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Eric Michaud at Novare Res has raised the bar (pun intended) for brewers nights! We stopped in last night after the Kotzschmar Organ concert (www.foko.org) and were astounded to find 14 Allagash brews on tap, three of which were on cask. Also on offer was a series of cheese pairings, a different cheese for each beer. Truly a tour de force.

I very much enjoyed the Tripel Rosalare, only the second time I’ve had this beer. This has to be one of the finest American interpretations of a Belgian sour: tart, complex, something to savor all evening (well, if there weren’t 13 other beers beckoning). A comparable experience might be the Cambridge Brewing Cerise Casee (www.cambrew.com/seasonals.html)

A second high point for me was the Belgian Black on cask, aged with cocoa nibs. While I enjoy the smooth sophistication of the Belgian style black, I also like the roasted bite of an English stout. This beer offered a little of each. The cocoa added the expected chocolate note, but also added a welcome bitterness to the finish.

This was a terrific evening. As Jason mentioned elsewhere, mark your calendars for Tuesday nights…

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Mark your calendars now. That’s right. Grab your datebook (err…I mean open up Google or iCal) and flip to August 9. Now mark that whole afternoon as Unavailable. Oh, and you might not want to make plans for the 10th either. You’ll need some recovery time.

On Saturday, August 9, Bray’s Brewpub and Eatery in Naples, Maine will be hosting its annual One Night Stand. Head Brewer Rob Prindall is pleased to announce that, for the first time, there will be 25 beers on tap. With bands playing outdoors during the day and inside at night, plenty of food available, and some pretty rare beers available, this should be on every Maine beer lover’s calendar. Here’s the current tap list:

• Brandy Pond Blonde
• Old Church Pale Ale
• Orien Oatmeal Pale
• Mt. Olympus Special Ale
• Pleasant Mountain Porter
• Quaker Ridge Oatmeal Stout
• Muddy River Bog Brown
• Epicurean I.P.A.
• Stanley Steamer Uncommon Ale
• Yammityville Horror
• Songo Loch Scotch Ale
• 440 Blues Brew
• Gustave und Kristov’s Oktoberfest
• Redeye P.A.
• Causeway Cream Ale
• Bray’s Imperial Stout
• Burnt Meadow Mountain Peated Porter
• I.rish R.ed A.le
• Bald Pate Celebration Rye
• Graveyard Shift Coffee Stout
• Viciously Vivacious Vanilla Porter
• Stang’s Swang Ginger Honey
• Willie McGill Brown Ale
• Causeway Cream Ale

Wow, what a list. The Peated Porter and Imperial Stout will be bourbon barrel aged, and some seasonals that aren’t usually available (a sweet potato ale?) and once-a-year specials like Graveyard Shift Coffee Stout make this a must-attend event for Maine beer geeks.

I’m definitely planning on attending. Naples is less than 30 miles from Portland. Perhaps an MBWG trip is in order? We’ll need to talk somebody into driving, but I’m sure one of our wives could be bribed into it. Hope to see you there!

G’ah! Time flies when the weather is nice, doesn’t it? It’s somehow been 12 days since our June MBWG meeting, and I still haven’t published that longer piece on Novare Res Bier Café that I promised when I got home that night. Thanks, Russ, for making me get my butt in gear and finish this post.

Much has been made about the beer selection at Novare Res, so I won’t beat that tired horse any more than I must. Yes, there are 25 taps and 200+ bottles. No, none of them are Bud or Coors products, and only a handful of them are even Maine-brewed. Owner Eric Michaud also has a small but quality selection of tequilas, scotches, ports, and wines. Added between the opening and our meeting two weeks later is a tasty selection of meets and cheeses, a couple of great-looking sandwiches, and an olive platter that I’m told doesn’t really taste like normal olives (I don’t like olives, so I didn’t try them).

All of these things make Novare Res a good place to grab a good beer. But there are other good places in Portland to grab a beer, too. The Great Lost Bear, $3 Deweys, and the new Prost! International Tap House all have good to great beer selections, and more taps than Eric’s Novare Res. What makes Novare Res truly special, and worth seeking out, is the atmosphere. Hidden away in the basement of Four Canal Plaza, you need to go down the stairs behind the building from Middle Street, or through the alley off Exchange, to find this place. It feels like you’ve found a secret beer haven when you do. And that’s before you even set foot inside. Just the huge deck alone is worth finding.

But when the weather isn’t cooperative, the indoor setting is simply superb. The exposed brick, the tin ceilings, the real dart boards, the lack of televisions, and the wide wooden tables give this space a very European flair. What would be a walk-in wine cooler in most bars is, in fact, a beer cooler (didn’t manage to talk him into letting us inside though). Eric’s attention to detail is great too—everything from the wonderful leather sofas to pouring the beers into the proper glassware (this is no “everything goes in a pint glass” establishment) reveals that this is truly a labor of love for Michaud. If the first several weekends is any indication, that love is being returned by some very loyal customers.

In addition to our MBWG meeting, Novare Res has also hosted a gala opening grande, complete with a jeroboam of tasty Belgian beer, and a Maine BeerAdvocate gathering this past weekend. The Events page also hints at upcoming events involving Allagash, Rogue, and Dogfish Head. I’m not sure what Eric has up his sleeve, but I know I’ll be there when it happens. We’re riding down to Portsmouth next week for the unveiling of this year’s Kate the Great, so perhaps I can get a few more details from him then. Stay tuned…

Again, cheers to Eric Michaud for opening a great new beer destination in Portland. And a huge thanks from the Maine Beer Writers’ Guild for hosting our meeting and sharing some of your personal stash (Earthmonk is like nothing I’ve ever had before, and since it’s retired, I may not have many other opportunities to sample it again).

It’s a real pleasure to join BeerBloggers!

Blogging is totally new to me, but writing certainly isn’t, so it will be interesting to see how this old dog learns new tricks.

My intent is to share personal experiences and reactions. Rigorously rating specific beers is done widely by others, some well and some not so well, and I’m happy to leave that to others. My initial intent is to explore three themes…

1. Travels in search of great beer. I’m blessed with a life style, professional and personal, that allows me to visit quite a few beer festivals, sometimes as a volunteer, sometimes as a punter. I intend to share my thoughts about the beers and festivals I enjoy.
2. Experiences inside a beer festival. I’m Treasurer of CASC, the organization that presents NERAX, NERAX North, and other cask ale events. I’m looking forward to sharing an insider view of organizing and running serious beer festivals. Hopefully we can build a dialogue around some of the issues we at NERAX face yearly.
3. Cask Ale in New England. This is my passion. I look forward to sharing both the delights and disappointments as I pursue cask ale across New England.

Let the fun begin!