Maine Beer Woods & Waters

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.2%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.13/5
- RateBeer: 3.76/5
- Untappd: 4.04/5

"We brewed this special IPA to commemorate the establishment of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. We incorporated Maine-grown barley and wheat, along with generous amounts of hops with flavors and aromas of pine and citrus, reminiscent of the outdoors. Cheers to Mother Nature and all she provides us!"

Pours a hazy, pale yellow with a hefty, frothy, three fingers of pure white head. It looks like lemonade.

The aroma is earthy and spicy with a very faint bit of grass. I can barely pick up the slightest bit of lemon zest or lemon peel. There's a distinct wheat character and something powdery to this too. Powdery, bready, or doughy malts? I'm not sure, but nothing really explodes out of the glass.

The taste has a bit more flavor than the aroma would lead you to believe. First up is a noticeable bitter presence all throughout, but it still isn't very powerful. Some fruity notes of wild berries and strawberry are detectable, but again, not as forward as I'd like. Lemon zest is back and adds a nice citrus zing. There's an adjunct quality to this, maybe it's from that wheat I picked up earlier, but it lends a certain crispness to the beer.

Mouthfeel is light with plenty of carbonation. As I said before, this has a crisp character and I can see this being refreshing on a nice, Summer's day due to how light it is.

Woods & Waters wasn't offensive in any way, but I am disappointed by how bland it was. While I could pick out some bitterness and fruity hops, the overall taste and aroma was underwhelming without being hard to drink. It is light and crisp, so maybe outside on a hot day might be an ideal match, but it would still be a watered down IPA.

Rating
7.2/10

Maine Beer Dinner

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.20%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.67/5 (Top 250: #18)
- RateBeer: 4.14/5

Dinner is Maine Beer Co.'s first Double IPA and it has quickly gained notoriety amongst the craft beer community. Beer release days are known to attract hundreds of people willing to line up overnight just to grab a few bottles. So what is it? Well, it's an Imperial IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Falconer's Flight, and Simcoe hops and it is dry-hopped twice with over six pounds of hops per barrel.

Pours on the lighter side of orange, pretty hazy with two fingers of white head.

It smells like a glass or orange juice. God bless you, Citra! Some light grassy notes and melon are there as well.

Huge Citra on the nose is right here on the taste. Orange juice with pulp is what comes to mind first. Then on a dime it transitions to grassy hops that are pretty dank and bitter and have a touch of garlic/onion that I associate more with West Coast IPA's. There's a bigger malt presence than I had anticipated as some breadiness isn't shy about making itself known. The finish goes right back to tropical fruits to give a juicy conclusion to the taste.

Motuhfeel is almost pillowy as it is incredibly soft with perfect carbonation. The malt presence is making this dryer than your average Double IPA, but it's not a desert in your mouth. No alcohol detected anywhere and this is perfectly medium-bodied for 8.20%. It's not chewy or syrupy at all considering it's an Imperial IPA and it finishes pretty clean, but I won't go as far as to call it refreshing.

Dinner has earned its title as one of New England's best Double IPA's. Considering the sheer amount of stellar offerings being churned out by the Northeast, that is a real compliment. While slightly dryer than I had wanted, Dinner delivers with huge citrus juice, bitterness, and earthy/grassy notes and makes the most out of the Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe. hops. Winner, winner, Maine Beer Dinner!

Rating
9.4/10

Maine Beer Company Beer 1

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.50%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.31/5
- RateBeer: 4.08/5 (Mean)

The first entry into Maine Beer's Hop Program features Mosaic, Columbus, Centennial, and most interestingly, Nelson Sauvin hops. The Hop Program is Maine Beer Co's way of experimenting with new hop combinations and moving forward in their recipes and progression as a brewery as a whole.

Pours considerably lighter than I expected with a glowing yellow body with lots of carbonation and a finger of bright white head.

The aroma contains big grapefruit with some cedar, spices, and even some lime.

I think the Mosaic hops are the biggest contributor on taste for me. I pick up some fresh-cut grass, black pepper and the aforementioned cedar. On the back there's a detection of white grape and white wine thanks to the Nelson. It has a big yeast component that was unexpected and the front of the tongue is picking up some cracker and breadiness, almost a bit doughy. Maybe even some lemon peel or zest to round everything out.

The body is incredibly light, but that's not to be confused with thin or watery. The finish is dry, but also clean and no alcohol is present at any time. It did lose a little zip on the back end, but that's easily forgiven.

Beer 1 was more similar to a Blonde Ale than a straight IPA, but it was still packed with hops and flavor without being watered down. The Mosaic hops were the star for me with Nelson being an accent on the back. I didn't expect the yeast and even a bigger-than-usual malt presence, but this was a winner and hopefully just a taste of what's to come from the Hop Program.

Rating
8.9/10

Maine Beer Lunch

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.00%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.39/5
- RateBeer: 4.00/5

Maine Beer offerings are available year-round down in Massachusetts, but it does take some precise timing to snag a bottle of Lunch when it becomes available. When announced by your local store, you'll only have a window of a few hours to grab one bottle from the one case that came in. Granted, once you have it down, it becomes second nature, but it can still be a pain in the ass.

So, what makes Lunch so special? Well, it is one of the highest rated offerings from Maine Beer and was the first beer from them that gathered buzz and hype outside of it's normal distribution zone thus putting them on the radar in the craft beer community.

Pours a hazy, golden orange with some carbonation bubbles streaming off the bottom of the glass. Got one finger of bright white head.

The aroma is all tropical fruits with earthy hops and subtle onion.

Lots of bitter hops up front with lots of grassy/mossy/floral notes. On the back end though it has a fruity finish with peaches, grapefruit, and orange juice. The dank hops work with the garlic undertones and there is just the slightest glimmer of pine. It's pretty nice to have two ends of the spectrum in one taste. I can see why Maine Beer calls it an East Coast version of a West Coast IPA.

The finish is clean and refreshing - not dry at all. There's a slight lingering of bitterness and no alcohol presence at all.

Maine Beer Lunch combines the best elements of East and West Coast IPA's into a flavorful and drinkable beer. My only complaint is that I wish I could get it more often.

Rating
8.9/10

Maine Beer A Tiny Beautiful Something

The Stats
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.50%
Current Beer Advocate Rating: 3.95/5

Brewed with El Dorado hops, ATBS in another offering from Maine Beer Co that while familiar, is still a welcome addition to the lineup.

The bottle conditioning on Maine Beers produces a lot of head, so it's wise to be a tad more careful in your pouring than you would with most beers. I noticed some significant carbonation coming off the bottom of the glass and the beer itself was a nice shade of orange. It leaves some very nice lacing.

A pleasant bouquet of floral, grassy, and herbal aromas comes first. Also getting an orange peel and citrus zest.

The taste is akin to acidic grapefruit and again, flowers. I will say that this is noticeably silky on the mouthfeel and finishes dry.

Not a bad offering. A Tiny Beautiful Something stands out from other Maine Beer offerings for it's silky smooth mouthfeel alone. At 5.50%, even the casual beer drinkers could have the bottle to themselves and ask for more. While it doesn't come to Massachusetts year-round, definitely grab a bottle when you see it.

Rating
8.1/10