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Amber and I had dinner and a few beers at Ebenezer’s in Lovell last night. As promised, here are my thoughts on the pub, the drive out there, and, most importantly, the beer. First, starting with the drive (about 50 miles from our apartment in Portland), we were struck by the beauty of the lakes region. We’ve not really explored the Sebago Lake area much at all, but the lake itself, especially near the causeway in Bridgton, and the mountain views as we got closer to New Hampshire were breathtaking. 50 miles is a long way to drive for a beer, but this drive is worth it in and of itself.

The pub itself is actually on a golf course in Lovell. As you drive up Rte. 5, there is a tiny little sign telling you to take a left, and then you go down a tiny road skirting the course to find what looks like a big wooden barn with a Belgian flag hanging from it. That’s the pub. This is western Maine, so it’s not nearly as trendy and touristy as the sea coast. Take a look for yourself:

This is the view as you drive down the road

A friend and I dropped into Ebenezer’s on Wednesday afternoon to see how the festival was going. The weather was perfect for a drive in the country, and we caught the bar in the quiet lull between lunch and dinner, with just a few other punters present.

Chris’ beer list guarantees that a short visit will be an exercise in frustration: how to pick just a few beers from a long list of rare, not to be missed gems.

Man with a dilemma - which beer is next ???

So, I did make it down to Novare Res last night for some of the Rogue goodness. I waited for my wife to get home from work, so we didn’t end up getting downtown until almost 9:00 PM. I’m not sure how busy it was earlier in the evening, or if anyone from Rogue gave any remarks or anything, but by the time we arrived, the crowd had thinned to the point where a beer could be had in just a couple minutes. Much better than the 5-10 minute fight to get to the bar in the early part of the Dogfish Head event. On the flip side, though, I did not get a tee shirt this time; I had to “make due” with a couple cool Rogue pint glasses.

As mentioned in the update to my earlier post, the tap list is available online and is very impressive. All told there are 27 Rogue brews on offer; I managed to sample just over half that many before I called it a night. Only one (the Double Dead Guy) was a full pour (half pint, in the case of the D2). The rest were done as racks of 4 oz tasters—a very cool way to sample a bunch of beers without getting so full and so inebriated that you can’t tell the difference anymore. For me the two highlights were the Imperial IPA (I2PA) and the Chocolate Stout, though the Imperial Red Ale was excellent as well. Here is my breakdown, following my new “rating” system:

Don’t Miss These

• Chocolate Stout—A wonderful nose and taste of bittersweet chocolate; this one is like drinking dessert
• Imperial India Pale Ale—Slightly less hoppy and intense than Dogfish Head’s offerings, this one is very well balanced and has a nice, dry finish
• Imperial Red Ale—Probably the best red ale I’ve ever had; some brown sugar and raisins in the aroma and taste and a very nice dry finish as well
• Double Dead Guy—Dead Guy is one of Rogue’s most famous brews; its little brother has a deeper color and some more toffee notes in the taste

Worth Trying

• Anniversary Brewer—A winter ale with some nice hopping and a finish that sticks with you
• Chipotle Ale—Wow, this one is different; I’m not sure I’d drink a full pint of this, and it’s certainly no session ale, but it’s a taste experience that you really should try at least once
• Menage a Frog—A very nice Belgian tripel, this one isn’t quite as good as Allagash or something from a monastery, but it’s got some nice yeasty flavors and a pleasant aroma
• Mocha Porter—This fairly mild porter has some nice roasted malt character and is well balanced; I was hoping for a little more of a coffee taste here though
• Morimoto Imperial Pilsner—I’m not usually a big pilsner guy, but this one is pretty good; a nice full mouthfeel and some pleasant hop aromas make this one worth a taster at least
• Old Crustacean—A very well rounded barley wine, this one has some great grain flavors to it and a smooth finish
• Russian Imperial Stout—A good RIS that was overshadowed by the Chocolate Stout; this one doesn’t have the nuance of the Kate the Great I had last month, but I wouldn’t say no if someone offered me one (or two)
• Imperial YSB—A stronger version of Rogue’s well-known Younger’s Special Bitter, this one takes the malts and hops from the YSB and kicks them up a notch

Don’t Go Out of Your Way

• Juniper Ale—I’m a gin drinker when I’m not drinking beer, so this Juniper finished pale ale caught my eye; I’m not sure if it was because I got it with my last rack of beers or if there really wasn’t much here, but this one was kind of lackluster; not bad, but nothing really notable and no real hint of gin
• Honey Orange Wheat—A pleasant wheat beer with some fruit notes, this one would have rated a little better if I hadn’t had so many beers that simply outshone it; it was a little less cloudy than I like (American vs. German), this one would benefit from a tangier citrus presence

Again, as a reminder, the beers that I rate “Don’t Go Out of Your Way” are not bad beers by any stretch. They are good, but nothing out of the ordinary that merits special consideration such as making dinner reservations specifically to get it on tap or changing the bar you planned to go to for an evening just to try it.

I had considered going again tonight, but after 40 miles of biking today, some of through a pretty nasty storm, I think I may just take it easy tonight. The Sea Dogs have a 1:00 PM start tomorrow, and there are usually a few good beers to be had behind first base.

Our August MBWG meeting featured some new members, a splendid brewery tour of the original Shipyard brewery, and some very tasty barley wine at Federal Jack’s in Kennebunkport. With one founder now out of state, another down with a stomach bug, and two members deciding to meet us at Fed Jack’s, four of us (and two DD’s, a.k.a. very patient wives) met at Great Lost Bear for a quick pint before heading down the Turnpike to Kennebunkport.

We arrived just before 7:00 PM on Wednesday to find the parking area jammed with cars. The rainy weather probably helped business, but the slow economy sure doesn’t seem to be hurting Kennebunkport’s tourism much. After Sean and Chris arrived, we shared a pint with brewer Mike Haley and then headed downstairs for a tour of the brewery where Alan Pugsley (and Fred Forsley) started Shipyard some 16 years ago.

We got a wonderful tour of what has to be the nicest 7 Bbl brewing system in the world. Brewers Mike Haley and Nick Marray run a fairly autonomous operation with minimal oversight from Portland. As something of a working museum to Shipyard and Pugsley’s widely-sold brewing system, there are numerous plexiglass windows showing the outside world what goes on inside. This, and Haley’s obsessive attention to detail, ensures that everything is clean and organized inside.

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