After quick trip home, G and I hightailed it to Maine to celebrate Christmas with his fiance's family. In sum, it was absolutely wonderful, brimming with family flimflam, holiday merriment, entirely too much food (M's lasagna, S's grilled yams, Christmas cookies and chocolates galore), and snow...
SNOW! And lots of it (especially during yesterday's mini-blizzard). Which made me extremely happy, since well, you can take the girl out of the East Coast, but you can't fully take the East Coast out of the girl...
Amidst the awesomosity that was my visit with my brother, M, and her extended family, beyond the totally rad lobster claw headband I got in my stocking, was the beer - oh yes, apparently the other Portland can deliver too. This was very much helped by the fact that D, M's mom, is a hoppy beer fan as well, so many a good IPAs were had over the course of my visit.
First, I tried Gritty McDuff's Christmas Ale, which is a seasonal favorite from the Portland-based brew pub. At 6.2% ABV and 28.5 IBUs (???!?!!), on paper, I should have hated Gritty's Christmas Ale; with IBUs like that, it may as well be beer-flavored water. But somehow, in some way, this brew definitely tickled my fancy. Beer Advocate's description helps me understand why I could like such a low IBU brew: "Our Christmas Ale is a robust E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter) full of holiday cheer. Christmas Ale has a lovely, dark red/amber color and a rich, full-bodied, malty taste with a slightly roasted undertone. We brew our Christmas Ale to an original gravity of 1064 (about 6.2% alcohol by volume) using only the finest English Pale and Crystal Malts, with a touch of Roasted Barley as well. A blend of Clusters, Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Yakima Goldings leaf hops round out this hearty brew." Props to Gritty's!
Speaking of Gritty's, G and I hit up one of its downtown Portland locations yesterday afternoon, enjoying a tasty cup o' chowdah and brewskis. This is where I sampled Maine's Best IPA, which is another concoction from Mr. McDuff. At 6.8% ABV and 60 IBUs, you'd think I'd prefer the state's superlative IPA over the - gasp - Christmas Ale. Well, it turns out that Maine beers really shouldn't be judged by their covers (unless they're blueberry beers - more on this in a moment, oy). Maine's Best IPA was fine and perfectly drinkable, but like many things that are fine, it wasn't anything worth writing home about. Still, it was a great pint to enjoy with G...
...after frolicking a bit in the snow and finishing up some post-Christmas Christmas shopping (50% off ornaments from Stonewall Kitchen, what what), we headed over to the Shipyard Brewing Company. G wasn't sure if there were tastings (or any beer available beyond what could be purchased at the beer shop), but lo and behold, upon arriving, the Shipyard Beer Guy announced that there would be a tasting out back in two minutes. The F-kids for the win.
We were led to a back-bar which featured an assortment of Shipyard brews on tap. The Shipyard Beer Guy walked us through the various beers, ranging from some kind of apple-infused beer that thought it was pretty damn cool (its tap had aviators) to a bourbon-brew that G loved and I hated. The worst: Smashed Blueberry, which tasted like what I imagine one of my oddly smelly childhood Cupcake Dolls would taste like if you melted her down into a beer. The Mint Chocolate Stout also was a really strange concoction, tasting as if beer, mouthwash, and mediocre chocolate had been blended all together. Given the former two ingredients, perhaps Ke$ha would have liked it (aka when she wanted to give brushing her teeth with Jack a break).
Shipyard nevertheless prevailed with three awesome brews, in the following order:
(3) Prelude
(6.7% ABV, 45 IBUs, more stats here)
As Shipyard's winter seasonal ale, Prelude was pretty solid. It was a little heavier than I typically prefer my beers, and perhaps a bit more caramel-ly than I'd usually go for. Nonetheless, its flavor was complex enough to keep my tastebuds entertained, and if you tend to like darker beers with a bit o' hops included (and you're brimming with Maine pride this winter), this could be your brew.
(2) Black IPA
(6.2% ABV, 60 IBUs, more stats here)
Featuring a Captain Sparrow-esque pirate (with beard dreads topped off with sparking dynamite?) on its label, this beer tries to look pretty hardcore - or hopcore? - and it performs fairly well. It's dark, as suggested by the name, but it also has enough hops to make a hophead like me pretty happy. It's got some other interesting undertones (vanilla? coffee? who knows?), which makes the Black IPA a little more adventurous than your traditional IPA...yarrrr.
(1) Monkey Fist IPA,
(6.9% ABV, 74 IBUs, more stats here)
With this one, beer ME (get it - beer Maine (ME)?) anytime. Monkey Fist delivers a jaunty punch of hops alongside a nice, tart grapefruit-y base. If you didn't know better, perhaps you'd even think this hopfest originated from the other Portland, of Beer Nirvana country...woohoo, well done Monkey Fist!
It was pretty tough to say goodbye to G and M, but luckily I know I'll see them soon(ish). Hopefully I'll get the chance to see them before the wedding in August 2014, but at least for now, I've got a pretty swell stockpile of memories, laughs, and stories to keep me going until then. Merry Maine-mas and here's to the almost New Year!
Cheers,
N
SNOW! And lots of it (especially during yesterday's mini-blizzard). Which made me extremely happy, since well, you can take the girl out of the East Coast, but you can't fully take the East Coast out of the girl...
Amidst the awesomosity that was my visit with my brother, M, and her extended family, beyond the totally rad lobster claw headband I got in my stocking, was the beer - oh yes, apparently the other Portland can deliver too. This was very much helped by the fact that D, M's mom, is a hoppy beer fan as well, so many a good IPAs were had over the course of my visit.
First, I tried Gritty McDuff's Christmas Ale, which is a seasonal favorite from the Portland-based brew pub. At 6.2% ABV and 28.5 IBUs (???!?!!), on paper, I should have hated Gritty's Christmas Ale; with IBUs like that, it may as well be beer-flavored water. But somehow, in some way, this brew definitely tickled my fancy. Beer Advocate's description helps me understand why I could like such a low IBU brew: "Our Christmas Ale is a robust E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter) full of holiday cheer. Christmas Ale has a lovely, dark red/amber color and a rich, full-bodied, malty taste with a slightly roasted undertone. We brew our Christmas Ale to an original gravity of 1064 (about 6.2% alcohol by volume) using only the finest English Pale and Crystal Malts, with a touch of Roasted Barley as well. A blend of Clusters, Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Yakima Goldings leaf hops round out this hearty brew." Props to Gritty's!
Speaking of Gritty's, G and I hit up one of its downtown Portland locations yesterday afternoon, enjoying a tasty cup o' chowdah and brewskis. This is where I sampled Maine's Best IPA, which is another concoction from Mr. McDuff. At 6.8% ABV and 60 IBUs, you'd think I'd prefer the state's superlative IPA over the - gasp - Christmas Ale. Well, it turns out that Maine beers really shouldn't be judged by their covers (unless they're blueberry beers - more on this in a moment, oy). Maine's Best IPA was fine and perfectly drinkable, but like many things that are fine, it wasn't anything worth writing home about. Still, it was a great pint to enjoy with G...
...after frolicking a bit in the snow and finishing up some post-Christmas Christmas shopping (50% off ornaments from Stonewall Kitchen, what what), we headed over to the Shipyard Brewing Company. G wasn't sure if there were tastings (or any beer available beyond what could be purchased at the beer shop), but lo and behold, upon arriving, the Shipyard Beer Guy announced that there would be a tasting out back in two minutes. The F-kids for the win.
We were led to a back-bar which featured an assortment of Shipyard brews on tap. The Shipyard Beer Guy walked us through the various beers, ranging from some kind of apple-infused beer that thought it was pretty damn cool (its tap had aviators) to a bourbon-brew that G loved and I hated. The worst: Smashed Blueberry, which tasted like what I imagine one of my oddly smelly childhood Cupcake Dolls would taste like if you melted her down into a beer. The Mint Chocolate Stout also was a really strange concoction, tasting as if beer, mouthwash, and mediocre chocolate had been blended all together. Given the former two ingredients, perhaps Ke$ha would have liked it (aka when she wanted to give brushing her teeth with Jack a break).Shipyard nevertheless prevailed with three awesome brews, in the following order:
(3) Prelude
(6.7% ABV, 45 IBUs, more stats here)
As Shipyard's winter seasonal ale, Prelude was pretty solid. It was a little heavier than I typically prefer my beers, and perhaps a bit more caramel-ly than I'd usually go for. Nonetheless, its flavor was complex enough to keep my tastebuds entertained, and if you tend to like darker beers with a bit o' hops included (and you're brimming with Maine pride this winter), this could be your brew.
(2) Black IPA(6.2% ABV, 60 IBUs, more stats here)
Featuring a Captain Sparrow-esque pirate (with beard dreads topped off with sparking dynamite?) on its label, this beer tries to look pretty hardcore - or hopcore? - and it performs fairly well. It's dark, as suggested by the name, but it also has enough hops to make a hophead like me pretty happy. It's got some other interesting undertones (vanilla? coffee? who knows?), which makes the Black IPA a little more adventurous than your traditional IPA...yarrrr.
(1) Monkey Fist IPA,
(6.9% ABV, 74 IBUs, more stats here)
With this one, beer ME (get it - beer Maine (ME)?) anytime. Monkey Fist delivers a jaunty punch of hops alongside a nice, tart grapefruit-y base. If you didn't know better, perhaps you'd even think this hopfest originated from the other Portland, of Beer Nirvana country...woohoo, well done Monkey Fist!
It was pretty tough to say goodbye to G and M, but luckily I know I'll see them soon(ish). Hopefully I'll get the chance to see them before the wedding in August 2014, but at least for now, I've got a pretty swell stockpile of memories, laughs, and stories to keep me going until then. Merry Maine-mas and here's to the almost New Year!
Cheers,
N
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