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Notes on beers brewed by

Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers
Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Apr 20, 2007

On-tap, Taco Mac, East-West Connector, Austell, GA, USA $4.75. Nice looking pour, pretty deep brown color with a decent head and good lacing. Plenty of malty caramel notes, a dryish finish and some final bitterness. Smooth. The dry character makes this a good Red Ale, but the overall character is more reminiscent of a solid Brown Ale. Pleased I tried it. Surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. I wasn't expecting much but got a pretty good sessionable and drinkable brew. Solid effort, nothing...

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Octoberfest Lager

Jun 13, 2006

Pretty standard offering in the style, not bad but nothing to write home about either. Pour was a little on the flat side for my liking against the clear amber body. Standard nose with some spice and sweetness apparent. Taste had the usual characteristics one would expect, but had an odd earthy component too. A little off-putting. As with most Oktoberfests, as the warmth got into the beer the flavors became more pronounced. OK, try one when you can, but don't expect anything more than a simple...

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Blonde Ale

Jun 9, 2006

Bought as a single from Jax, Sandy Springs, GA, USA. Pretty typical of the style which has a tendency to pour initially with an attractive, frothy head, only to lose it very quickly and the beer become really rather flat in both appearance and body. Nice cream ale taste with some drying, bitter hops - I always think of the style as a sweetened Pilsner. This is pretty representative of the style with no surprises. Golden in the glass and decent summertime drinkability, but outside of that a...

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Liberator Doppelbock

May 22, 2006

Bottled 2006, huge 1.0 L flip top. Deep brown with a large head initially, but this soon fades to leave very little head or laing. Aroma is deep alcohol and burned and roasted malts. The roasted bitterness was surprising to me. I expected much greater smoothness. Alcohol is a bit strong too. Not as mellow as I usually like my Doppelbocks to be. Strangely, desite the lack of smoothness it is still very drinkable.. Roasted malts, chocolate and smoky undertones. Quite complex.

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Old Marley Barleywine

Mar 22, 2006

2006 vintage, $6.95 at Green's, Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA, USA. Nice presentation in the blue, unusual shaped bottle with the swing-top. Certainly an eye-catcher. Pour is a disappointing, drab, murky dark brown that looks like a cross between a Dubbel and a Porter. Not at all attractive. The appearance is not helped by a somewhat flat feel that adds up to an underwhelming start. Aroma is a milk chocolate based alcohol. Warming, acidic hops with a strong alcohol presence. Some sharp, dry...

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Imperial Porter

Feb 18, 2006

1.0 L swingtop, an impressive presentation but it does set the bar very high for what follows. 2005 vintage. Black body, with brown highlights at the bottom of the glass. Large head initially but not much retention. Some layered lacing. Well, it's difficult for me to distinguish this from a strong stout. Whatever "Imperial" means in this context (and it is a moving target) it imparts a fairly harsh roasted bitterness and a sharp hop based finish here. Drinkable and I enjoyed it, but I prefer a...

Thomas Hooker Irish Style Red Ale

Thomas Hooker Hop Meadow IPA

Sep 25, 2005

Good, reddish/amber body and a very attractive head and lacing. Nice looking beer. Good clean hops in the nose. The taste is disappointing - incredibly bitter with a lack of layers or complexity. There is very little discerning character, and a lack of malt, sweetness or smoothness. It's bitter all the way without a break. The bitterness is not citrus based either, but much more harsh. As in warms there is a little more malt character, but it fails to quell the immensely bitter profile....