Sebago Brewing Company's Frye's Leap IPA

HAPPY International IPA DAY from Maine!

Taste: Citrusy with a grapefruit essence that dominates the hoppy finish. Malty presence that grows on me as the tasting continues, but not overwhelming sweet. Overall, a really delicious IPA.

Color: Caramel with subtle orange hues.

Thickness: Medium body with balanced carbonation; quarter inch white head.

ABV: 6.2%

Mom Factoid: After relocating, my first Maine Mom's Night Out was to the Sebago Brewpub in Scarborough, with the mom friends I made through taking my daughter to our local library's weekly story time! Just proves that when you facilitate social situations with your little ones, sometimes you're lucky enough to socialize too and meet great friends!

Dogfish Head Brewery's Bitches Brew via Boothbay Part 1

So much to say about my "research" based trip to Boothbay this past weekend, for the first Craft Beer Comes to Boothbay tasting event, sponsored by the Maine Brewers' Guild, yet so little time, on my end, to provide the details in a tidy fashion. Please bear with me, if this post becomes a two-parter, as summertime napping for the little duo is hit or miss these long days!
Okay, let's start with the ironic nature of my experience: the festival had over twenty breweries from Maine--quite an impressive number for this craft beer loving fan. However, it wasn't the beer from Maine that captured my heart on Saturday, it was the beer from Delaware's Dogfish Head Craft Brewery--namely, their intense Bitches Brew which is categorized as a Russian Imperial Stout!
You might be puzzled as to how I could be sampling beer from a non-Maine brewery at this event, but long story short: the founder of Dogfish Head, Sam Calagione, named his brewery after an island in Maine, where he spent his summers as a youth. He knows the co-owner and founder, Win Mitchell, of the Boothbay Craft Brewery and decided to be one of the creators/sponsors of this new event, as a way of thanking & celebrating his Maine roots and fellow brew masters.
I casually spoke with Sam & his wife, Mariah, on Saturday, while we were eating tasty BBQ. They were both lovely and gracious with their time & super supportive of my beer review blogging adventure!
Speaking of beer reviews, let's dive into the Dogfish Head Bitches Brew!  These are my tasting notes, prior to reading the description, honest! (Check out the picture, below, that I took of the signage provided by Dogfish Head at the event.)

Taste: Dark velvet, chocolate cake with a red licorice, fruity hops aroma--bold flavors & smells.

Color: Deep brown like roasted coffee beans.

Thickness: moderate to heavy in body, with a dark tan, thick, head; produces a full & creamy mouthful in which the aftertaste lingers.

ABV: 9% --Yum, this is definitely a slow sipper!

Mom Factoid: It turns out that Sam's mom, whom I met too, taught special education as well! So, when finding out that working with special needs students was part of my background, Sam gave me a nod of understood appreciation for how challenging that field is. Bottom line, I may have gone to the Boothbay event in search of the local Maine brew scene, but I left there feeling connected to the positive people from Delaware's Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and I know that I will be tasting as many of their beers as I can in the future for the "research" purposes of this blog! Cheers :)

PS Speaking of tasting beers, I did my fair share on Saturday and will focus on the Maine side of my field trip in Part 2!

Abita Jockamo IPA

The latest poll question on the blog asked what type of brew I should have when eating lobster & the overwhelming answer was an IPA. So, I enjoyed a few IPAs over the past few days, in preparation for my lobsterfest, & this is the first review in the upcoming series. 

Taste: First few sips unable to detect strong flavors; not overly hoppy & lacking a big bite in the finish. There is a significant malty presence as the tasting continues.
Color: Clean, crisp looking caramel with a small, tan head.
Thickness: Moderate body with a sticky, slightly chewy, almost cotton mouth texture on the palate; decent carbonation.
ABV: 6.5%, which really warms you up as you go on with the tasting.
Mom Factoid:  According to the Abita website, "Jockamo is named for the tribes of dancing, singing, chanting “Mardi Gras Indians” who have marched in New Orleans for over 250 years." It would be fun, in the future, to head to Mardi Gras, sans kids, collect a few beads & enjoy some delicious brews, like the Jockamo IPA---a mom can dream , right?

Allagash White

Allagash Brewery hailing from Portland, Maine (http://www.allagash.com/home) makes a version of a traditional Belgian wheat brew & calls it Allagash White.  It's very popular in the local scene, as most any restaurant and/or brewpub in the area carries it on tap;  which is the way I prefer this beer, not from the bottle.  I haven't had it in a few years, but liked it the first time I had it and thought I'd give it a go, again, since it came in second in the Cooler Poll.  Here are the results from my latest tasting:

Taste:  Orange & citrus notes in the finish; Not intensely sweet but hints of sweet spices pop through as the tasting continues.  The aroma gave off a  grainy like wheat scent which is probably the yeast sediments in the pour.

Color: Hazy, faded gold

Thickness:  Light body with a quarter inch, white head that faded very quickly.  There is a pronounced carbonation--you can feel the bubbles in the sip popping in your mouth.

ABV: 5%

Mom Factoid: I can appreciate the orange & citrus flavors in this brew and find the more tastings I do, the more I enjoy detecting fruit & spices on my palate. In some ways, I feel I'm mirroring my littlest one, who is also learning what various foods taste like & is developing his own personal taste bud preferences.  It's interesting how these change and develop over time, as we age & get exposed to new tastes in our environment.  So, I guess the message is to continue to try new flavors, in both brew and food, because you never know when you might come across one that perks your palate!

Kennebec River IPA

As you can see I dipped into the cooler this weekend.  The Kennebec brew was brought to me by my craft brew fan neighbor, who happened to spot them at the Higgins Beach Market in Scarborough.  Neither of us had heard of the Kennebec Brewery before but they are one of the breweries to be featured in the upcoming Craft Brew Fest in Boothbay, on July 30th, that I'm attending!  So, I was excited to get a jump start on the tasting & give a preview of what's to come in two weekends. Here goes:

Taste:  Aroma is sweet and it also tastes sweet & malty as opposed to bitter & hoppy.  Interesting for an IPA.  The aftertaste lingers as there's a tangible bite that leaves a chewy feel in the mouth.

Color:  Caramel copper

Thickness:  Very thick & frothy off-white head that appears to be creamy, leaving lacing on the cup. It is moderately carbonated and you can see active bubbles cascading in the cup.

ABV: 5.9%

Mom Factoid:  This beer was divinely yummy & crisp and would make for a perfect choice on a lazy summer day, lounging in an Adirondack Chair--not that I have any if those days (but I do have the chairs)! 

Mid-Summer News from Maine

A mid-week post to say "THANKS" to those that provided feedback to me as I changed up the look of the blog.  I hope you enjoy the new version, remember, this whole experience in blogging about beer is a learning process for me, so if you haven't given feedback but think there's more room for improvement on the blog, please leave a comment.
Also, as I await the cooler poll to close, which will determine the next brew I review, I wanted to share a few exciting announcements from the sunny state of Maine!
First, there is an upcoming Maine Craft Beer Festival on July 30th, from 1-4, in Boothbay. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, click on the following link:
http://mainebrewersguild.blogspot.com/2011/06/maine-brewers-guild-to-host-craft-beer.html

Last, but certainly not least, there is a Maine Craft Beer Trail sponsored by the Maine Brewers' Guild (http://www.mainebrewersguild.org/) that showcases the incredible variety of craft beer within the state of Maine.  The following link, takes you to the Maine Beer Trail pdf and provides short blurbs on each of the twenty-five breweries featured.
http://mainebrewersguild.org/BeerTrailWeb.pdf
Not that you needed more reasons to visit Maine, but I am biased when I say that this beer trail could be the calling card I need to rally a few more of my friends up here!
I hope your summer is going well, as I look forward to enjoying the rest of mine with friends, family and of course a few delicious brews!
Cheers :)

Red, Black & Blue

Happy BELATED Fourth of July! Let's look at some colorful & tasty brews that I enjoyed over the holiday:

Magic Hat's Wacko

This brew was part of a beer trade with a friend!  Love sharing as an adult :)

Taste: Slight sweetness in the finish; not sure if it's beets (listed as part of the ingredients) but it's good and very refreshing!


Color: Amber with cranberry rouge highlights

Thickness: Crisp and light bodied; yielded a half-inch, white, frothy, head which was quite pretty in contrast against the reddish hues.

ABV: 4.5%; high drinkability!

Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager

The brewery is from New Orleans (refer to resources list for more info).  I purchased my two bottles @ The Cheese Iron!

Taste:  Smokey with nut overtones; reminded me of a porter instead of a lager; delicious!


Color:  A deep, dark, brown with a small, tan, head that lingered the duration of the pint.


Thickness:  Medium-bodied producing a full mouthful.


Abv: 5%

Cisco Brewers Whale's Tale Pale Ale

A neat tid-bit of info regarding the name from their website:  "If you're not familiar with Nantucket history, you'll be interested to know that this tiny island was once the Whaling Capital of the World."

Taste:  Crisp & flavorful!  I tasted malt overtones in the finish; not bitter or too hoppy.

Color:  Beautiful, caramel, brown with an inch, plus, beige head.

Thickness:  Medium-body with a balanced carbonation.

ABV: 5.6%

Mom Factoid: The Fourth of July was a HUGE holiday for me growing up.  I spent many summers on the green in Montrose, PA:  watching the parade, eating chicken bbq on my Grandma's porch, running the road races and watching the fireworks at Elk Lake.  Now, with the little duo, we are starting our own traditions, one year at a time.  Last year, it was teaching the three year old how to swing a bat, as she played tee-ball for the first time.  This year, there was biking, baking & grilling!  I sense, that however, we spend our future Fourths, the most important thing, is to enjoy the company of one another and to indulge on a few colorful brews!  Hope your holiday was filled with many colorful moments too :)