Beer 340: Pier 54 from Titanic Brewery

I had the chance to try the Pier 54 from Titanic Brewery way back in August and I've been sitting on this review since then.  Why the long wait?  Because Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is now docked at The Franklin Institute!

If you haven't seen this exhibit, please do yourself a favor and go. I can't begin to describe how mesmerizing the exhibit design is.  You board as do all passengers, across the dock and up the gangway. The scene is set through amazing room recreations, but what I love most about it is the gallery that takes you through the series of communications received by the Titanic that fateful evening in April 1912. Communications that were largely ignored. Was it unwavering faith in the supposedly unsinkable ship that made the warnings seem over-cautious? Was it man's vaulting ambition to be bigger, better, faster? There's a lesson to be learned in this exhibit that is as relevant today as it was back then.

No one and nothing is unsinkable.  I didn't know where I was going with this post when I started writing it, but there it is. No one and nothing is unsinkable. Look at the past year...Penn State's football program. The icon that was Joe Paterno. Elmo. John Edwards. Lance Armstrong. David Petraeus.

Wow. That just got real.

The Pier 54 hails from England just like the RMS Titanic. In fact, the original brewery is in a town right down the road from where Captain John Smith was born! The name Pier 54 was the intended destination of Titanic, but as we all know, she never made it there.

It is an English strong ale and poured a deep golden color. Much of what I smelled also ended up in the taste -- full fruity flavor with lots of caramel undertones.  It had a strong bitter finish.  There was a lot more flavor in this beer than I was anticipating to find given its low ABV (5.4%).  I'll rate it good and bid you bon voyage.

Cheers!