BeerBloggers.com

Great Lost Bear and Allagash have a long history together. GLB was among the first bars to feature Rob Tod’s fledgling brewery and its now iconic White. Since its humble beginnings in Portland 14 years ago, Allagash has grown to national recognition for its White and many other Belgian offerings.

The Great Lost Bear, of course, is one of the best known beer destinations in the northeast, if not the country. Celebrating its 30th “annibearsary” this year, it seems only natural that one of Great Lost Bear’s weekly Thursday night showcases should feature Allagash. Of course, GLB has an entire tap section known as Allagash Alley, so they’re stepping up their game this week to make it a “showcase.”

Along with the Allagash White (GLB’s number one selling beer), they will be pouring Burnham Road, Confluence, Dubbel, Tripel, Hugh Malone, and some casked Curieux. For any fan of Allagash or Belgian-style beers in general, this is enough reason to head to Forest Ave. this evening.

But just in case that doesn’t do it for you, there’s one other special treat (and no, I’m not talking about the moules et frites, which will be served). Four years ago, Rob and company brewed a 10th Anniversary Ale, a blend of two different batches of their White Ale. So what, you say? That was four years ago.

Well, apparently they kept one barrel of the stuff. Four years ago, they filled a single American oak Bourbon barrel with the 10th Anniversary Ale, and they’re pouring it tonight as GLB’s 30th Anniversary Ale. According to Allagash’s Jason Perkins, “[t]he deep malty character is complimented by flavors of sherry and port as well as a tart finish.” This sucker weighs in at a hefty 11% a.b.v., so I’m sure the pours will not be overly generous, but I’m excited to try one nonetheless. I’ll need to make a pre-volleyball pit stop this evening.

Portland’s Shipyard Brewery has announced its newest addition to the Pugsley’s Signature Series. Calling it “XXXX IPA,” the new brew is a big (9.25% ABV) American IPA. From the Shipyard press release,

XXXX IPA is a non-traditional American IPA with a brilliant copper color and the classic citrus nose of Cascade Hops. This beer demonstrates a unique balance of malt-inspired, delicate red grapefruit sweetness and lingering hop dryness. The OG and final Alc./Vol. provide the structure and body to balance the harmony of distinct flavors. Cascade, Warrior, Summit and Glacier Hops are used for bittering and Cascade Hops are added for dry hopping after fermentation. This hop blend is well balanced with Malted Wheat, Pale Ale, Crystal, and CaraMalt Malts.

The XXXX IPA will be available in 22 oz. foiled bottles by mid-May. Shipyard was nice enough to provide me with a sample bottle. When I was at the brewery store picking it up, I noticed that the 4-X is already available there, though I thoughtlessly neglected to notice the price.

I chilled my bottle to the suggested 55° and poured it into a nice NERAX tasting glass. I was greeted by some citrus hops and a huge, pillowy off-white head. On a smooth pour down the center of the glass, I was able to pour out maybe 12 ounces into my 20 ounce glass. The head subsided somewhat slowly and left little or no trace of itself on the sides of the glass. The color, as promised, was a very appealing copper. It’s noticeably darker than Shipyard’s Export and Pale Ale, but still perfectly bright. This is a very good looking beer.

The first sip yielded lots of hops balanced nicely by the malts. It was quite dry, but not in an off-putting way. Whereas something like a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is quite the hop bomb, this beer is hopped less aggressively and yields, in my opinion, a slightly more drinkable beer. The taste is coppery and has some nice citrus or pine notes to it. The mouthfeel is smooth and the malts give it a nice fullness. Most interesting to me is that, while I’m sure it was used, the telltale Ringwood taste of most Shipyard beers was absent, or at least well-masked, in this beer. The finish is clean and dry.

I paired it with a spicy chili. The bottle recommends Cajun food or barbecue, and chili was close enough. The assertive hops stand up well to spicy food, and the malty fullness helped to calm to habenero peppers I included in this batch. Overall, I would call this a very satisfying beer that is worth seeking out. At over 9% ABV, it’s no session beer, but for the occasional treat, it will find its way into my refrigerator again.

My Verdict: Seek This One Out. When this one shows up on the shelves of your local beer shop, grab a couple and invite some beer loving friends over to share. If it doesn’t show up by June, Portland is lovely by then, and you should definitely consider a visit to Newbury St. to grab some.

Small Beers are a style of beer rarely seen these days. NERAX is fortunate to have not one but two of these cask ales on offer this year. Small Beers are the product of a brewing technique that dates back to medieval times, parti-gyle brewing.

In an article in Brewing Techniques magazine Randy Mosher said this about parti-gyle brewing:

“One technique that has almost disappeared from modern practice is parti-gyle brewing. This technique involved drawing off the first part of the mash and using it to make strong ale or barley wine, then remashing the grain and drawing off the second runnings for a more ordinary, weak and watery concoction called small beer, the light beer of its day.

The fabrication possibilities of the time made it relatively easy to construct large wooden mash tuns, but the technology required to construct equally large kettles had yet to be developed. Consequently, English ale breweries often made three brews from a single mash – strong (XXX), common (XX) and small (X) beer. In fact, this is the historical basis of the categories of Belgian Trappist beers: triple was made from the undiluted wort from the mash, double was made from the runoff from reflooding the first mash, and single was made from a subsequent infusion.”

The first of our beers is from the John Harvard brewpub in Connecticut, and the second is from our very own Marshall Wharf Brewing Company in Belfast.

The folks at Marshall Wharf initially set out to make a Barley Wine. That beer reportedly finished off in the 12% range. We’re not getting that beer at NERAX, but I’m sure looking forward to trying it somewhere here in Maine. The small beer, Little Toot, was a natural part of the Barley Wine project. It’s not finished yet, but it seems to be headed for a range of 4.1%-4.5%  This one on cask should be a lot of fun.

The Maine Mead Works is about to make a splash in our marketplace. There has been a tasting at The Bear, a firkin is headed for Novare Res, and I’m delighted to report we’ll have an unfiltered cask version at NERAX in March.

Mead is somewhere between beer and wine on the drinks spectrum. It’s made by fermenting honey. Mead is an ancient drink, perhaps the oldest alcoholic beverage.

Maine Mead Works is producing a product that is clean, crisp and delicious. The taste experience is perhaps more wine than beer, but it’s neither and well worth a try. Be aware, they make two styles: semi-sweet and dry. Both are very good, just different drinks for different occasions.

Sal and I toured the production facility today.  This is a start-up operation, small scale. They’ve been in production for a little less than a year. Two thoughts struck me.  This is American Capitalism at the most storybook level, a real start-up. It also may be one of the more fascinating breweries/wineries I’ve ever seen. Their continuous fermentation process will surprise and delight you. If you get invited, don’t miss the chance to visit.

Look for this stuff in the stores. Try it and make up your own mind. It’s darned good, and a new adventure!