A few months ago, we were visiting Nantucket Island off Massachusetts, as we were driving around, we stumbled across Cisco Brewers. Hmm, I thought, seeing how I am a home brewer and like beer, maybe we should visit. Unfortunately, they were not open yet. Sounds like a good reason to go back to Nantucket Island and take a tour. They offer tours and tasting on everyday except Mondays.
I had basically forgotten about Cisco Brewers until a couple weeks ago when I was looking at different beers in a store and noticed they had the Whale’s Tale Pale Ale from Cisco. I did not get to try any while on Nantucket, so I decided to pick up a six pack and give it a try.
Often, I will research a brewery to learn their history. Sometimes it can be quite interesting reading how and why their started. I did learn that Cisco Brewers is also the location for Triple Eight Distillery and Nantucket Vineyard. I have not heard of too many breweries doing all three. To learn more about what they offer from their distillery and vinery, you can visit their website. They do have a single malt whiskey that cost $888 for 750 ml.
Below are a few words about their various beers, then I provide my thoughts on their Whale’s Tale Pale Ale.
Whale’s Tale Pale Ale: an English style pale ale. This is their flagship beer. It uses Maris Otter malt with hints of crystal malt and hopped with East Kent Goldings.
Sankaty Light Lager: a light American Golden Lager. A light-bodied lager offering distinct hop character, low ABV, and only 126 calories, great for those hot summer days.
Captain Swain’s Extra Stout: a full body ale, using 13 different types of malt.
The Grey Lady: a dry and spicy wheat beer that is fermented with Belgian yeast and brewed with fresh fruit and spices.
Bailey’s Blonde Ale: a blonde ale that uses plenty of domestic hops to give this beer distinct hoppy character and a huge floral nose.
Indie Pale Ale: a red-orange ale that balances a full malty body with fruity apricot and grapefruit hop character. Summit Hops provide a satisfying finish to this pale ale.
Moor Porter: the slightly fruit hop and fermentation characteristics are smoothed and balanced out by the chocolate and roasted malt flavors.
Summer of Lager: a Bavarian style light lager that is released at the beginning summer. The subtle hints of citrus make this a light, refreshing beer that is great for hot summer nights.
Baggywrinkle Barleywine: is a style of stronger ale offering a rich, sweet malt character and hop flavors.
Pumple Drumkin: this ale is offered only during the fall. It has a deep orange hue with a slight pie aroma that marries well with the robust malt character.
Island Reserve:Very Brown IPA: is a extremely brown India pale ale. It has a medium-light body that continually offers hop bitterness and orange that reveals itself from the bittersweet chocolate. According to their website: “If you want the assertive hop aroma in this beer you need to drink it right away. Do not age hoppy beers and hope to find beautiful hop character in them. There are a lot of hops in this beer, please drink it young. If somehow it slips your mind and you find an old bottle in your cellar the malt character will shine through the muted hoppiness.”
They also have a series of beers that they call “The Woods”, because all of these are aged in wood barrels.
My thoughts about the Whale’s Tale Pale Ale: It has a honey like color with a slight fruity / citrus hop aroma. The hoppiness of this beer is at the forefront, with the malts becoming more pronounced at the back end of it. It has a medium body. I believe it would pair nicely with spicy foods or with a good hardy steak. It would be a great beer to offer on that hot 4th of July picnic; refreshing, but not heavy.
