#013: Heavy Seas Alehouse (Visit & Tasting)

While in Baltimore for Maryland Deathfest, stopping in to Heavy Seas was a must...

Heavy Seas is generally available up here in Central, NY and plenty of six-packs, half-cases, and bombers have graced our refrigerators, but there's nothing quite like getting it from the source - especially when cask options and barrel aged brews are available.

We stopped in for lunch before our first day at Deathfest looking for a good meal and good ales before a weekend of festival food and drink and HS delivered. We drink 'em down right to left.

Powder Monkey: Pale Ale | 4.75% ABV
Very different on cask. Mild, roasted flavor. Bitter and a bit nutty, with a dry finish. Excellent with salty food like their house made chips.

Loose Cannon: American IPA | 7.25% ABV
Also on cask. Hoppy and smooth, while still being piney and bitter. One of the hoppier IPAs I've had on cask. Much of the hop characteristics are usually muted with the warm, almost uncarbonated style, but this still punches through. The finish is much earthier than in bottles. Great variation.

Riptide: White IPA | 7.25% ABV
Excellent. Bright and citrusy with a wonderful, prickly mouthfeel. A bit tart and tangy. Looking forward to picking this one up in bottles. No cask option on this one this time around.

Holy Sheet: Abbey Ale | 9% ABV
Brandy barrel aged "Uber Abbey Ale" from the Uncharted Waters series. Mmm... taste the barrels. Mildly boozy and nice oak notes. Sweet, but not too sweet - caramelly with hints of tropical fruit. Wonderful mouthfeel. Not heavy or sticky. Hints of vanilla extract in the finish.

Overall a wonderful ale house. I would have liked to see a few more local-only brew options on draft (or more tap options in general), but the food was great and the service was ultra friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable. We were even graced with a "Apple Jack Sparrow" - a beer cocktail of their Imperial Stout with Fireball liquor and Green Apple Pucker, which was marvelous.

#005: Heavy Seas 'Uncharted Waters': Siren Noire (Imperial Chocolate Stout)

My first taste at Heavy Seas revamped 'Uncharted Waters' series.

The Brewery: Heavy Seas (Halethorpe, MD)
The Brew: Siren Noire (Imperial Chocolate Stout)
Availability: Bottles (Bomber)
ABV: 9.5% // IBU: 18.5
Rating: 8.5
Location: Home

The Story? For 2013, Heavy Seas rebooted their 'Mutiny Fleet' series to the 'Uncharted Waters' series. Vastly improved artwork (I've always been a fan of their 12 oz. branding) over 'Mutiny', plus upgrades with the brews themselves. This first release in the series sees their Imperial Chocolate Stout tossed into bourbon barrels (which always draws me in...) and tripled the amount of chocolate nibs and added vanilla bean.

The Beer? At first pour I know I'm going to like this one - dark black and about a millimeter of head with chocolate and raisin on the nose. Open the hatch... not as thick as I was expecting, but it hangs on the front of the tongue (moreso than on the back).

Creamy, nice dark chocolate flavor with the bourbon well balanced and not boozy. Beautiful malts (2-Row, Crystal, Chocolate, plus Roasted Barley) dance around my mouth as a dryness begins to build - a pleasant, dry bitterness begins to build, like eating a whole dark chocolate bar. Oddly enough, the mouthfeel lingers more than the taste.

Overall, a solid stab at the bourbon barrel imperial stout. If you've never had one, this is a great place to start. I give respect to house well balanced the bourbon is with this. It's obviously affected the stout in all the ways it should, but it doesn't come off as a sipping, potent concoction (not that those who do don't have a place in my top ranks). A wonderful beer for the price. Not much from Heavy Seas has ever disappointing.


Nickname: The Apprentice

Wishlist: Heavy Seas - Holy Sheet

Heavy Seas third installment of their Uncharted Waters Series is Holy Sheet - a 9.0% ABV Belgian style abbey ale spent time in a brandy barrel. Their Siren Noire is hanging out at the house now. Looking forward to giving it a friend later this month (May 2013).