Spring Lager

Thimble Island Spring Lager
Plastic sample cup, 4.4% ABV

Sampled at the brewery, Branford

thimbleThis is a mystery beer. No, not a mystery like the other day when I went into Harvest in West Hartford (shout out to my boys, yo) and the guy was all, “Do you like beer,” and I was like, “sure,” and then he goes, “Here, have some of this mystery beer,” and I was all, “Okay,” and then he poured me some while hiding the vessel and then I drank it and said, “Heady?” and he was like, “yeah,” and I said “thanks, man.”

No, this is a mystery beer in the sense that Thimble Island doesn’t have it listed on their website. I’ve never heard of it in the many bars and restaurants that have Thimble lines. I’ve never seen anyone chatting about it on Twitter or anything else.

And while I did have this beer during the spring (mid-June), spring beers in this day and age usually are released in February or March.

So mysterious.

And again:

Thimble Island Says:

Nothing I can find

Hm.

I made a quick stop in at Thimble Island on my way to a CFPA event in Guilford, celebrating the completion of the “southern gateway” of the New England Scenic Trail. As always, the staff there was super friendly and I always like the vibe there.

I also always like their beer. In light of that fact, I brought a 32oz growlette in with me and began sampling. I was in a rush, so I told the guy that I only wanted the two new beers on tap, one of which was this Spring Lager thing.

doucheNow, I’ve been a champion of Thimble for the entire two-year run they’ve been on. Great group of guys and gals, and some really great beer. When I run through my list of top Connecticut breweries and get past the “no duh” tier (NEBCO, Beer’d, now OEC), I always mention Thimble in the 2nd tier.

This has been met with surprise and skepticism on occasion. Whatever, I’m always right.

Ahem.

Anyway, I just wrote that preface to feel a bit better about saying this Spring Lager is by far their most boring effort. Seriously, there is nothing going on here. Nothing.

It’s boring and bland and watery. Oh Thimble Island, don’t let me down!

Now granted, the “spring lager” style is boring and bland by definition. It’s a style that really has no apex. It just “is” It can be done wrong, sure, but in my opinion, even when the best do it perfectly, it’s still just too bleh for me.

So there I was, appreciating the free samples with an empty growlette in hand… and realizing I wasn’t going to be filling it.

Which totally made me feel like a right douche.

Overall Rating: C
Rating vs. Similar style: C

Thimble Island Brewing Company
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