Watermelon Ale
Coddington Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap 7/1/13 at the brewpub, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains a lot of watermelon along with light caramelized malts and a faint touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with a strong watermelon sweetness that fades quickly. Then there’s a mild but yet harsh hops bitterness that quickly follows. The malt character is very thin and does not provide much balance. The after-taste is bitter-sweet.

M: Crisp but not very smooth, light body, medium carbonation, finish is dry.

O: Not very tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, very mild kick, decent representation of style, even for the style this is not a very good beer.

 

Poured on-tap and served in a tumbler pint with a wedge of watermelon. The beer is a crystal clear, pale gold coloring with a ring of white film. The nose is subtle, with watermelon sweetness on a toasty wheat backbone that is slightly spiced. Flavors are very sweet, like a Jolly Rancher that has soaked into a Golden Ale. Tart and sweet into the aftertaste, too. Slightly overpowering and cloying. Smooth, clean body with a syrupy, slightly lingering finish.

 

 

 

I was only going to review one beer from Coddington, but this one took me by surprise, so I took out the Droid to take more tasting notes. They serve it with a minuscule slice of watermelon acting as garnish on the side of the glass. Okay, it helped me keep it identified from the other 6 beers in the sampler. Very light amber in color with a thin white head composed of tiny bubbles. All of their beers had the same type of head so I'm guessing it's a result of forced carbonation through the taps and not so much the conditioning.

The first whiff is what prompted me to review this. Really fresh watermelon and it remained even after I discarded the garnish. Very slight malt presence and no discernible hop aromas. The taste followed the smell. Very mild bitterness, very mild...almost non-existent. Really crisp beer with a nice finish, the finish isn't clean but the aftertaste is of the watermelon's understated sweetness.

The body was pretty light, but not as light as their blueberry blonde. It worked for this beer, as well as the carbonation level which was pretty high but not distracting. It made for a very drinkable beer.

Poured in a 7 oz. sample glass as part of a beer flight at the Coddington Brewpub in Middletown, RI.

A: Poured a light, pale straw yellow color with a very subtle hint of pink to it. Garnished with a watermelon wedge and had good clarity.

S: Smells of sweet, zesty grain and light, natural watermelon.

T: A dry, crisp balance of lightly toasted malts, dry, herbal hops and a lightly sweet natural watermelon flavor. The overall flavor mirrors the Golden Ale closely with a subtle real watermelon flavor added to the mix.

M: Light bodied, crisp and pretty refreshing. A little sticky from the watermelon juices, but still clean overall.

D: The better of the last few watermelon ales I've had in recent memory. Gets credit for using real watermelon but demerits for just adding it to an already somewhat mediocre recipe in the Golden Ale. Women and natural fruit beer junkies will enjoy it more than most.

On tap, presented in a shaker pint with a slice of watermelon.

Pale to medium gold in colour. Topped by a bare whiff of white foam.

Light hop aromas and some interesting fruitiness abound in the nose.

Light malt flavours, a touch of biscuit. Plenty of fruitiness rolling around in there, along with a subtle taste of watermelon. Lightly hopped, but just right. Light/medium bodied, with moderate carbonation. A tasty thirst quencher.