Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 2 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 3
12 oz twist off brown bottle. Claims to be america’s original blueberry ale. Pours like any other pale yellow american beer. It has the appearance of lots of carbonation but is less than average carbonation once tasted. Does have a slight smell of berries. On the outset, taste is slightly better with a hint of blueberry. Not sweet by any standard. Seems a bit surly and it is a bit bitter on the back of the throat. Finish lingers for a while . Not impressed. Of the three fruit beers I’ve tried tonight; this, oxford raspberry and leinie’s berry. This is the least of the three. Lancaster strawberry wheat is miles ahead of this.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Pours deep amber into a shaker. Off white head quickly recedes. Ginger aromas, upfront and in the lasting finish. Nicely spiced.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
2006 edition - Bottle 632. Pours deep amber/red into a shaker. Tan ultra micro head leaves sheets as it slowly recedes and retains a 1/4 inch throughout. Bread, fruit and slight soap aromas. Creamy with upfront roasted caramel and a lasting bitter finish. Drink fresh -- does not age well...consistently deteriorates over time.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
bottle - Pours clear and light amber in color with a thin head. It has a moderately strong aroma of malt and blueberry. It tastes like a light, thin, mediocre amber ale with blueberries added. It’s drinkable, but definitely not impressive.
jcr (3164) reviewed Lighthouse Ale from Bar Harbor Brewing Company 19 years ago
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 10
Dark ruby pour. Small, off-white head. Average malt aroma of hay and straw with notes of burnt hay and roasted malts. The flavor is bitter with a slightly sweet backbone. Somewhat dry. Light body. Average.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2006 bomber consumed on 8/20/06.
Deep blueberry juice colored body shows dark amber, magenta and violet hues. Bottle conditioned, dirty-beige head is initially large and fluffy, but settles out, steadily, to a precarious cover, with patches of lace left everywhere on the glass. Clarity is medium-high.
You can just read MartinT’s review if you want my thoughts on the flavor/aroma, as they are exactly the same.
I don’t know exactly what contributes to the overly dirty/dusty, heavily blanding yeastiness in their beers. Sure, they are "unfiltered" but rarely do I get this dirty a yeast from a beer on lees. I dont think they let their beer sit on the yeast too long, so it’s probably not autolysis/trub-uptake (plus this bottle is very fresh). It could be very high fermentation temps creating this huge yeasty flavor? Their beers are immensely attenuated. Or, it could just be the yeast character. It also could be that they need to introduce fresh yeast in to their brewery. Whatever it is, it nearly dominates their already very dry, delicate, low gravity beers (ginger, peach, lighthouse).
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Pours deep amber into a shaker. Slight off-white head quickly recedes to skim rim. Biscuit and malt notes. Light-bodied, but flavorful with slight bitter finish. Very sessionable -- wish I’d picked up more.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Lighthouse Ale from Bar Harbor Brewing Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2005 bottle consumed on 11/9/05. Very deep amber-crimson body with very fine, bottle conditioned bubbles rising to create a large, beige head that is well-retained. Lacing is in large quantity as well. Surprising for such a low gravity beer. Hops in the aroma give notes of nuts, damp earth and underbrush. Malts provide notes of baguette, soft caramel, honey and light toasted grains. Flavor comes alive with light roast, chewy, dry caramel and balancingly bitter, nutty hops. Fruitiness in both aroma and flavor is quite light, surprisingly. Chocolate malt apparency really comes out as it warms while the roast dies down. Gives a soft, fluffy landing as you near the bottom of the bottle; right as you get tired of the roast, the chocolate softens the experience. Impressive amount of flavor depth when drunk over a range of temperatures. Yeast in the nose creates some drying. Quite light bodied, but not for the style. Everything is dry, but the little bit of sweet malt is used VERY efficiently and artfully. Mouthfeel is soft, with a moderately tight carbonation. No wateriness and no astringency as in some of their other beers. Perhaps just a bit too salty/seltzery. But I think this is just the dulling yeast influence.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2005 bottle consumed 9/18/2005. Chestnut-auburn, thick off-white head, tiny bottle conditioned bubbles. Well retained head, with lacing, which is surprising for a ginger beer. Man, Bar Harbor beers sure do look fantastic, without exception. Smells of ginger, dry grains, hint of biscuits, brown bread. Spicy, but not over-spiced. Flavor is well-attenuated, like the peach (but not quite as much). Cola, ginger, some light honey on the end. Dry, only a bit of maltiness. Quite refreshing with a nice, low carbonated mouthfeel. A bit of sawdust and black pepper. No yeastiness.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Peach Ale from Bar Harbor Brewing Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
22oz bottle consumed on 9/13/2005. Brew #01709 (batch number maybe?). Deep ruddy-chartreuse color with some burgundy tones in there. Bottle conditioned and unfiltered. Big, light-beige head. Lacing is in sheets. Awesome looking beer. Peach essence and dry yeast in the nose. Slight hint of pale, sugary grains. Flavor is VERY attenuated, surprisingly so. Hugely so. Dry and papery, notes of seltzer water and salt. Peachy, dry and pretty uninspiring. Peppery carbonation, more saltiness on the end, pretzels and zero sweetness. As it warms and breathes, the peach flavor is more noticeable and slightly pleasant, but just can’t recover from the strange texture and complete lack of malt sweetness.