Posts Tagged: Beer Reviews
Gritty McDuff's, Portland and Freeport, Maine, USA
Posted by on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 in - 6 comments
Gritty McDuff's Brewpub, Portland • I got to visit both the Portland and Freeport locations of the oldest brewpub in Maine within 24 hours. I am glad to say the brew in each is fine even if the setting of the Freeport pub is a bit rough. It is a bit like drinking in an old storage shed though …
Norway: Mack's Beer and Seagull Eggs
Posted by on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 in - 1 comment
Spring has come to the Northern hemisphere - it is even approaching the Arctic coast of Northern Norway. This means it is almost time for a seasonal delicacy in these parts: beer and seagull's eggs. The eggs are gathered in late April/ early May, and are mostly eaten by the locals; though it is …
Stouts: Fresh Draught Stout, Maine Coast Brewing, USA
Posted by on Monday, April 18, 2005 in - 2 comments
This is a smooth cream stout that goes off in a direction that I just don't quite get. A beige ring over really dark black ale. It has chocolate, licorice and roast barley notes but also a somewhat odd Mennonite apple butter thing in the middle. Not unpleasant but really big and malty like you …
Paper City Brewing, Holyoke, MA, USA
Posted by on Sunday, April 17, 2005 in - leave a comment
We stop in Holyoke as our half way point between Maine and home. Last year at a gas station I saw in the beer fridge one of the Paper City Brewing Company's ales and I recalled I liked it. This year I headed into town and found a variety twelve pack for 13.50 USD. • As I have said before, these …
Quick Note: Lake Placid Ubu Ale
Posted by on Thursday, April 14, 2005 in - leave a comment
This ale is the partner to Lake Placid's 46'er reviewed last month. It is a fine ale but hard to pin-point for style. At 7%, it is like a low-hopped strong US brown or even a weak Belgian dark strong beer. At its heart it is a big malty brew with some definite notes of chocolate and even a bit of … read more »
Quick Note: Harpoon Ale, Boston, Mass.
Posted by on Monday, April 11, 2005 in - leave a comment
A pal brought a 12 of this back from the States the other week. If one skips the border fees - as HE did - it was under 15 CND for the case. It is a well-made brew with a good measure of pale malt graininess but, compared to other north-eastern pale ales I might choose, like Shipyard Export Ale …
Two of the Gueuze
Posted by on Saturday, April 9, 2005 in - 2 comments
So, I am sent to the LCBO the other day in search of a flask o' plonk and I am thinking how useless the organizations' beer policies are as they appear to have stopped even providing their quarterly new seasonal selections. The last time new beers showed up was in late November. Sad state of …
Quick Note: Sam Adams White, Boston, USA
Posted by on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 in - 2 comments
This is clearly the second worst witte beer I have ever had after the craptacular but generically, expansively called Belgian Witte - the yellow lollipop beer - reviewed last year and available under that link above. Sam Adams White Beer is not so bad that it is foul - it is bad because it barely …
Quick Note: Smithwick's Irish Ale
Posted by on Sunday, April 3, 2005 in - 5 comments
I have had Smithwick's on pushed CO2 tap and think of it as that classic dreary keg ale Dave Line was warning about in the 1970s. In Chapter 11 of Pete Brown's 2003 book Man Walks into a Pub, entitled "Kegs, Casks and the Decline of Bitter" we learn what a kegged beer really is. It is not pretty …
New York: Saranac IPA, Matts Brewing, Utica
Posted by on Monday, March 28, 2005 in - 14 comments
I was asked the other day what I thought of Saranac beer by the Matt Brewing Company of Utica New York, a small regional or big micro which has survived a number of cats lives. When I pop over the river and go shopping in the USA, I am stunned that shopkeepers know nothing of Middle Ages brewing …
