Brewery: The Shipyard Brewery, Portland, ME (USA distribution) OR Ringwood (Marston plc), Ringwood, Hampshire, England (UK distribution)

Brewery Description (put together from the Ringwood site): “Ringwood’s strongest beer was first brewed in late 1979 without a name, but a competition in the local press inspired Joe Leedham from Broadstone, Dorset to come up with a suitable zany suggestion! Although by no means our biggest seller because of its strength and high duty cost Old Thumper is our best known beer. Luscious balance of grain and hop in the mouth, bitter sweet finish with delicate fruit notes. Warm, rounded yet surprisingly delicate pale strong beer.”

Brew Style: A Premium Bitter/ESB, 5.9% ABV

Recommended Glassware: English pint

The Ugly Truth: So if people haven’t figured it out yet, the whole “I’ll post beers on Friday” thing has gone out the window. Its now pretty much “I’ll post one when I actually have the time to drink a beer”. Downside is that you never know when one is going to go up, upside is if I’m having a good week you could get like 2 or 3 reviews easy. Alright, Ringwood Old Thumper. Good stuff, very good ESB (so in other words, 2/3 of the BostonGeek staff won’t like it). Copper amber color with a thick white head to it. Very hearty and pleasent aroma, with a hint of sweetness to it that was interesting. I found the taste to be strong and flavorful, while maintaining a light to medium body. There was a decent kick of hops in the taste with what I found to be a crisp, dry finish. Some good bittersweet tones to the aftertaste. At first I thought that the aftertaste wasn’t very long lasting, but when I had finished drinking it and I could still taste the hops 10 minutes after I was done I changed my mind. Good, solid drinking beer especially if you like Premium Bitters. I think it would go quite well with some sausage or burgers.

Verdict: Old Thumper pounds out a 8 out of 10 bottelcaps.

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