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This is a very good time for Cask Ale lovers in Portland. Next weekend, beginning on Friday, Oct 23, Novare Res in conjunction with NERAX  is presenting a cask ale festival in the Old Port.

This is the first NERAX festival in Maine, and quite possibly the first cask  ale festival ever in Maine. We will have 30 cask ales, 10 British, 10 German, and 10 American. Well, maybe a few more American…

We’ve been a long time putting this together, not without challenges, but we think this will be a spectacular experience and perhaps the beginning of a long term relationship between cask ale and beer lovers in Maine. Sorry for the pomposity, but we’re really excited about this event.

Novare Res opens at 3:00pm on Friday. Entry is $10 which buys a festival pint glass and your first pint.

The bounty of cask ale doesn’t end there. Sebago Brewing is launching a cask program at their Portland pub on November 2. They plan to offer 5 cask ales. Their intent is to offer cask ale on an ongoing basis at their pubs. This is good news indeed!

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.

The Maine Ambassadors of Food and Drink is offering a two session introduction to the wide variety of alcoholic beverages produced in the Pine Tree State. The two sessions will take place at Portland’s Bar of Chocolate on April 7 and 14, from 6-8 PM. This is the second of an eight-part series of food and drink instruction and tasting.

Session 1, April 7, will cover Maine’s beer and mead production. Margo Mallar of the Maine Institute of Food and Drink, brewer Tom Bull, and mead maker Eli Cayer will present. Breweries covered include Gritty McDuff’s, Stone Coast, and Casco Bay Brewing.

Session 2, April 14, will cover wine and distilled spirits. In addition to another appearance by Margo Mallar, Keith Bodine, the maker of Back River Gin and Three Crow Rum, and the vintners from Cellar Door Winery and Oyster River Winegrowers will present.

Aside from the flyer I got my hands on, details are a bit scarce, and MAFD’s website is apparently still waiting for some HTML love. The cost for each night is $30, or $50 if you go to both. Reservations are required. To make your reservation, or inquire about additional details, you can contact them at info@maineambassadors.com or (207) 712-5864.

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!