Hugh Sissons | Independent Beers

Review – Heavy Seas Sea Nymph

May 11, 2012 Author: Scott
3 Comments
Today Chris and I are reviewing Heavy Seas Sea Nymph. This particular review comes after a trip I made to The Perfect Pour to meet Hugh Sisson of Heavy Seas from this short article (note the signed six pack above). In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:
- Appearance
- Aroma
- Mouthfeel
- Flavor
- Aftertaste
Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/. At the bottom of that page is an HTML template that can be used in our comments if you would like to post your own reviews along with us.

From the Heavy Seas website:

Brewed by Baltimore’s Clipper City Brewing Co., Heavy Seas is produced by Baltimore craft beer pioneer Hugh Sisson – the brewery’s founder and managing partner – and Brewmaster Ernesto Igot, formerly brewmaster at San Miguel Brewery in the Philippines. After successfully lobbying the Maryland Legislature to legalize brewpubs, Hugh began brewing professionally in 1989 at his family’s Baltimore pub – Sisson’s – which was coincidentally Maryland’s first brewpub. In 1994 he left Sisson’s to found Clipper City and has been involved in all aspects of the business – brewing, finance, marketing, and sales.

Heavy Seas, as a brand, was an extension of Clipper City to handle higher gravity beers. The company is now called Heavy Seas with the beers segmented in one of three categories based on style/season: Clipper Fleet (lighter beers), Pyrate Fleet (high gravity beers), and Mutiny Fleet (seasonal beers). Sea Nymph is a member of the Clipper Fleet.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/heavyseasbeer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeavySeasBeer

From hsbeer.com:

Light gold in color, yet crisp and refreshing. This summer ale will pair well with grilled seafood and salads. Available May – August.

Appearance

Scott: Light gold in color is spot on. Mild carbonation showing up. Could easily be mistaken in looks for a light beer.

Chris: Yep, light gold. Can I just copy off you Scott?

Aroma

Scott: A slight sour smell with a hint of earthy.

Chris: I catch just a hint of malts, but just barely.

Mouthfeel

Scott: Smooth and easy. Very similar to the light beers previously mentioned.

Chris: Clean.

Flavor

Scott: Smell and flavor are going hand in hand on this one.

Chris: Very difficult to pickup. Lightly sweet.

Aftertaste

Scott: Not much there. The flavor dissipates quickly.

Chris: Nada. Uggh.

Final Thoughts

Scott: Not a beer I would go after for flavor, but I could easily see myself throwing a few of these back on a nice hot day. 3/5.

Chris: Exactly what I was expecting based on the Heavy Seas description. 3/5
Beer Tasting with Heavy Seas Owner Hugh Sissons

April 21, 2012 Author: Scott
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From an email I received from The Perfect Pour:

Heavy Seas is a local craft beer staple. Founded by Mr. Sisson in 1994 as Clipper City, the brewery has been putting out award-winning and downright tasty beers for almost twenty years. Their broad range of beers is brewed “to be the best combination of modern beer thinking blended with traditional brewing methods in the beer world today.” We think they succeed.

Hugh will be pouring two special beers and one customer favorite. Try the brand new Sea Nymph summer seasonal and the newly-released Plank II, a Doppelbock aged with eucalyptus and poplar, and remind yourself of the greatness that is Loose Cannon.

Come support your local brewer and enjoy some of the best craft beer on the market.

So I decided to head over to The Perfect Pour after work and check out the scene.

Hugh was on hand to do the pouring for the tasting. He was also happy to pose for pictures.

With pen in hand he was also signing six packs and bottles!!

Overall it was a good time. Hugh was happy to answer any questions people had about his beer or his brewery. I’m happy to see local business owners coming out to do meet and greets with fans of their products. Hugh really is a pleasure to be around.
Heavy Seas Real Ale and BBQ Fest

March 14, 2012 Author: Scott
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Kelli and I recently went to the Heavy Seas Real Ale and BBQ Fest. It was a lot of fun hanging out at the Heavy Seas Brewery and getting to meet Hugh Sissons again. Below are the pictures from the event. I refrained from doing beer reviews, as there were too many beers to drink, and I really just wanted to relax and have a good time. After clicking on a picture below to enlarge it you can use the arrow keys or your mouse wheel to go to the next picture.

Kelli and I arrived late to avoid any long waiting lines to get in to the event.

This event wasn't as crowded as the oyster fest...

But there were still a good amount of people around.

I started the day with the Imperial Stout.

The band was rocking out some great classic rock.

Kelli asked, "Isn't an American IPA an American Indian Pale Ale?"

The brewery was open for everyone to walk around.

And with the weather being nice, the outside area was open, too.

While we were outside I stopped into the tent and grabbed an Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

There was plenty of food if you were hungry.

It was Hugh Sisson's birthday, so I had another of his beers in his honor.

I'm a huge sucker for these kinds of things.

Find them on twitter @HeavySeasBeer.

This was the gift table for Hugh...

And this was his very cool cake.

It seems that over the course of an hour, more people had arrived at the event.

I ran into Hugh, and he made a birthday wish for everyone to have a great time at his birthday event.

By the time I made it back around to where the band was playing, Kelly was singing with them, again.

Right next to the band was the Imperial Chocolate Stout, so I had some.

I love taking pictures of bands...

And find myself unable to resist the urge...

To fire off a few shots.

An easy way to handle the amount of bathroom breaks required.

While wandering around I found a nice little medal collection.

It seems the Marzen is really popular.

Hugh took some time to open his presents.

And I had another beer, the Siren Noire.

Shortly thereafter I had the Peg Leg Imperial Stout.

These cardboard cutouts where everywhere, and it was funny to see Hugh posing with one.

The ladies took their turn, too.

Last beer of the day (and for those counting my eighth) the gold ale.

Website: http://www.hsbeer.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/heavyseasbeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeavySeasBeer
Heavy Seas Beer and Oyster Fest – February 2012

February 10, 2012 Author: Scott
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Kelli and I recently went to the Heavy Seas Beer and Oyster Fest. It was a lot of fun hanging out at the Heavy Seas Brewery and getting to meet Hugh Sissons again. Below are the pictures from the event. I refrained from doing beer reviews, as there were too many beers to drink, and I really just wanted to relax and have a good time. After clicking on a picture below to enlarge it you can use the arrow keys or your mouse wheel to go to the next picture.

We arrived at the Heavy Seas Beer and Oyster Fest about 45 minutes after it started.

There was plenty of action, but I headed straight for the closest taps for a Märzen.

Right after that beer I ran into owner, Hugh Sissons.

He recommend I try the Black Cannon Black IPA before it ran out, so I did.

There was a good crowd on hand for the fest.

And it was really cool to see where they brew the beer.

Food was included, and the shrimp sandwiches were perfect!!

1:07 p.m., and just in time.

Fried Oyster sliders. I had to take this picture quickly because they were going fast.

In the back of the brewery there was a two tap setup, so I grabbed another Märzen.

Jonathan (a serious oyster expert) was on his 3-4 plate.

He and Kelli love going to oyster fests together.

There also was live music playing all day.

Huge was signing his new book Brewing in Baltimore, with Author Maureen O'Prey. He wrote the forward.

His book can be bought from Arcadia Publishing If you’re interested in buying it.

Nice 'stache.

Last picture before I hung up the camera for the day was Kelli getting oyster ice cream...it wasn't good. It tasted like an oyster/seafood soup.

Website: http://www.hsbeer.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/heavyseasbeer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeavySeasBeer