Belfast Bay Lobster Ale

Bottle from Canal’s in Berlin Twp. in NJ. From the label, this appears to be one of the last batches from Belfast Bay before Shipyard acquired them. Regardless, not much special here. A run of the mill amber which looks good in a glass - clear garnet with ruby hihghlites and a thin tan head - but which doesn’t do much after that. Mildly malty aroma and a toasted caramel flavor with a hint of milk chocolate. Clean finish. Not a bad beer but not a memorable one.

12 oz bottle, poured right after mowing the lawn. This one was quite a suprise because I had low expectations from something called "Lobster Ale". Poured a beautiful deep reddish/brown with a good size off white head that settled to a 1/2 inch of creamy foam that lasted most of the beer. Aroma of bready and caramel malt, floral hops and some brown sugar? Palate was refreshing with a slight creaminess from the suprisingly nice head. Flavor is a decent hop/malt balance with a little more emphasis on the malt. Pretty nice beer, not to bold but a good thirst quencher with some interesting qualities.

Thin offwhite head of fine bubbles. Light carbonation. Light malts, vanilla, nuts and some soft bready malts. Hint of spices (cinnamon). Color is a dark crimson. Fizzy mouthfeel. Very lively, with more spices, roasted malts and a bit of hops and bitterness. Sharp dry flavor from the hops and roastyness. Finishes clean with a lingering nuttiness. A decent brew but nothing special.

Pours an amber ruby red color with a medium beige-white head. Very faint aroma of apple-pear juice and hops. Taste is bland ale flavor with tiny hints of watered down hops and malts. Not much going here.

Light amber in color with a small white head. Aroma is of caramel and toasted malt. Flavor is slightly sweet,malty, a touch of hops and finishes with a faint tartness.

12 oz. brown screwtop bottle whose lable would seem to indicate that it is among the last to have been brewed by the Belfast Bay company as opposed to Shipyard...


Surprisingly dark red, almost brown in color with about a finger of off-white head. Smells malty with a hint of hop bitterness. Roasty malt flavor, maybe a hint of skunk unfortunately. Medium to full bodied. Tasty, but it would be better if it didn’t have just that hint of skunk quality to it. It gets better as the skunkiness dissipates somewhat. A pretty decent ale, I’d say. Too bad Shipyard brews it now, only because the character of the ale will probably change a little.

Bottle: Clear orange with a thin white head, caramel and stale hops in the aroma, medium bodied with mellow carbonation, starts and ends very slightly bitter, off-taste at the end.

Cold 12oz bottle: Pours a clear dark amber with barely any bubbles. Aroma and taste are of rich malt, mild hops, caramel and fruit. Moderately bittersweet ending.