Sweetwater Motor Boat - SweetWater Brewing Company

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #43 (Aug 2010):

This beer is a tarnished copper color with a head to be proud of. It has a toasty, sweet malt aroma with a healthy herbal hop twang in the back. It's sublimely smooth and perhaps a tad slick. With toasted grain all around, there are quick flashes of caramel sweetness and more of a dried grassiness in the end. The tamed hops add some spiciness and a mildly bitter, herbal flavor. There's also vague fruitiness within the folds. It finishes relatively dry, with that dried grass, toasted grain flavor. This is an off-base seasonal. We love it because the norm doesn't need to be the path for everyone.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 03:51:57 | More by BeerAdvocate

dalepryor

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

05-11-2013 20:03:29 | More by dalepryor

FliryVorru

Alabama

4.25/5  rDev +12.4%

04-29-2013 18:50:39 | More by FliryVorru

immobileman

Alabama

3/5  rDev -20.6%

04-29-2013 04:29:02 | More by immobileman

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

04-29-2013 01:51:37 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

Martinecu

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +19%

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CharlesOrChip

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev +19%

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blackie

Virginia

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

a: poured into a curved lager glass, the beer is a leafy orange-amber in color, capped with a well-retained layer of off-white carbonation

s: dominant aroma of moderately toasted pale grains, very crackery, with a slight caramel sweetness, good herbal hop presence

m: carbonation around light-moderate, soft but appropriate, body a light medium

t: light to moderately toasted pale grains, sweetness light with just a flash of caramel, herbal hop flavors, crackery cereal, finishes dry with toast, dried herbal hops, and a milder bitterness

o: an okay beer, nothing particularly special about it, the flavor is fine but just leaves me looking for a little more substance

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 20:00:48 | More by blackie

HiWire

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

03-29-2013 02:44:16 | More by HiWire

Jamison85

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +19%

03-27-2013 16:14:39 | More by Jamison85

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +12.4%

03-27-2013 00:27:33 | More by bigfnjoe

plinythederek

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -14%

02-27-2013 02:32:07 | More by plinythederek

UnderPressure

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

02-26-2013 12:41:04 | More by UnderPressure

Gerred

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

02-24-2013 01:15:57 | More by Gerred

acsprouse

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +5.8%

02-21-2013 08:41:10 | More by acsprouse

Alek

California

4/5  rDev +5.8%

02-17-2013 03:55:30 | More by Alek

Jacurdy60

Alabama

3/5  rDev -20.6%

02-04-2013 01:12:57 | More by Jacurdy60

Charlie_Hoss

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

02-03-2013 07:18:47 | More by Charlie_Hoss

kjmass

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +12.4%

01-26-2013 18:01:31 | More by kjmass

MAJ85

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

01-20-2013 14:01:36 | More by MAJ85

Dyce

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

01-18-2013 04:33:14 | More by Dyce

Jadjunk

Georgia

3.74/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

"Out titillating version of an ESBBB! These babies are build for speed and comfort. Hit the throttle and dive in with your eyes wide open, you old sailor you! Sweetwater Motor Boat is brewed in the style of an Extra Special Bitter. The fall seasonal beer was introduced in 2008, possibly based on SweetWater's original ESB which was discontinued in the early 2000's. Date on bottle is 10/30/12.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a SweetWater pint glass. Served north of 52º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a creamy dirty white head. Nice retention, a notch above average. Body color is a very hazy copper-orange. Lacing is thin and webbed. With a decent head quality and an appealing lacing, it makes for a very pleasing appearance. 4.5

(Smell) Caramel and pale malts blend with a grassy and floral mild bitter hop aroma. Mild buttery notes, nothing overpowering or droning in the diacetyl. The aroma is fairly well balanced. Potency is medium. Enjoyable overall. 4

(Taste) Clean bready caramel front with a balance in earthy hop flavor and bitterness. Mild, yet full flavors with a growing buttery malt and sharper earthy hop finish reminiscent of English medium alpha blends. Flavor is filling. The balance is about perfect, but the bitterness and hop flavor is a bit muddied and could manage to be a touch brighter and crisper. Overall it's a pretty solid ESB. 3.75

(Mouthfeel) Creamy texture, very mild carbonation with a mild buttery slickness. Body is medium/heavy for the style, medium bodied overall. Alcohol presence is low. I actually found the carbonation a bit too low on this one, just a notch shallow of where it should have been, for either a creamier flavor or a crisper one, either way it was too low. Body a bit higher than anticipated, makes for lower drinkability. 3.25

(Overall) An enjoyable beer with a good balance. My biggest complaints are in regards to a heavier body, a low carbonation and a shallow, albeit plentiful hop profile. The common diacetyl tones are also on the low. Amongst my very few local choices for ESB options in Georgia. In fact, it's the only Georgia-brewed ESB. Despite my lack of options, I wouldn't mind picking up a six pack of this each season. 3.5

SweetWater Brewing Company's
Motor Boat Ale
3.74/5.00

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 00:42:15 | More by Jadjunk

Thorpe429

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.8%

01-17-2013 23:17:13 | More by Thorpe429

Slikpitt

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +12.4%

01-16-2013 15:15:10 | More by Slikpitt

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California

4/5  rDev +5.8%

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