I don't think it should come as much of a surprise when I say that I'm not a huge fan of Kennebunkport beers. Of the 5 beers I had tried from them going into last night, only one was mediocre (Kennebunkport Porter) and the rest are awful. And for me, their IPA remains the standard by which I judge all bad beers by. So when a new Kennebunkport beer hit the shelves of Trader Joes a few days ago, I definitely was hesitant to give it a try. My curiosity finally got the best of me though and I gave it a shot last night. Why I do these things to myself, I really don't know.
Kennebunkport Winter Ale pours a deep reddish brown color with a thin caramel-colored head. The beer seemed harmless enough until I held it up to my nose and took a whiff. In a word: unpleasant. The smell has a lot going on, but none of it is good. There's a strange bready malt smell along with a ton of butter, yeast, butterscotch, a bit of booze and some cardboard. I don't know if I've ever been so ready to pour a beer down the drain without taking a sip.
By the time I readied myself to take a sip of this beast, there was only one question in my mind: Could it be worse than Kennebunkport IPA? The smell made the prospect of drinking this beer about as appealing as French kissing an electrical socket, but it still couldn't be worse than the IPA, right? Right???
The taste leads off with something I didn't expect: roasted malt. This wouldn't be bad, except that the roasted malt flavors are quickly replaced by notes of buttered popcorn and metal. The finish has a bit of nuttiness alongside some yeasty/bready notes and some baby aspirin. I tried to finish this, but I just couldn't. My sink got the rest of it. Sorry, sink.
Overall, this was another incredibly bad beer from Kennebunkport. It's on a very short list of the worst beers I've ever had. But was it worse than Kennebunkport IPA? No. It was awful, but not THAT awful. Nothing is worse than Kennebunkport IPA.
Final Grade: F
Top 100 Beers Tasted: 33
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