Third Bear
Saugatuck Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

A: Medium brown with red highlights. The tan head billows to almost 3 fingers but tightens to about one, which stays for the duration and leaves good patching behind.
S: Steely upfront, this beer is undoubtedly English in style. Breads and thick biscuit dough along with toastier notes dominate with some leaf underneath.
T: Fruity upfront and sweet; leafy and steely notes pull right in before the breads, firmly complemented by the leaf / flora.
F: Medium bodied, quite smooth and moderately crisp, thinner end but keeping movement on the palate.

 

 

 

Pours a clear, copper color. 1/4 inch head of an off-white color. Slight retention and slight lacing. Smells of sweet malt, caramel malt, slight alcohol, slight hops, hint of tea, slight yeast, and spices. Fits the style of an English Brown Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, slight caramel malt, yeast, slight spice, hint of tea, slight hops, hint of roasted malt, and a hint of alcohol. Overall, complex, decent aroma, body, and blend, but weak appearance.

Taste: Crisp, caramel malt, hint of flowery hop and stone fruit with a dry finish. Same with the nose. Dark Amber, slight cloudiness, big foamy head with some lace. Medium/Full body. 25 IBUs

 

 

 

 

12oz bottle, a part of the current Saugatuck mixed pack.

This beer pours a clear, medium bronzed amber colour, with one finger of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly tan head, which leaves a bit of old coral reef atoll lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy caramel malt, a kind of astringent and phenolic yeastiness, rubber tires, underripe bananas, bubblegum, and some very tame earthy, weedy, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is lightly roasted caramel malt, a bit of crackery white breadiness, still hard to stomach yeasty notes, somehow unpleasant apple and banana fruity esters, and more plain leafy, weedy, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate for the job at hand, via its supportive frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and sort of smooth, I suppose, as those aforementioned astringencies take a thankful breather, of sorts. It finishes off-dry, the blighted caramel malt carrying on like nothing ever happened.

Overall - yeah, I don't know what the hell happened to this brew on its way here from western Michigan, but something ain't right here, as noted. I gagged a little when I first got a whiff of the aroma, and things only improved somewhat from there. Third Bear is not like any sort of 'English' style ale that I've ever come across, that's for sure.

 

Bottle pkgd. 04/09/16. Michigan tulip pint.

A: slightly cloudy dark Amber with 1/2 finger off-white head. Roiling carbonation. Head recedes to thin cap with a thick ring. No lacing. Head fades as I drink it down.

S: let it warm up! getting something like green bananas or acetone. Not unpleasant, just weird. As it warms, some butterscotch and diacetyl, but it is gentle and teasing.

T: sweet caramel, banana, slightly earthy hoppy arrival. Turns more dark bready toast and woodsy medicinal hop toward the mid palate and end. Motor oil? Lanolin? Pretty soft, clean finish. This is odd in that there is a lot of hop flavor in the middle, but not as much bitterness in the end. Bitterness is noticeable, but not overbearing. Maybe a touch under 30 IBUs.

M: lighter side of midweight; well carbonated, but not excessive. Not slick; quite clean.

I: take an English bitter, and turn the volume WAY UP. The flavors I enjoy in a bitter are all here - that part is perfect. But they are potent; this is not as much of an easy drinker as I would expect it to be. Would buy again if I'm in Saugatuck, but I'm not going out looking for this next time I'm in Muchigan.

 

From a bottle, this brew has a deep copper-amber color and a slim white head. The aroma is restrained....a little malt and a little nut cents, but very slight. The taste is nice...toasted, bread-crust and malt. Enough hops to balance with a firm bitterness. Not overdone, though, this is very drinkable. Medium in body and enjoyable.