Mayflower Brewing Company is somewhat of an underrated brewery in my opinion.  I’ve yet to taste a disappointing beer from this group.  Mayflower, for whatever reason reminds me of Cape Ann Brewery. Maybe is the working-class, fishing towns that they hail from on opposite shores. I think its the fact that they offer some of the most solid, no-frill ales in the Greater Boston area.

The Mayflower Pale Ale is an English Style Pale Ale, that pours with a very healthy head. Has a light herbal aroma, which after doing my Beer Advocate research, seems to be attributed from the East Kent Goldings Hops from England.

The taste is great – it’s a little maltier than I normally like for a Pale, but finishes so smoothly that you cannot complain. Overall, this is a extremely solid Pale Ale out of Plymouth’s Mayflower Brewing Company.

THE GRADE: B+

Ah. Fall. Colder weather. Colorful leaves. A complete saturation of the market in pumpkin beers and octoberfests. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good pumpkin beer (Shipyard Smashed pumpkin, especially the bottle from last year I aged and just cracked!), and certainly like a good Octoberfest/Harvest beer (Note to self: write up how awesome the Mayflower Harvest Ale is). But, like anything, I can only take so much. Everyone has a fall seasonal now, and they are mostly pumpkin and/or spice laiden.

Harpoon Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale

Enter the Harpoon Thankful Harvest Cranberry Ale. Not your (well, my) typical “fruit” beer. This isn’t very sweet. Not really at all, in fact, and certainly isn’t like any cranberry beer creations I’ve had before- I’m looking at you Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic. It pours clean and clear, with a pretty minimal head that clears off in a hurry. Clear and amber in color, with a hint or ruby red to it, it looks as malty as it tastes, but it doesn’t end there. There is just the right amount of tart-ness (thank you, wife, for the vocab help) to this ale. I can’t stress that enough. Its just the right amount of tart. Its there, and you noticed it pretty early in the taste and it holds on through the finish, but its not over-powering, or mouth puckering. It’s as if (and this sounds gross, but after this beer not so much), you took a nice, simple matley ale and splashed it with cranberry juice.

To top it off, $1 from each 6 pack sale goes to local food banks. Perfect for the Thanksgiving Season. I say go for it, give it a try. I’m sure glad I did. Its a limited brew, so who knows when you’ll see it again, if ever. And hell, its something different out of the normal crop of Pumpkin-Spice-Fest beers.

Slick Nick Winter Ale

THE POUR: Sebego’s Slick Nick Winter Ale pours a light and clear amber.

THE AROMA: A malty spice, usual for a winter beer. Not an overpowering smell here.

THE TASTE: Smooth, and and slightly sweet. Very crisp, and I would almost say “light” for a winter ale. Lots of caramel malts produce the sweetness.

THE DECISION: A malty winter ale, and a nice one. The sweet-spiciness works well and produces an original winter brew that stands out from the pack. I wouldn’t say it is in the head of the pack, but stands out nonetheless.

THE GRADE: B+

THE POUR: Cloudy amber with light carbonation.  Little head retention with almost zero lacing around the glass.

THE AROMA: As the name implies, plenty of herbs.  Like the pour, it’s very earthy in smell.  Nice jasmine flowery freshness.

THE TASTE: Slight hint of hops accompanied by more earthy-herbal tones. Overall dry taste that is not overpowering.

THE DECISION: I like when a beer tastes similar to what you would imagine when looking at the label and reading the name. This beer accomplishes that. Overall I would like a more hoppy bite, but its unique, which is appreciated and expected by a Vermont beer.

THE GRADE: B

Harpoon Ginger Wheat

THE POUR: Pours a clear pale gold with foamy head. Small bubbles of carbonation float to the surface as the head settles to a thin later.

THE AROMA: Greeted by the sweet aroma of honey. Strong scent of ginger, awakening the nose.

THE TASTE: The taste is of a mild wheat beer at first, with the ginger appearing boldly towards the end of a sip. The ginger obscures any other flavors, almost overpowering.

THE DECISION: I like ginger in foods, and I now know I do not like ginger in beers. Lots of potential, but I can’t get past that single flavor.

THE GRADE: B-

This beer is #29 in Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series, a limited production of specialty beer styles.

THE POUR: Thick, bronzish pour, with frothy foamy head. Head retention lasts less than a minute, yet a half inch remains.

THE AROMA: Citrus and floral scents, with caramel and grain notes throughout.

THE TASTE: A very malty beer, with mild alcohol flavor at 6.8%. Bready after-tones, which leave your palate clean and dry.

THE DECISION: Almost too much malt flavor for my tastes, yet it goes down very smooth. Great pairing with cheese and crackers. A overall solid offering from Haverhill Brewery.

THE GRADE: B-/C+

I poured it into a snifter and heavily enjoyed it. I should also note that the beer was drank at room temperature.

The initial pour left about a quarter of an inch of head and a very pleasant pumpkinny (pumpkinish?) Smell. not spicy or syrupy sweet smelling. It held an Orange amber color after the pour.

The Smell Beget the taste. It was a very solid ale. Pumpkin notes in it but not like drinking liquid pumpkin Pie. It had a very crisp aftertaste and I felt was an excellent beer.

THE POUR:
Almost zero head retention, yet nice lacy white covering remains on the beer throughout session.

THE AROMA:
Piney, weed aroma with a splash of citrus. The alcohol is very apparent.

THE TASTE:
Thick mouthfeel with quick orange malts that are quickly replaced by spicy hops. Pine remains on the roof of your mouth, as your palate is coated with an alcoholic grapefruit flavor. Flavor remains minutes after sip.

THE DECISION:
Very robust, yet smooth IPA.  A bit more malts then expected for an IPA, but the smooth and piney hops make it quite the pleasurable experience.

THE GRADE: A-

Read reviews for Smuttynose Big A IPA on BeerAdvocate

THE POUR:
This beer pours very dark with a foamy tan head. Once the beer has settled the color stays dark dark brown almost black.

THE AROMA:
Very roasted and nutty, with slight undertones of coffee and chocolate. Smells very good and mild not overpowering.

THE TASTE:
The taste a first sip is very nutty with a hint of black coffee. After it sits the taste turns more bunt than nutty. The finish is dry and lifeless!!!

Mouth-feel is dense and heavy.

THE DECISION:
Overall this beer was a let down. It could be in part that my first experience with a nut brown was with a Samuel Smith. The beer could have better balanced.

THE GRADE: D

THE POUR:
A very cloudy brown with a thin head. The head does not stay longer than 30 seconds to 1 minute!

THE AROMA:
Spicy, wheat sent with a kick of sweet apple. Also notes of dark raisinish fruit accompanied by a floral knockout!

THE TASTE:
Very spicy in the front, as the beer mellows in your mouth it reveals it’s wonderful fruit and floral notes, that rest on your palate, then the bread like quality. After your finish the booze warms your throat down to your belly.

THE DECISION:
This beer was amazing! The overall complexity of this beer was very well put together. Very well balanced, the hops are very well complemented by the spiciness. High ABV at 10% so sip with caution.

THE GRADE: A