Haverhill Brewery Inc / The Tap Reviews

tfontana	3.5 The Tap The Valley - Double Dry Hopped Half pour at the brewery. Appearance is opaque yellow with finger-width white foamy head with poor retention but nice lacing. Aroma is strong nonspecific citrus and fruit. Taste is as aroma. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium bodied with smooth texture, average carbonation and dry finish as taste. Overall, aroma and flavor are in the right ballpark but nondescript. Glad for the tick. Friday, July 29, 2022
ClarkVV	3.4 The Tap Wisp Brewery draught, 5/28/22. Bronze-amber, clear, small, off-white/light-beige head atop showing moderately-low retention. Tons of fruity smoke in the nose with soft caramel and honey from the rich malting. Clean. Smoke is dominant though not problematically so. No alcohol noted. Strongly malty, with tons of honey and light caramel. Smoke comes on heavily but is deliciously-done. A bit underattenuated for my liking. Very sweet, despite it somewhat helping to balance the smoke. Wednesday, June 1, 2022
DJMonarch	3.4 The Tap Sassy Rabbit Rye Red Cask Stillage at GBBF 2012, Kensington Olympia 09/08/2012 Hop and fruit aromas. Amber coloured fruity hoppy and floral with a hint of dryness in a bitter rye malt finish. Saturday, March 12, 2022
DJMonarch	3 The Tap Biesl Lager Cask Stillage at GBBF 2011, Earl's Court 05/08/2011 Floral aroma. Amber coloured fruity and a little sweet on the palate with a hint of dryness and bitterness in a slightly pale malt finish. Saturday, January 15, 2022
Beese	3.5 The Tap Annie Schwartz Cask at GBBF, Earl’s Court on 04/08/2010. A cask schwarzbier? I’ll bite. This was actually really good and worked very well on cask. Ended up more like a mild or maybe a Porter. Good malty flavours and hint of burnt notes. Friday, August 14, 2020
Beese	2.7 The Tap Helles Belles Cask at GBBF, Earl’s Court on 07/08/2009. Not bad for a cask lager, with some malty notes and a little floral hop. Sunday, June 7, 2020
matthew18	3.8 The Tap Solar Plexus Monday, February 10, 2020
CaskTun41	2.7 The Tap Tappist 8 Sunday, August 18, 2019
CaskTun41	3 The Tap Jean-Baptiste Sunday, August 18, 2019
trapped	3.4 The Tap Mosaicus Can, from Cambridge Wine & Spirits. Pours hazy dark orange with large foamy off-white head, light grapefruit aroma, medium carbonation, bitter grapefruit - citrus peel taste, smooth body, long finish. Solid, quite smooth. Tuesday, July 9, 2019
trapped	3.6 The Tap Joshua Norton Imperial Stout Can, from Cambridge Wine & Spirits, Cambridge, ME. Pours opaque dark brown with small foamy tan head, roasted malt-caramel aroma, faint alcohol smell, low carbonation, bitter roasted malt - soy sauce taste with alcohol undertones, smooth thick body, long finish. Bitter but not too bad. Thursday, June 13, 2019
trapped	3.5 The Tap Solar Plexus Can, from Cambridge Wine & Spirits, Medford MA. Pours hazy rich yellow with small foamy off-white head, lemon-mango aroma, adequate carbonation, medium bitter citrus-unripe mango taste, thin body long finish. Very nice and easy to drink. Sunday, May 26, 2019
BrewPupil34	0.5 The Tap Solar Plexus Saturday, April 20, 2019
jcwattsrugger	4 The Tap Hipstah Juice Kehd Monday, December 3, 2018
GregMooreNH	2.4 The Tap Joshua Norton Imperial Stout Pours black, with a three finger, tan head. Aroma is roast. Taste is light brown sugar, moving to medium roast, with a light bitter hops. Finish is roast. A poor stout. Saturday, October 20, 2018
Sandro Mosque	3.1 The Tap Homerun APA Monday, March 26, 2018
BuckeyeBoy	3.4 The Tap Leatherlips IPA 12oz bottle pours out crisp golden topped with a white head. Nose is floral pine hops and some grain. Tatse is more of the nice hop combo floral some pine citrus and bread malts. Sunday, March 11, 2018
drsordr	3.6 The Tap Solar Plexus Can brought back from Massachusetts by co-worker pour hazy light to avg gold with large white head. Nose tropical fruit, floral, resin, light dank. Taste moderate bitter up front, grapefruit, pineapple, mango. Light bitter late. Some balancing sweetness. Saturday, January 27, 2018
BroSpud	3.2 The Tap Intergalactic Acid 16oz can gifted from Nathan. Hazy golden pour with a white head. OK for what it is and surprisingly drinkable for such a low abv. Drink this with your sausage and kraut. Friday, December 29, 2017
Bitterbill	3.4 The Tap Haverale Cream Ale From Aug 2008 This pours a hazy pale gold with a 2 finger head of foam. The smell has a strong corny smell along with some fruit and some spice. The taste is bready with some fruit flavours of maybe mango and some orange. I also get a yeasty flavourness that I didn't expect from a Cream Ale. It's quite nice. Great head retention on this medium bodied Ale and it finishes with a fruity tartness and hop bitterness that is both pleasing and long lasting. This one really tastes different and I'd have to say, in a positive way. And man, at 4.5%abv, it yells out drinkability. Good stuff. My apologies to the trader that sent this to me as I accidentally moved this bottle to the fridge without putting the info in to my memory bank. Thursday, December 7, 2017
Quick3Beers	3.4 The Tap Intergalactic Acid Pours a slightly hazy light amber from a can. Tart light fruit aroma, nice tart fruity but nondescript flavor. Good beer. Saturday, November 25, 2017
malrubius	3.4 The Tap Invisible Creatures Opaque light orange beige with lasting small head and lace. Medium sweet grapefruit bready doughy with medium-heavy canned grapefruit-mango juice bitterness. Medium-light body (heavy for style) with bitter bite. Kind of a mess but at least not fizzy like a lot of NEIPAs. Wednesday, November 15, 2017
radarsock	2.7 The Tap Fleur de Gin Please don't brew this again. And if it another batch does get made, please fix the recipe before tapping it. I didn't waste any time time with my notes. "Tastes like an unfinished sour with a burning sharpness of floral toothpaste, damp oak, tobacco, and corn kernels." DME sneaks in back like a wite-tapped weasel. Had to order to chicken wings to get taste out of my mouth. What a shame. Saturday, November 11, 2017
radarsock	3 The Tap Mosaicus Holds a most bizarre seaweed astringency from beginning to end. Medicinal. Malt is obnoxiously loud. You could perhaps argue that this is in fact "balanced" though all of the profiles are unnervingly unpleasant and hardly a bright or floral Indianized pale ale. Sea-saltiness noted at finish. Pass, Haverhill. Saturday, November 11, 2017
Bitterbill	3.8 The Tap Leatherlips IPA From Aug 2007 I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks, John! Pours from 12oz bottle a cloudy light gold with a nice big head of foam that fades after a while but every time I take a sip and put my glass down, there's another close to 1" layer staring at me from the glass and...there's lots of sticky lacing. The smell is very hoppy with notes of pine and citrus. The taste, well, it's hoppy as hell with big pine and grapefruit profiles but there must be just enough malt in there because I don't find it overly bitter except right near and through the finish. Man, that grapefruit is ruling it now and it makes me want to take sip after sip and at only 5%abv, I'm definitely going to indulge myself. Btw, if I want to bring out the bitterness more, I just swish it in my mouth and then, my mouth puckers a bit. lol. This is a damn good IPA and a fun one to drink. How do I know it's fun? After every sip, I find myself smiling. ;^) Bottom line: This is my first Haverhill brew and boy am I impressed! Thursday, October 26, 2017
Kleg	4 The Tap Maize-A-Faire Friday, October 6, 2017
GDTRFB	3 The Tap Invisible Creatures Pours blood orange into a shaker. White head with little retention recedes to skim surface. Sourdough and hot caramel aromas. Soft with sour vegetables and rotting fruit skin front to back. Dry dusty particulate finish. Wednesday, August 30, 2017
bbbeer	3.6 The Tap Solar Plexus Opaque golden yellow with medium white head. Aroma of hay, grass, citrus hops. Medium-full body, somewhat boozy. Flavor is bitter up front with pine and grass then becomes more sweet with some tropical fruit. I like the flavors but I think a little too sticky overall throwing off the balance. Friday, August 25, 2017
AirForceHops	3.2 The Tap SMaSH Pilsner 5 oz glass at the brewery. Unfiltered/ hazy appearance. Aroma of malt and biscuits. Mild German hop note. The flavor shows of malt, biscuits, and cereal. Low bitterness. Ends clean. Very traditional. Good for the style. Sunday, July 16, 2017
AirForceHops	3.6 The Tap ClauseniIPA 5 oz. at the source. Cloudy, pale and orange colored in appearance with a small white head. Aroma of citrus peel, sour grains, maybe grapefruit. Similar flavor, tropical and zesty with mild lactic hint toward the finish. The fruit in combination with the tartness would maybe this appealing for any Sourhead. Medium to light body with a slight lighter feel. Pretty refreshing on a mild summer day. Sunday, July 16, 2017
AirForceHops	3.7 The Tap Invisible Creatures 5 oz. sample at the brewery. Aroma reminds me of NZL hop profile, peach skin, pineapple, and mango. The aroma smells fantastic. The flavor starts off great, that tropical fruit combo follow by a pale grain backbone. Juicy texture with a low bitterness level. The flavor doesn’t carry all the way through, falls just a bit flat in the end Easily my favorite of everything on draft during this visit. Still easily drinkable. Sunday, July 16, 2017
AirForceHops	3 The Tap Skydog 5 oz. sample at the source. Color is a deep brown, thin head. Aromas of malt and some toffee. Taste the same with a little bitterness. Texture is thin but makes for a decent summer drinker out on the deck. Typical lager style. The flavor is fine. Sunday, July 16, 2017
AirForceHops	2.7 The Tap California Poms 5 oz sample at the brewery. It pours a light amber in color with a thin white head. Aroma is mild Pomegranate and slight wheat. Flavor has some of the pomegranate flavor with some of the wheat backbone. Texture is thin and borderline watery, pretty ordinary. Nothing really wrong here, just simple. Saturday, July 15, 2017
AirForceHops	3.5 The Tap Intergalactic Acid 5 oz sample at the source. Aroma is soured wheat, light yogurt, some light lemon juice. The flavor is light sour lemon and Lactobacillus. A nice classic version. Finish is really nice subtle tartness with a hint of salt. Saturday, July 15, 2017
AirForceHops	2.9 The Tap Cranberry Bog Sour 5 oz sample at the source. Sloghtly golden pink color/ straw body. Aroma is cranberry, sour wheat, mild acid. Flavor is strong amount of sour cream of wheat with a mild cranberry note in the back end. Asprin finish. Ummmm Saturday, July 15, 2017
WillRunForBeer	3.3 The Tap Cranberry Bog Sour From notes. Draft at the source. Pours reddish brown with and off white head. Aroma is cranberry, orange, grape. Flavor is mild sour wheat, cranberry, a hint of orange. Strange tomato skin bitterness in the finish. Wednesday, June 28, 2017
WillRunForBeer	3.9 The Tap Invisible Creatures From notes. Draft at the source. Pours very cloudy pale straw gold with an off white head. Aroma is tangerine, grapefruit, mango. Flavor is white bread, tangerine, lime, mango. Grapefruit peel bitterness in the finish. Quite good. Wednesday, June 28, 2017
WillRunForBeer	3.5 The Tap Homerun APA From notes. Draft at the source. Pours light golden brown with an off white head. Aroma is floral, grapefruit. Flavor is caramel, grapefruit peel, floral hop. Pine bitterness in the finish. Wednesday, June 28, 2017
WillRunForBeer	3.4 The Tap Whittier White Draft at the source. Pours pale straw brown with an off white head. Aroma is banana and clove. Flavor is dry wheat, banana, clove. carb is perfect. Solid wit Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Bulk_Carrier	3.9 The Tap Robust Porter Reviewed from notes. The appearance was a dark brown close to black color with a sly film of a little off white foamy head. Subtle stringy lace. The aroma coughed up some roast and sweet milk and dark chocolate malts to present a good strength with a big coffee bean roastiness. Light earthy hops at the end. The flavor was the roastiness, pretty bold up front with the chocolates combining really nice with the coffee bean. Not much of an aftertaste - slightly dark chocolate-like. Dry sort of roasty finish. The feel was about medium bodied with a pretty good sessionability about it. Good carbonation and ABV. Overall, pretty good porter - worthy to crush during early Spring or mid Autumn. Sunday, May 14, 2017
Bulk_Carrier	3.6 The Tap Hewitt Brown Reviewed from notes. The appearance was a fairly dark red almost brown color with a finger’s worth of white foamy head that slid off pretty quick. No lace. The aroma had some dark and milk chocolate combination to sweet and roasty nuts. Just a touch of earth in the backbone. The flavor cued up the sweetness of the malts to slyly move into the dark roastiness. Just a hint of aftertaste mainly the dark chocolate. Finished with a little bit of earthiness, dark chocolate and some slight caramel. The palate was about medium bodied, slightly under with a sturdy carbonation and seemed to have the correct ABV. Overall, pretty nice brown ale that I could have again if I could get it. Sunday, May 14, 2017
Bulk_Carrier	3.4 The Tap Srybnys Pumpkin Patch Ale Reviewed from notes. The appearance was a semi-clear orange color with a thin white foamy head. Dissipated to leave some stringy lace. The aroma had some cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin sweetness, light toast, dark bread along with some earthiness. The flavor had the spices up front, fairly bold over top of the pumpkin sweetness. Some pie spice trying to mix it all up a bit further. Aftertaste was full of the spices; the finish was the same way. The palate was between light and medium bodied with a decent sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. Spices had some harshness but weren’t too distracting, felt pleasant for the most part. Overall, good enough pumpkin ale that I could have again. Sunday, May 14, 2017
Bulk_Carrier	3.9 The Tap Bricketts Brigade Brown Reviewed from notes. The appearance was a good looking brown color with a cap of a little white head. Slight sliding lace. The aroma had sweet and roasty nuts, some caramel/toffee sweet malts and some earthy/grassy hops. The flavor leaned into the sweetness at first and then blended more with the roast as it warmed. Decent aftertaste and smooth sweet to roasty finish. The palate was between light and medium bodied with a good smooth feel all around. Overall, really nice brown ale when I had it. Sunday, May 14, 2017
migwell	3.6 The Tap Joshua Norton Imperial Stout Occasionally I’m struck by the oddity of our rating system here on RB. Here’s a brew that mainly scores 3.5 and up, with a few dissenters. These numbers generally get you an 80 to 90 range rating, but this stout gets a 65. Weird. In any event, big can into a Belgian ale glass. Pours a very dark brown with reddish hints. Aroma of coffee and roasted malt, flavor much the same with a bit of vanilla and molasses. The alcohol is truly nowhere in evidence. There is somewhat of a burnt taste involved here, which is a bit of a black mark. I would call this a decent, mid-range imperial but nothing special... and give it an 85. Thursday, April 13, 2017
ClarkVV	4.4 The Tap Maize-A-Faire Draught at Worden Hall, 1/25/17. High clarity in this pale, flaxen-golden beer. White head atop is medium-sized and quite well-retained for a pale lager. Soft hints of corn/cereal character is very clean-smelling. No corn syrup, staleness, anything like that. Hints of honey from the malt with light mineral, soft, grassy and herbal hops and a touch of pepper on the end. Smells very pleasant, clean, mild and inviting. Crisp, light, dry and flavorful (honey, light bread, corn), with ample, yet fairly soft carbonation and an appropriately malty texture. Tons of mineral, light honey, floral and peppery hops. Exquisitely clean and drinkable with no alcohol noted. This is a pre-pro lager that doesn’t even lean on the hops for character; it’s all in the deliciously done malt and flaked maize. Phenomenal and wonderfully drinkable and refreshing. Monday, March 6, 2017
egg	3.8 The Tap Solar Plexus Pours a hazy off yellow. Nose fruit and green veggies (broccoli). Taste is broccoli, lime, citrus hops, sweet, candy, some booze, gummy bears, blueberries. Pretty good id say. Lots of fun things going on flavor wise Tuesday, February 21, 2017
jimhilt	3.3 The Tap Joshua Norton Imperial Stout Pours a two-finger brown head that fades slowly leaving traces of lace. Black color, no highlights. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Burnt chocolate nose and flavor is burnt chocolate with a burnt/bitter after taste. $6.49 for a 22oz bottle from Julio’s Liquors Westborough, MA. Sunday, February 5, 2017
callmemickey	3.3 The Tap Solar Plexus Hazy pale-golden body, medium to large white head, and soapy lacing. Lots of juicy tropical fruit notes. Unfortunately, lots of residual sweetness and booze too. Gets in the way of things for me, but might be more tolerable for others. Saturday, February 4, 2017
AdamChandler	3.9 The Tap Solar Plexus Tallboy. nice pop of the can, good solid hazy pour with big thick bubbles and resilient lacing. Looks like a golden orange hazy beer but not milkshake levels thank god. ooh that smells good like fresh squeezed OJ. nice work! carb is dense, thick and champagne like. fruity juicy with pine cone and tangerine. lovely finish with some pine resin. nice job guys! Monday, January 23, 2017
WillRunForBeer	3.7 The Tap Solar Plexus 16oz can dated 1/4/17, from CBC. Pours cloudy orange gold with an off white head. Aroma is mango, lime, grapefruit. Flavor is orange, mango, lime. Pretty juicy. Grapefruit peel bitterness in the finish. A little harsh, as most IPAs over 8% tend to be. Tuesday, January 17, 2017