Review: Shipyard Double Old Thumper

I picked up my sample bottles of Double Old Thumper today. 

Thanks to Tami Kennedy at Shipyard Brewing.

This is literally double the Old Thumper- 5.6% abv is doubled to 11.2%.

This beer isn’t hiding anything- you can smell booze in the nose and it goes down hot. No doubt this beer being a week of the bottling line contributes to that.

The smell is floral, a little fruity, some cherries, hints of butter.

Like Old Thumper, this one doesn’t declare the Ringwood yeast flavors as plainly as some of Shipyard’s other beers.

At 11.2%, I was expecting something like J.W. Lees barleywine, maybe. DOT is sweet, but stops short of being cloying with some citrusy hops in the finish.

This beer is boozy. It doesn’t burn, but it tastes pretty warm. I was given two bottles; the other one will go into the cellar to be revisited in January 2012. I have a feeling some mellowing out will do wonders for this beer.

It’s not my favorite in the Pugsley’s Signature Series- that title goes to the XXXX IPA- but this is a fine addition and my probably new favorite Maine barleywine. I’d have to try it next to a T2-R9 Barleywine (coincidentally, also 11.2% abv) to be sure.