February 24th, 2010
by Jan
in
Beer Events |
1 Comment →
Tomorrow, February 25 Novare Res is putting on a benchmark tasting event built around Unibroue beers.
Unibroue is one of the leading Canadian craft brewers, big but still in my mind a craft, quality outfit.
The event will involve a brewery representative, and in the Novare tradition the beer selection will be over the top. Here’s the list:
Fin du Monde
Don de Dieu
Edition 2005
16th Anniversary
17th Anniversary
Quatre-Centieme
Seigneuriale
Trios Pistoles
Quelque Chose 2002
Quelque Chose 2010 (two, chilled and unchilled)
This is not cheap, tickets are $33, but that includes snacks paired with the beers. Each beer is a three ounce pour, just about right, and the event promises to be a memorable event.
I’ll be at the 6:30 session…. See you there!
February 10th, 2010
by Jan
in
Beer Reviews |
1 Comment →
It’s almost time for the big NERAX festival in Somerville, Massachusetts. We’ve taken to calling that festival NERAX Classic to distinguish it from other satellite festivals NERAX runs or in which we participate.
March 24-27 are the dates and tickets are on sale now. If you know you plan to go, getting advanced sale tickets is an obvious choice to avoid the lines.
www.nerax.org
February 10th, 2010
by Jan
in
Beer Events, Beer Festivals, Beer Reviews |
No Comments →
Last week I returned from the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester, England (I’ll comment on that trip in coming posts) and found to my pleasure that it was time for another Cask Night at Sebago Brewing Company.
Kai Adams has developed a pretty reliable and effective formula for this series, and it seems to be working. The house has been packed every time I attended. Sebago simply chocks up five Pins (about 5 gallons) behind the bar and serves with a gravity tap in each. They put one of their own beers on the hand pump. With about 30 gallons of beer in play the beer generally sells out in the one night, so spoilage is not a problem.
The concept is to run a Cask Night every month, on the night of the full moon. That’s easy enough to remember!
January’s event featured New Hampshire brewers. The lineup included an IPA from Smuttynose (6.9%) and another from Portsmouth Brewing (6.5%), a stout from Red Hook 5.6%), a German Rauchfest from Moat Mountain (6.2%), and from Sebago the Full Throttle Double IPA (8.2%)and the Runabout Red Ale (5.0%).
All the beers were in great shape and showed well, with just a bit of cloudiness here and there. My favorite was the Bottle Rocket IPA from Portsmouth, a real treat in the cask version.
Watch for Cask at Sebago!
November 6th, 2009
by Jan
in
Beer Festivals, Beer Reviews |
No Comments →
For those looking for an alternative to the Maine Brewers Festival, NERAX North is just down the road in Haverhill, Ma.
Our opening last night was a great success, with attendance up 50% over the same night last year. More important, the beers are terrific – just two of the 30 cask ales on the stillage needed another day to settle, and we expect them to be ready today.
We have fifteen British beers presenting the range of traditional cask ale styles, and we have fifteen American interpretations of the same styles. Comparisons are fascinating. One cool trend to watch is the way British brewers are picking up American hopping styles and adapting them to their own beers.
I’ll get back tomorrow with some tasting notes…
November 2nd, 2009
by Jason
in
Beer Events |
No Comments →
Not to be left out of the cask drinking fun, Sebago Brew Pub in the Old Port (just up the street from Novare Res) is hosting a Cask Ale night tonight. Their “Day of the Dead” event starts the build up to the Maine Brewer’s Festival this coming weekend and begins tonight at 7:00 PM. While Novare’s NERAX event featured dozens of great beers from overseas, Sebago’s lineup features beers that have never left the state of Maine. The beers featured tonight (and until the casks are kicked) come from some of Maine’s great breweries, including:
- Andrew’s Brewing Company
- Liberal Cup – Run of the Mill
- Marshal Wharf Brewing
- Bray’s Brewpub
- Sebago Brewing Company
- Shipyard
Having sampled ales from all of these breweries (and cask ales from several of them), I am sure there will be some great brews to sample this evening. I plan an finding out, and I’ll let you all know!
November 1st, 2009
by Jan
in
Beer Reviews |
1 Comment →
Anyone who came by to NERAX at Novare Res last weekend knows that the first ever Cask Ale festival in Maine was a spectacular success. The 42 cask beers were in superb condition, and Novare Res turned out to be a wonderful venue. People left very happy… In the words of big Arnie, “We’ll be back…”
The cask fun goes on. Tomorrow, 2 November Sebago Brewing is launching their Cask Ale program with a mini-festival at their Old Port pub. There will be five cask ales in Pins on the bar. I’ll be there!
Finally, NERAX North opens up next Thursday in Haverhill Mass. All the beers are there, we set them up yesterday. 30 cask ales, 15 Brit and 15 American. Who could ask for more?
October 21st, 2009
by Jan
in
Beer Festivals, Beer News |
1 Comment →
The traditional question at every NERAX festival is, “Where is the imported beer?”. Well, the imported beer for NERAX at Novare Res, both German and British, is in Portland.
Weather of course will play a part this weekend, but everything looks great for the festival. Part of my job is to worry about what might go wrong, but to be honest I’m down to worrying about details. HAH, this could be famous last words…
We have no idea how popular this event will be. We know the cask ales will be great, but how will Portland respond? We’ll see. Novare Res is ready…
