Beer of the Day Review - Old Thumper Extra Special Ale

Yes, this was one of the original Beers of the Day, so I had to do it one more time, this time with a review.

Old Thumper is brewed by Maine's largerst brewery, Shipyard Brewery, under contract from Ringwood Brewery in Hampshire, England. This is why the bottle says Ringwood Brewery in big letters and Shipyard only in fine print. I first tried this beer out of a Shipyard variety pack and thought it was a Shipyard creation. Nope, this recipe comes from across the pond, and is brewed at Shipyard under the watchfull eye of Alan Pugsley, who trained and worked at Ringwood Brewery for many years. Pugsley supposedly ships the famed Ringwood yeast and the 'finest ingredients' directly from England to recreate, in Maine, the unique flavors of Old Thumper...  or at least that's what the writing on the bottom of the 6-pk says.

The packaging says Extra Special Ale and on Beeradvocate.com it is categorized as an ESB (extra special bitter). Basically what that means is that it is bitter and it is strong and it's an ale. Right up my alley =)

It pours an almost copper color with a nice finger or so of head which eventually recedes to a nice layer skimming the surface of the beer. It leaves behind some light, but very nice lacing with pretty good carbonation.

Smell is of caramel malt with a buttery yeast smell and a little more than a hint of hops also coming though. The taste is much the same, caramel malt and some vague fruit, with a medium body and a dry, bitter, medium-hoppy finish. The ringwood yeast does impact it's own flavor on the brew but I have yet to put a finger on it. It is not undesirable though, and I suspect, make me like this beer even more. 

I completely understand why this beer is such an award winner:

This is Extra Special Bitter is favorably comparable to the world renown Fuller's ESB. I call this beer a glass 1/2 Full and even though most say that it's not better that the Fuller's, it can sure hold its own. If you see it, pick it up. I will, because I sure as hell enjoy it. Cheers!

The Beer of the Day