, hoppy, a bit bready and some sweetness (lemonade perhaps?). Taste is very crisp and refreshing. I don't know what other way to describe that initial pleasure I get from a big sip of this beer. Nothing is overpowering at all. There are citrus, apple, sour malt and some light sugary notes. Weenie Rocket is obviously not at the same level as its big, bad brother the Bottle Rocket IPA but what makes it different is its shear drinkability and it does hold its own with quite a bit of hoppiness. I was thinking of how this could be the perfect session beer for a long, lazy day in the backyard with the grill going. Its nice and hoppy, crisp and refreshing and its not high in alcohol content. Overall, its an amazingly drinkable light beer. You can't do much better than this in the sub 5% category!
Posted by Russ Labels: English Milds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
