Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

Brewery: Clipper City Brewing Co.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Style: Pilsner
Brewery Website
Rating: A

The Heavy Seas label represents Clipper City's "big beer" line that all clock in at 7% alcohol or higher. Each of the Heavy Seas beers is bottle conditioned, which means that yeast is added to the bottle to carbonate the beer naturally (instead of having CO2 added during bottling). A good bottle-conditioned beer will gain an added layer of complexity and has the potential to age well (depending on the style of beer).

The Heavy Seas Uber Pils pours with little head that fades rather quickly. It is golden amber in color with a distinct red hue. It is a bit darker in color than the typical pilsner. The nose has both sweet malt and fruity hops aromas. The flavor has a typical lager maltiness. There are both fruity and bitter hops notes present, with the bitter hops being more assertive than the fruity aromatic ones. There are caramel and nut flavors detectable on the palate as well. The Small Craft Warning is medium bodied with a fine carbonation and light fizz. There is some alcohol detectable on the palate as well. The finish has sweet caramel malt notes, a touch of earthiness as well as some lingering fruity hops.

The Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning Uber Pils is well balanced between malt and hops. There is still a bit of residual sweetness, so this may develop a bit with age. I'll have to tuck one away for a few months if I get a chance. This is an excellent beer and is representative of the quality beers Clipper City has been releasing under the Heavy Seas label.