Tap Handle #128: Shipyard - Double Old Thumper Ale

This is a very rare tap. Shipyard's regular Old Thumper tap, with a single boar's head, is more common. The detail and matte paint job on the boar heads is excellent.

The Shipyard Brewing Company was founded in Kennebunkport Harbor in 1992, by entrepreneur Fred Forsley and master brewer Alan Pugsley when they started Federal Jack's Restaurant & Brew Pub. The craft brew industry was just starting in Maine and Pugsley had moved there from England where he'd learned to brew under the legendary Peter Austin at the world-famous Ringwood Brewery in Hampshire. Just two years later, demand outpaced the brewing capacity at the pub and Forsley and Pugsley opened the Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland in 1994 on the site of the former Crosby Laughlin Foundry. By 1996, the company was the fastest growing craft brewery in the country. Shipyard Brewing Company is ranked as the 19th largest craft beer company in the U.S. and 28th overall. Maine's largest brewery produces 17 varieties of English style and seasonal ales and 7 flavors of hand-crafted Capt'n Eli's Soda, and is available in 38 states. Shipyard operates several restaurants and contract breweries; they are partners with the Sea Dog Brewing Company and Casco Bay Brewing Company, and also produces beer under contract for Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company, as well as an American version of Old Thumper under license from Ringwood Brewery. Shipyard is also brewed at the Shipyard Emporium in Winter Park, Florida.

Double Old Thumper is the big brother of the British Grand Champion beer Old Thumper Extra Special Ale, which was created in 1979 by Peter Austin. Double Old Thumper was created by Pugsley and has 11.2% alcohol by volume. It has a brilliant deep copper hue and spicy hop aroma with a complex malty finish, and pairs well with short ribs, lamb, hearty stews, and casseroles. When Pugsley was brewing Old Thumper at Ringwood Brewery in the 1980s it was considered a very strong ale and, by English standards, it still is. Double Old Thumper is literally twice the strength, twice the grist, and twice the hops of Old Thumper. In homage to Old Thumper, the package (and tap) features a likeness of two of the famous Ringwood boars heads. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.07 out of 5.

Shipyard Brewing Official Website