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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 book  ’100 Belgian Beers To Try Before You Die’  by Tim Webb and Joris Pattyn is one of the better new books on Belgian beer. It is published by CAMRA, available through their website. Both authors are acquaintances of mine, but the book is still pretty good. The concept makes me cringe a bit, the whole thing about lists and must-dos is a bit over worked, but I think you’ll find that the execution of this book is superb. The book is a great read, and not a bad shopping list.

Last Sunday, April 26, Novare Res offered an opportunity to try four of the “100″ beers on draught in Portland. In addition, Eric had both the brewers and the importer on hand all day Sunday to chat about the beers. It was a truly notable event…

Cantillon was represented by head brewer JeanVan Roy. Of the “100″ Eric offered the Iris, the Framboise, and the Vigneronne. He threw in the Kriek and the St Lamvinus for good measure. My favorite in this group was the Iris, an incredibly subtle and complex lambic beer. The Framboise was a stunner: bold, brash, massive nose, tart, and truly an impact beer.

The Brasserie de la Senne was represented by owners Yvan de Baets and Bernard LeBoucq. Their “100″ beer was of course the Taras Boulba. Eric also poured the Equinox, a delicious Winter beer. The Taras is an incredibly tasty and complex beer at about 4.5%.

Also present were Jean and Nassim from Moeder Lambic, one of the more interesting beer bars in Brussels.

On hand as Guide and Den Mother for this crew were Dan and Tessa Shelton, importers and zealous proponents of Belgian beer. One tends to remember conversations with both of these wonderful people.

Many thanks go to Eric Michaud for putting this day together.

In a piece for this week’s Maine Switch, Karen Beaudoin gives a brief, if somewhat flawed, introduction to the art of brewing your own beer. Beaudoin’s piece gives a nice 10,000 foot view of what goes into making your own English pale ale, but a few of the scant details she gives are off the mark.

For anyone reading this who is interested in making his or her own beer, I’d recommend heading of to HomeBrewTalk.com for a thorough discussion of all things homebrewing. For the new brewer, the Beginners Beer Brewing Forum is invaluable. I know I spent (and still spend) a whole lot of time browsing through it while working on improving my own brewing. Discussions on HBT range from basic topics like blow-off tubes and sanitation to more advanced things like yeast culturing and building your own immersion chiller.

For the impatient who’ve already headed over to see Rob at Maine Brewing Supply and want to get to brewing already, a few comments on Beaudoin’s directions. Though probably not a real problem, 1.5 gal of water for steeping 1# of crystal malts is a bit much. According to Palmer and others, the ratio of water to grains while steeping should be less than 1 gal per pound for best results. A bigger problem, though, is the suggestion that you boil the water before adding the grains to steep. Get the water to about 170°F and then start your steep (after removing heat). And for goodness sakes, don’t squeeze your grain bag! Tannins are good in red wine; beer, not so much. Also, after steeping, you’ll want to increase the amount of water in your pot as much as you can without risking boil-overs. The less water you have to add to your fermenter to make 5 gal., the better.

Beaudoin leaves out several other details, such as cooling the wort, aerating it, and yeast pitching, but these are not so much errors as omissions. I’m sure editorial concerns were at play here, as some of the pics included in the piece definitely show later stages of the process. I’ve not doubt that whoever you buy your kit from will give you a set of directions that covers all of the basics. Anything that brings brewing to a wider audience is a good thing, in my opinion (as long as that doesn’t mean I can’t get some hops last minute when I need them). And Ms. Beaudoin, welcome to the wonderful world of brewing!

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.