Barley Wine, Shipyard Brewing Company, Maine, 11.2% ABV

Pouring with a tall layer of pillowy light tan head, the body is an interplay of  copper shadows and ruby highlights. No particular aroma. The initial taste begins with a flash of sweet malt which is quickly washed away by a strong layer of hops, dry and mostly tart, citrus, with a little bit of pine and earthiness emerging in the aftertaste. A lasting finish with hops laying at the back of the throat.
I’m hoping that this will be a great beer to go with my beef pot pie, we will see in a moment, once the content of the pie has cooled from volcanic to merely hot. Well, the idea was good, based on my memories of Old Thumper, beef pot pie seemed to be a good match, the beef and gravy should bring out some of the hops in the beer, while the beer will help to wash down the heavy gravy. However, Double Old Thumper is far hoppier, thus there is far too much hops (for me) brought out by the beef and veggies. If you like a heavy dose of hops with your food this might be right up your alley. On second thought, after finishing my dinner, the beer is suddenly a nice balance of malt and hops. Lets see what time brings… I think I like it better without food.

Double Old Thumper is the creation of Shipyard’s Master Brewer Alan Pugsley, who trained at the Ringwood Brewery, the original creator of Old Thumper. Shipyard is also the brewer, sectioned by Ringwood, of Old Thumper in the US. Haha, the RateBeer description mentions pairing with a ‘hearty stew’ good to know my ideas are not completely off the mark. As a fun fact, when first brewed, 25 years ago, Old Thumper was considered a strong beer, both in England and the US. Nowadays, it is considered of average strength, while Double Old Thumper, literally twice the strength,  is considered strong.

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