Harpoon Summer Ale
Brewed in Boston, Massachusetts, Harpoon Summer Ale is considered a summer Kolsch style ale. It was a light, easy to drink summer brew. It is similar to many of the summer ales that I have had before, but after having many of Maine's darker beers, it really hit the spot. They brew it from April to August, and if you are ever in the northeast around that time and run into it, I think it is a winner.
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale
Smuttynose Brewing Company is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1994, it claims to be New Hampshire's leading craft brewery. The label with an old brown dog caught my attention, but the beer was just ok.
I think it was the fact that I was drinking a winter sippin beer in the summer, but it was a little too rich and dark for me to enjoy. I think if I had one of these in the cold of winter, it would have been better. For a summer vacation, it was a little too much.
Long Trail Brewing Company
Long Trail is a brewery in Vermont. The two beers that we tried from there, Long Trail Ale and Double Bag seemed to be pretty popular. They were on tap at most of the bars that we went to, and they were for sale almost all of the beer stores.
LONG TRAIL ALE:
This was the flagship beer for the brewery that started in 1989. It is classified as a German Altbier. It was just another solid northeastern ale to me. I thought it was good, but there really wasn't much that stood out to me about it.
LONG TRAIL DOUBLE BAG:
Double Bag is a Dark Amber Ale. It was a very good beer and it had a very solid ABV of 7.2%. The coolest thing about it to me was the label on the bottle. There are 2 cows, bags hanging down, looking like they are ready to be milked. This seemed to be a popular beer as it was all over the place as well. Shawn bought a 22 ouncer of it, and was our poster beer of the week!
Belfast Bay Lobster Ale
Belfast Bay Brewing Company is in Belfast, Maine, which is in the northern part of the state. This was Shawn's favorite beer of the trip. From the label on the bottle to the pour into a glass, to the taste, Lobster Ale was exactly what I thought of when I was envisioning the beer we would drink on our trip.
The beer was a red ale, and it poured with a deep red, almost copper color. It was a really hoppy beer, but it had enough malt taste to make it just right.
I thought it was very good. It paired perfectly with the lobster boil night that we had.
Allagash Brewing Company
Let me start by saying that neither Shawn not I cared much for the two Allagash beers that we tried. It is another of the many breweries in Portland, Maine. Although we didn't like their beer, I will give them credit for being different in an area where there are a lot of run of the mill beers.
ALLAGASH WHITE:
This beer is a Belgian Wheat. I really expected to like it. The pour made it look light and tasty, and it had a nice head. That's where it stopped for me. It was much too spicy for my tastes. It seemed to have a coriander and fruit spice flavor that didn't work for me at all. To be fair, somebody must like it, because it has won several medals at the World Beer Cup over the years. I am going to plead being an unpolished redneck on not appreciating this beer.
ALLAGASH DUBBEL ALE:
Another beer that from reading the bottle, I thought I would love...Not so much. It is a red beer with an ABV of 7%. It claims to be malty with a light fruity finish. I found it to be dry and bitter. There really wasn't anything about it that would ever make me want to drink it again.
Dogfish Head Brewery
Unfortunately, we only got to drink two of these beers. They were fantastic! Both were very unique, but equally awesome!
DOGFISH HEAD RAISON D'ETRE:
It is classified as a mahogany brown ale. I haven't ever seen that before, but I hope to see it again soon! The best way for me to describe it is a ton of malts that you taste quickly, one after another. None of them are too much, but there is a rapid succession of flavor that turns into a lightly hopped almost fruity finish. I haven't ever had a beer like that before, and at 8% ABV, it packs a nice punch.
DOGFISH HEAD INDIAN BROWN ALE:
I had no idea what to expect with this one. It claims to be a cross between a Scotch Ale, an IPA, and an American Brown. It started with a good malt flavor, then hops, followed by roasted malts again, and then a bitter flavor that finished with a light malty taste. It was great! I don't think I could drink a ton of them, but I'd like to try.
Sebago Brewery
I don't know if I had drank too much when I tried Sebago's beer or if it was just that unimpressive, but I have very vanilla feelings about it. We only had a couple of them and they really don't stand out at all. It is brewed in Maine, and it is only sold in Maine and Massachusetts, which I found interesting.
SEBAGO RUNABOUT RED ALE:
This was just another red ale. It wasn't bad, but it was just like any other red ale you can get any where in the world. If you are up in that part of the country, spend your drinking time on another one of Maine's great beers that you can't get anywhere else.
SEBAGO BOATHOUSE BROWN ALE:
Boathouse Brown is very similar to New Castle to me, which I like a lot. It was a good beer, but, again, not all that different from the norm. It was a good beer, but there was a lot of great beer that is very unique to Maine.
Gritty McDuff's Brewery
Gritty's was a pretty cool little brewery and they make a damn good beer! I was able to visit the brewery while my wife and daughter went to a series of outlet malls. The beer I drank there was the most expensive of the trip due to their shopping spree.
They claim to be from Portland, but the Brewery is actually in Freeport, which is about 10 miles outside of Portland. It was a really small operation. The restaurant was packed, but I was just there to drink. The bar area was small, but it was ok. Shawn and I had already tried several of their beers, so my drinking there was all a repeat, but it was good because I liked their beer!
GRITTY MCDUFF'S RED CLAW ALE:
Red Claw Ale was a well balanced red ale. It had a nice smooth taste but was a little more hoppy than I would have liked. Overall all, it was a good beer though. I liked one or two of them, but I doubt I could have bellied up to it all day long.
GRITTY'S MAINE'S BEST IPA:
I usually don't do IPA's even a little bit. Shawn had a couple at the house, so I felt that I should try it(he is a big IPA guy). I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't bad at all. The hops were definitely the main event, but they weren't over bearing. It was a good beer. I will go so far as to say that I could drink a six pack or two of it.
GRITTY'S PUB STYLE ALE:
By far my favorite Gritty's beer... We had some at the house, and then I had several more at the brewery. It was a malty brown ale. The malts were the prevailing feature, and it had a nice smooth finish. It wasn't too strong at all. It was a beer that would fit any occasion.
Bar Harbor Brewing Company
Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, the Bar Harbor Brewing Company does a really good job. We got to try three of their beers, and they were all good. Just as a side note, all of their bottles have a cool label and you know I am a sucker for good marketing.
BAR HARBOR CADILLAC MOUNTAIN STOUT:
This was a jet black engine oil looking beer. To be honest, it scared me a little after I poured it in the glass. However, after a drink of it, I was sold. It is a dry stout that had a lightly fruit finish in the hops. It wasn't exactly a summer beer, but it was great. I would imagine that it would go great with those cold ass Maine nights in the winter.
BAR HARBOR THUNDER HOLE ALE:
I read that Thunder Hole beat New Castle and Sam Adams in among other at the World Beer Cup last year. I can see why. It was an excellent brown ale. It had a nice sweet malt start, followed by a little hopped flavor and then finished smoothly with more malts. I loved it!
BAR HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE ALE:
I thought this was interesting. It too was a brown ale. After drinking the Thunder Hole Ale, I expected Lighthouse Ale to be totally over hopped. It wasn't at all. It had several flavors of roasted malts that transitioned into a light hoppy finish. The hops didn't seem to go away, but they weren't so strong that it ruined the beer for me. I thought it was good beer
Andrews Summer Golden Ale
Andrews Brewing Company is from Lincolnville, Maine. Their Golden Summer Ale was the only one of their beers that we saw to try. It was probably my single favorite beer of the trip.
Classified as an American Blonde Ale, it pours a light yellow color. The malt flavor starts strong and dissipates into a sweet honey flavor. Just when you think it is going to be too sweet, the hops take over for a smooth finish.
If you have a chance to try this beer, I think it is a can't miss. I wish we had seen more of Andrews beers to try.
D.L. Geary's Brewing Company
Geary's beer was probably my favorite brewer of all the different beers that we tried. Top to bottom they made the best selection of beer. It is another Portland Maine brewery, and was founded in 1983. We found four different beers from there to try.
GEARY SUMMER ALE:
I love summer seasonals, and this was one of the best ones that I have had in a while. It was light and crisp with a nice citrus flavor. The flavor was great. I really wish we could buy it in Arkansas.
GEARY HAMPSHIRE SPECIAL ALE:
This is a very solid ale. It has a light malt start, and transitions into a smooth hopped finish. Nothing about it is too strong. It is the flagship beer for their brewery.
GEARY LONDON PORTER:
Another very solid beer. There really wasn't anything special about it, but it was just a good porter. I usually like porters, and this one was everything it should be.
GEARY PALE ALE:
I usually shy away from pale ale's, but I really liked Geary's version. It was very easy to drink. It tasted a lot like a lager such as Budweiser or Coors Original. Another beer that really didn't have anything off the charts special, but was just very solid.
Some of the beers that we sampled from different breweries were all over the map. Some were great, and others were not good at all. Geary's was consistently good.
Sea Dog Brewery
This is one of Portland, Maine's breweries, and in fact one of the ones that I visited. On the way back my family spent the night in Portland and we went to eat at Sea Dog's. The food and atmosphere were fantastic! This was also the brewery from which I sampled the most beer, although it wasn't my favorite.
Here are the beers I tried and a brief review of each:
SEA DOG STOUT:
This was a very stout beer to say the least. It was very dark and heavy. The flavor was ok, but it was definitely a sipping beer and not the best selection for the summer.
SEA DOG HAZELNUT PORTER:
I think this was my favorite of the five beer sampler I ordered at the brewery. It was dark and rich, but not overwhelming. It had lots of good malty flavor and finish smooth. I ordered another pint after I finished the sampler.
SEA DOG GOLLYWOBBLER BROWN ALE:
I usually like brown ales a lot. This one wasn't bad, but it left me wanting a little more. The malt flavor dissipated quickly leaving a void, and then had a lightly hopped finish. I felt like it was a beer that needed a little more. It wasn't bad, but it could have been a lot better.
SEA DOG PALE ALE:
Not very good to me at all. It had a funky flavor all the way through. Some people might like it, but it just really didn't fit my tastes. I had much higher hopes for it.
SEA DOG OWLS HEAD LIGHT ALE:
It was the pale ale mixed in water. Enough said.
SEA DOG WILD BLUEBERRY:
I usually don't go for fruit mixed in my beer outside of maybe a lime. I have to admit that this was a very good beer. Shawn bought it as part of a sampler pack, and it was very good. I would classify it as a desert beer as it was very sweet, but it was very tasty.
SEA DOG RASPBERRY:
This one reaffirmed why I don't like fruit in my beer. It tasted like a raspberry fizz wine cooler. No thanks. I blame this purchase on myself due to liking the blueberry beer.
All in all, I am glad I drank the Sea Dog beers. They have an excellent restaurant and they are very active in brewing in Maine.
Shipyard Brewing Company
Shipyard beer is the most readily available Maine beer here in Arkansas. I did drive right past it, but I wasn't able to go in due to the complete mess that American Airlines put me in with connecting flights. I arrived in Portland, Maine after midnight on Sunday morning.
Anyway, surprisingly we only had three of Shipyards beers. All three were excellent, and I hope to see them down here soon.
SHIPYARD EXPORT:
It is a solid full bodied beer with a respectable ABV of 5.1%. I had several of these and they were great.
SHIPYARD SUMMER ALE
We also had several of these (I love some summer seasonals, and most of the breweries had them out!). It was a nice smooth sweet flavored summer ale that was really easy to drink. It was very good!
CARRABASSETT PALE ALE
The last of the Shipyard brews that we tried... It is from Casco Bay Brewing Company, but is a subsidiary of Shipyard. It was a smooth, easy to drink, American Pale Ale. It has an ABV of 4.2%, poured a nice copper color, and had a nice fruity flavor with just a little taste of wheat. I thought it was a good beer.
I left an even bigger fan of Shipyard than I was when I arrived.
