It pours a nice amber with a glowing red translucence when held up to the light. A nice malty aroma presents itself with some alcohol on the nose as well. Knowing that the original Old Thumper is a nice British ale, I expect some creaminess on the tongue at some point. There is about a half an inch of khaki head and I'm very eager to taste this beer.
Whoa. Alcohol galore. I really don't know how else to describe it other than slight sweet malt character with a whole bunch of alcohol. The aftertaste is actually quite pleasant, so I'm going to let this guy warm up a bit and see if some of the overpowering alcohol flavor falls off.
Overall, this is not a complex beer at all. Would I buy it again? Probably not. I think that Shipyard should stick to brewing and bottling the regular Old Thumper on a grander scale and free the room in their tanks held up with this brew. While I was really excited to see a "double" of a beer that I've always enjoyed, this is physical proof that making a double is not always the best idea for certain beers. While cold, it's just not very enjoyable. As it warms, some of the alcohol falls off, but not too much. British Bitters, I get it. However, the alcohol character just really clashes with the flavors of this brew. I'm curious as to whether this beer would age well? I'm not going to try it, so if anyone else tries it, let me know.
