Bar Harbor Thunder Hole Ale

Earning 91 points in 1997, our Thunder Hole Ale won first place and its second Gold Medal at the World Beer Championships in Chicago. Locally brewed Thunder Hole Ale scored higher than Pete's Wicked, Newcastle Brown, Sam Adams, as well as many other Brown Ales from Maine and around the world. Thunder Hole Ale came in first again in 2000 with a score of 92 points! This delicious full-bodied brown ale is described by judges as malty, balanced, smooth and complex.

Thunder Hole Ale goes with everything!

3.2

160 reviews

Bar Harbor, United States

Community reviews

2.3 香りも味もうすい苦味もないせっかく地元で飲んだが、あんまり…

3.2 draft, meh. this one was too sweet and one-dimensional. Wasn’t the biggest fan. Caramel adn sticky sweet with a thin body.

3.2 Pours dark brown with a reddish glow in the light. A foamy, beige head fades to a ring in a minute or two. Moderate lacing. Nose is malty with hints of cola. Taste is sweet, but the hop comes through nicely. Medium body. Soft carbonation. Nice brown ale.

3.3 Big bottle from Mike. Aroma of chocolate bar and malts. Pours brown and gritty with a nice medium white head. Taste is chocolate, malt, malt, and more malt. This is a deliciously frothy malt bomb of a brown ale. Really enjoyed this one.

3.2 12oz bottle. Filtered ruby amber-copper color. Thin, soda-like head. The aroma is mildly nutty, with lot of caramel sweetness. Leaning into what I’d guess it amber malt a little too much..there are cherry vanilla tones that I don’t really want or expect from the style..but as I sip, it grows on me. It is balanced, with a nice spicy hop accent. Not really nailing it, but an enjoyable beer, sort of antiquated.

3.0 Brown color with small tan head. Aroma of malt and grass. Medium body. Flavor dry malt, a little nutty, pleasant and not complex. Nothing particularly bad, or good to say, decently average overall.

3.2 Kind of oddly sour and malty sweet without too much else going on. Another boring brown that doesnt do it for me.

3.2 Bottle. Bought in Bar Harbor. Pours a dark brown colour with generous white head that quickly fades. Aroma is chocolate, hazelnut. Taste is caramel, nuts. Not bad at all.

3.4 On tap in the tasting room. Pours a clear amber with a thin white head. Soft cocoa, nutty. Toasty malt, wheat and nutty gentle malt. Light bitterness, easy and crisp.

3.3 Nut brown ale - a bit of hop at the start then a malty finish. Finish isn’t very long but this is a nice session beer.

3.1 Bomber. Nose is strongly roasty, chocolate and lots of burned notes, with an oily malt slick and some mild rotting fruit. Deep chestnut body with ruby highlights and a tan head. Taste is above average in sweetness with ash and roast, some burned notes -- reminds of a Schwarzbier, really, with some additional chocolate and nutty notes. Crisp light-medium body with a bit of a smoky finish. Hops are minimized. Alcohol is perfectly controlled, but it’s too sweet for me. A good flavor and well done on the whole.

3.4 Pours a dark, translucent copper with low turbidity and a thin, white head that quickly fades. Moderate lacing. Roasted, nutty aroma. Light, slightly effervescent and thin mouthfeel -- a little richer than a Newcastle, but not as full as a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Nutty, caramel flavor. A good representative of the style. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for the Daystrom M-5

3.4 Medium brown pour with an off-white head. Aroma is full of toasted malt and nuts. Flavor is grain, cocoa, nuts and toasted malt. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not bad.

3.2 [bottle] Almost chocolaty aroma with nuts and some fruit. Clear dark brown with a lacy, off-white cover. Very weak hops presence in the flavour with sweet, sherry-like (cellared too long) notes and a mild bitterness. Light to medium body, moderate carbonation, sweet, nutty finish.

3.3 Serving: 12 oz. bottle from State Line Liquors. It pours a deep ruddy color with a decently frothy off white head. The nose is rather fruity and nutty. The flavor has a slightly malty fruitiness to it with the slightest of bitterness at the end. Light to medium mouthfeel. Basically a stalwart session brew for malt fans.

3.3 Nutty malt and medium roast coffee aroma. Clear brown color, minor tan head. Nice cocoa and almond flavor. Medium body, easy to drink. Yes, better than Pete’s defunct ale and Newcastle, not up to scratch with the Caddy Mountain Stout, but then again what is?

3.1 22 oz. bottle shared by DrSilverworm. Pours a clear brown color with a thin film that didn’t last. The aroma had toasted malts, caramel, some mild fruitiness and a touch of light chocolate. The flavor had caramel malts, lightly toasted malts, mild fruit, chocolate. The finish is very weak.

4.0 It pours a thick dark brown, and gives a nice foamy creamy head that leaves a decent lacing in rings. The head is small and dissipates within several seconds. The smell is the malts with just a tad of coffee backed up nicely by some toffee. The taste is the malts again with just a bit of the coffee and the toffee. The palate is about a light to medium on the watery side. Overall, I like this beer. It may not be one of the best "browns," but I still like this beer.

3.3 Purchased from MB for $4.99 exactly. Pours a pruned brownish red (light bronze, perhaps?) with which an off-white, thin head was sustained. Has cereal grain, oatmeal, London yeast, noble hops and cough syrup on the nose. Tastes menacingly floral and medicinal, with notes of malt extract, rose water, soil, European hops and ash. Ends slightly metallic. Fun.

3.3 Bottle shared by DrSilverworm. Poured a clear dark brown color with an average frothy brown head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasted malt and nuts aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Medium toasted sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. This is a complex soft brew.

3.3 22oz bottle, shared. Clear dark ruby red color. Thin khaki head, few dots of lace. Nice maple syrupy malty nose. Body slightly on the bigger side, smoother carbonation, light chocolate malt. Mild aftertaste. Dry texture. Nice, interesting amber / brown ale.

3.2 Bomber to snifter (thanks DrSilverworm). Looks solid; a semi-transparent dark copper with off-white lacing. Smells solid; semi-sweet and malty. Tastes like it smells, but not as prominent. Average on the palate. A decent example of the style.

3.8 A superb brown ale. Pours milk chocolate brown wig an insanely thick and frothy head. Good malted milk and chocolate notes.

3.6 A dark brown ale with a white head. Sweet nutty aroma. The flavor is nutty, barley, a little sweet. A pretty good brown ale.

3.2 22oz bottle. Poured a brown color, with some amber tints, and a small sized off white head. Aromas of roast, coffee, chocolate, some citrus, and caramel. Tastes of chocolate, caramel, and roast.

3.6 tap . bright citrus kissed nut brown ale. hazlenut. touch of grapefruit. liked it.

3.1 Moderate tangy and fruity malt aroma. Clear dark orange color with a large tan head. Sweet beginning that builds to a light bitter finish. Light palate.

3.2 Bottle. Body is a thin looking medium brown with a somewhat smallish head. Aromas are toffee and damp soil. Flavor has a more nutty edge that is decent, but not very complex. Finishes fairly sweet.

1.6 Ugh! I was barely able to finish this and if it wasn’t my last beer I probably would’ve dumped it. Aroma was weak. Not much to pick up other than a slight "beery" smell. Pour was a nice enough deep clear brown with a one finger near tan head. Taste was awful. Thin and watery with garbage, weak terpentine and moldy grass with a nasty bitter aftertaste. No I’ve never tasted any of those things, but I’ve smelled them and that smell is what this beer tasted like. I found myself waiting a lot longer before the next sip than most beers hoping that it would either get better or more would evaporate.

3.6 Pours reddish brown with a medium brown head. Aroma is caramel, nutty and roasty. Taste is sweet with the nuttiness coming through. Very smooth and easy to drink. This is underrated.