REVIEW - Heavy Seas Phantom Ship

TL;DR summary : Don’t bother. 

Beer style: Bourbon Barrel aged Tripel

ABV 10%

What I paid: 11.99

How it came (packaging): 22 oz. bottle

Brewery link: http://www.hsbeer.com/beer/phantom-ship/

About the Beer: I’ve already talked about the Heavy Seas brewery here. Phantom Ship is part of their “Uncharted Waters” series, which is essentially a series of seasonal, barrel aged beers. I was pretty excited to give this one a try. I love a good Belgian beer, and barrel aging does neat things.

Color/appearance: hazy orange to amber, thinish white head

Aroma: banana, clove? Other spices

Mouth feel: thinner than I expected, effervescent finish

Flavor: spice, vanilla, banana bread (without the nuts) finishes slightly sour.

Notes:  not what I was expecting at all, light body, yet boozy. The characteristics from barrel aging come through on the back end. Not sure it does much good or bad.  This is a sipping beer for sure.

Summary:  In all, this was kind of a let down. I expected some big, robust flavors. All I really got was an ok Tripel with a little vanilla and a hint of the bourbon oakyness. For the price, I think you can better examples of the style without any fancy gimmicks.  The best thing about this beer is the ABV, and that’s really not reason enough to buy it.

Rating : 2.5

1 – avoid

2 – if it’s the only choice, I guess

3 – a decent beer. Drinkable.

4 – good beer – hard to turn down

5 – great beer - One of my favorites, pour me another.

Style:  2.5