I have some work to do. This is buy a part of the excellent cross section of beers from Maine that I was able to bring back the other week. One of the great things about a good beer shop is the ability to buy singles and mixed packs. When you think of it, a diversity of 12-packs is really no diversity at all. I will work on this post as I work through these ales, leaving a comment as a flag to updates.

• In the front row to the right is Andrew's English Pale Ale from Lincolnville, Maine, 70 miles west of Bar Harbor. The Andrews Brewing Company does not appear to have its own website and it must be tiny as it is not rated on beer advocate, though information on mainebrew.com says they have been around since 1992. This ale is a good example of a clean fresh pale ale without any drastic measures being taken. A pour leaves an active rim of white foam over the medium amber brew. The hops are a bit rough but no Mt. Hood, praise be to whomever. There is lost of pale graininess over sweet malt, too, but the effect is real and husky rather than off putting. A very drying finish. I'd recommend it as would 5 of 6 the beer advocatonians who have found it.
• Next, to the far left in the front row, is 420 IPA from Portland's Stone Coast Brewery. I was worried the 420 would refer to international bittering units but...that...would...be...insane. Nonetheless, it is a step or two up in the hops from the Andrew's Pale and a step up in sweetness as well. The head is a richer white foam that leave thick lacing. There is lots of pale malt fruit with flavours of orange marmalade, lemon zest and green apple and a creamy yeast holding it up in the middle. The hops are right at the front of your mouth with enough strong green herb with twig edging that I am also thinking slight chili heat. Not as sharp as say Ruination - but could there be two? All BA's say yea! 6.9 percent. A definite buy if you like the big hop bomb.
• Back row at the right Casco Bay Brewing's Winter Ale from a variety 12 pack called the "Tackle Box" - click on the photo for a shot of the nice design. Excellent presentation but I was really disappointed that it was four bottles of three varieties. I suppose the way they have marketed it, they could have any mix in the box but I like three of four types best. Regardless, this one was a pleasant surprise as there are not many real winter weight brews from North America which honour the tradition. This one poured a nice light beige head over a deep bright amber tipple. Its aroma is lusty musty old ale-ish orange peel and burlay. It sips a nice orange peel and marmalade, herb green hops and a note of a glyceral turkish delight kind of thing to the body. Good hearty hops at the back of the throat. A pretty fine winter brew and as there was 14 inches of spring damp snow in the in-laws backyard the other day, it is fine for late April - too even at 7.2%. All the advocates like it.
• Middle row, second from the right is Frye's Leap India Pale Ale by the Sebago Brewing Company of Gorham Maine. It is one of the odder IPA's I have had. It boils down to one thing. On my first sip, there is more than a note of the fruitiness which is charitibly like passion fruit and uncharitably like dry cat food. Maybe a bit of Tang, or rather its imitation "Taang" that cheap dry orange juice powder. It is not bad but it is not what I expect in an IPA. Beside this big Tang thang is a rough hop and not a lot else in terms of complexity. Medium bodied. I checked the bootle and there is no unexpected residue or cap rust and there is a nice lace being left by the medium amber brew. Not a bad bottle. Sweet design for the brand. The brewery explains the ingredients for this brew as follows:

  Malt: American 2-Row, Caramel 20L, Caramel 60L & Chocolate Malt
  Hops: Cascade, Nugget, Cascade Leaf
  Alc. %/ Vol. 5.2 %

  What I could be tasting is more like raw white grapefruit peel from that Cascade leaf - which would be the full leaf hop going later into the boil rather pellets - mixed with a fresh baked bread flavour from the malt. This illustrates one thing about flavour and perception. There is obviously no bread or grapefruit or catfood in the brew. There are esters and alcohols and other organic chemicals that my brain is trying to organize. It is likely that I never came in to contact with the key flavour and I am trying to perceive it. I live with more cat food than raw grapefruit peel so that becomes the peg my brain chooses to hang its hat on. Interesting. On tap at the original 1998 Maine Mall brewpub location and the two others as well. Bottles appear to be a new thing for Sebago.
• Back row, left side: Casco Bay Pilsner. It smells of grass and gooseberry. The lightest amber (I see a touch of red without which I would call it deep straw) with a thin white rim of foam is all that is left after a minute past pour. This is all about the hops. Steely mint hops with a slight nod to green at the finish. Supported by the malt, the steel opens a bit to white grapefruit and some notes of plain tea biscuit. A fairly big but stark beer. All the beertonians like it.
• Middle row, second from left we find Boathouse Brown Ale from Sebago. An American brown ale in the style of these three rather than the other Maine brown I tried which was more in the nature of a southern English brown. The difference being the hoppy bite. It is reminding me a lot of the Brooklyn Brown with its dry cocoa meets rich creamy yeast thing. It is very good. The head stays on in a beige foam over the mahogany well-bodied brew. The hops are herby green but not overpowering. Although there is cocoa, there is not much sweetness - perhaps some raisin deep down there. The beer advocates are supportive.
• Dagnab it! A Vermonter sneeked into the bunch. Middle row to the right is Long Trail's Blackbeary Wheat. This is a pleasant enough very light summer brew. The body is quite watery with a bit of effervescence and a bit of malt for a little weight. The body is light straw coloured, the foam rim white. There is some wheat grassiness and berry fruit in the taste but mostly there is lemon juice with a slight roughness of hops. But with only eight IBUs it is hardly what you would call hoppy. 29% of advocates are against it, citing Bud-like qualities.
• Front row, second from the right, Winter Ale from Portland's Geary Brewing. I like the semi-stubbie feel of the bottle, maybe a nod to the shape of an old cone can. The beer pours a fine white rock head that resolves into a foam sustained by the active fine bubbles. The light amber ale is hot, though only 6%, with the slightly musty hop of an old ale. There are lots of fruit flavours in the malt - autumn apple, sultana, ginger-pear - and perhaps even some Belgian candi sugar. Spicy, even like a wee nip of rye whisky slipped in, but also very juicy and more-ish. Geary's calls it a hearty IPA which is kind of an odd way of thinking about it. I think it is a great ale but a little hard to place in style - not really a hoppy American IPA, not really a big malty Winter Warmer. BAers support it.
• Middle Row to the left is Belfast Bay McGovern's Oatmeal Stout. As I have written before, we like oatmeal stouts around here and Maine loves stouts in general. This one ranks well in both the global oatmeal scene and amongst stout Mainers, too. Rocky big bubbly head the colour of Mocha ice cream over a deep brown brew. Then, whammo, on the first sip of the no holds barred coffee, chocolate malt and roast barley medium bodied brew. Under the toasty malts there is minty hop and creamy yeast. All smoothed by the silk of oats. BAer love it. I do, too.
• Back row in the middle is Casco Bay Riptide red ale. It pours a deep cherry reddish amber with a beige head that resolves to a rim. Very moreish grape juicey beer with a bit of a husky note from the pale malt and the rough hops - slightly medicinal on reflection. The sweetness creates a bit of a roundness in the middle that may cloak other flavours but a fairly good drink nonetheless. The brewery says of it:

  Our flagship, this Irish-Style Red Ale proudly won a gold medal at the 2000 World Beer Cup. A combination of 5 different malts and 3 hop varietals, carefully blended, results in a perfect balance. Full-flavored and medium-bodied, the Riptide Red provides surprising complexity for such an easy-drinking brew. The Riptide Red has an original gravity of 1.056 and a 5.4% ABV.

  Advocates consider.
• Up front and center is Geary's Pale Ale. One of the first micro-brewed ales in America, it is a deep amber and have a white head which resolves to a rim. It is remarkably like the previous ale, with a little less cloy and no cherry red in the colour. The malt is a little less masked accordingly. There is a bit of a rough burnt note to it. One perceptive advocatonian writes:

  A lower score on drinkability because the first sip usually tastes the best. Nicely salty, VERY New England, a true seaside beer, goes great with seafood (hint: take a look at the label).

  Salty. Interesting comment. In Halifax as a youth we salted our draught from the shaker. That could be the thing. One to go about ten days after I started this post.
• Finally, on 7 May, almost half a month after I began, I get to the Geary's Summer Ale at 6% I am surprised by the rich malty milky middle like the Choulette Blonde but it is just one note in many in this ale rather than that French malteeser-fest. Around the richness is husky pale grain, some herby rough hops, pear juice and a nice milky quality yeast. This is quite a dandy ale which is said to be in the style of a kolsch but I have not had access to any kolsch here in Ontario so I cannot comment - a project for the future. Here are the advocated comments.

I have been astounded by my trip through these ales of Maine and especially as I know there are as many as again and more that I have yet to try. The stouts are astounding in their variety, the pale ales display confidence and range and a broad selection of styles are represented. The marketplace must have a larger proportion of brave and knowledgeable drinkers than anywhere else in the USA. Some good.