Mount Desert Island Ginger

 Pour me a nice tall glass of…ginger ale? Why not? Schweppes or Canada Dry here, but rather I’m requesting a nice refreshing glass of Atlantic Brewing Company’s Mount Desert Island Ginger. I suppose they could call it ginger ale if they wanted to. It is an ale, and it does contain ginger, after all.

But that might cause some problems, since most people’s conception of ginger ale does not include alcohol. But I can tell you that if you enjoy the taste of fresh ground ginger, Mount Desert Island Ginger is more the beer drink for you than a glass of ginger ale. Let’s allow Atlantic Brewing to talk about their beer:

A refreshing wheat beer spiced with fresh ginger root. The process of making this wheat beer has been nicknamed “special ginger tea” due to the fact that we add over 20 lbs. of fresh ground ginger root into the boil.

We use pale malt, and wheat, as well as Target and Whitbread Goldings Variation hops to flavor this light, summer ale.

ABV 5.2%

And Mount Desert is a light and refreshing wheat ale. Ginger is truly a pungent spice, but that spice is not overdone here. People often talk about matching beer with food, and this is a beer I thoroughly enjoy with Asian cuisine.

One might think the ginger in the beer to be overkill when paired with ginger in your favorite dish, but really it’s not. A local Chinese establishment I frequent makes a delightful beef dish with lots of fresh slices of ginger, and the light ginger in the beer accentuates rather than overpowers as an accompaniment. Then too, Mount Desert is a natural with sushi.

Mount Desert Island Ginger pours to an orange yellow hue with a very light, spritzy head formation and a spicy, peppery nose. The palate has a good dose of malt for a wheat beer, but there’s some light and crackery wheat character, too.

And then there’s the spice. As you might expect, the notes of ginger permeate. They don’t overwhelm the taste buds, but they are certainly the most predominate flavor going on as one might well expect.

In the finish, there’s a gentle, balancing hop bitterness, but the ginger lingers more than the hops. And it’s delightful. You might think twice about ginger in your beer, but think a third time about the fact that hops are a spice, ginger is a spice, so why not ginger in your beer?

I’m sure that’s what the fine folks at Atlantic Brewing were thinking when they dreamed this one up. And I for one am sure glad they did.