Clipper City's Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

The Clipper City Brewery of Baltimore, Maryland offers several brands of beer, most of which aren't very good. The lone exception is their Heavy Seas series that features high alcohol, robust beers. Loose Cannon is the shining star of the series. It is called a HOP3 (cubed) Ale because it is hopped three different ways - in the kettle, on it's way out of the kettle, and during fermentation. Anyway, HOP3 is just a fancy way of saying it's an I.P.A.

Of greatest concern to me is the label. It features a pirate looking the wrong while his cannon fires and knocks a bird overboard. Just in case the viewer has cognitive problems understanding pictorial scenes, the artist was gracious enough to add dialogue saying, 'Bird Overboard.' What never ceases to amaze me is why the bird is so resigned to it's fate? It can fly, why does it look so suprised? A better label might depict the cannon accidentally backfiring and blowing up both the pirate and the bird. It's Natural Selection: If the pirate can't see and the bird can't fly then they both should die.

The label is the only detail about this beer that I do not appreciate. Loose Cannon is an excellent beer with a strong hop aroma that is fruity without being specific, possibly suggesting fresh grapes. At 7.25% it has a healthy amount of alcohol but you would never know it from the brew's body. The body is quite thin and smooth, making Loose Cannon a beer you can drink and drink more of without feeling like you need to make more room for beer by burping. On the palate, this ale provides an excellent balance between crisp maltiness and hop flavor while finishing dryly with a slight bitterness. This beer is a great choice, don't be fooled by the label like I was - it gives you something to bristle at while you drink your beer.