280. Stillwater / Mikkeller Two Gypsies Our Side

Somehow in the middle of all this Vermont beer I ended up sharing this bottle with my brother in law. The story behing this one is interesting (see brewer's description below). Both Brian from Stillwater and Mikkel from Mikkeller are gypsy brewers. They do not have a brewery of their own and produce beer by visiting other breweries and doing collaborations. An interesting concept and it makes for some fun beers.


This one is a saison with a great cloudy orange color with a thick white head that left a 2 inch cap on the beer the entire time I was drinking it. Aroma is of spice and grass kind of a Belgian smell. Taste has a distinct yeast flavor to start with some hops in the middle but nothing that stands out and finishes a bit funky. This one seemed to improve as it warmed slightly so if you happen to pick up a bottle of this and don't like it right out of the fridge give it a few minutes and come back to it, you might be surprised. 
Pros: Appearance, head
Cons: 
Alcohol Content: 7.5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Stillwater Ales

Brewers Description: Mikkel and Brian are two of the world's most unconventional brewers. By designing beers at various breweries around the globe, they have found the freedom to experiment and innovate, resulting in unique beers that often blur the lines of definition. After having met at a festival in Bodegraven, NL the two realized that their first creations both were called Stateside. It was then an obvious decision to make the two recipes into a new product, packed full of piney, resinous hops, and backed by the esters of a farmhouse yeast strain.

274. Rock Art Brewery The Vermonster

This is a BIG beer and I made the mistake of choosing it as my first beer on a hot afternoon not realizing it was 10% ABV and thick. I guess I should pay attention to the labels when I open a bomber.


The beer pours a dark brown with a huge head. Aroma is sweet and slightly boozy, not terribly excited by the smell coming from this one. Lots of bitterness to start before the sweet malts attempt to balance things out. They end up losing the battle and the hops kick back in with even more bitterness in the finish. Beer improves as it warms slightly. Overall not a bad beer but not for the faint of heart and be sure you know what you have before you open the bottle.
Pros: Huge flavor
Cons: Almost too much
Alcohol Content: 10% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Rock Art

Brewers Description: We brewer THE VERMONSTER with 110 pounds of malt per barrel and jacked up the pour into a wide mouth thin glass goblet. For an amazing pairing get some Smoked Gouda from Taylor Farm Cheese and a friend!

273. Penobscot Bay Brewing Whig Street Blonde

Last night my wife wanted to share a beer before supper so I checked the fridge for something light and not very hoppy as that is her preferred style. Whig Street Blonde from Penobscot Bay was a great choice.


Being a blonde ale it is light in color, body and alcohol content. Color is a crystal clear pale orange with a slight white head. Color is a bit dark for a blonde but still a nice looking beer. Aroma is quite mellow with some malts. Taste is simple with a slight hop bite in the middle that fades fast. Finishes clean and quite refreshing. Overall a simple beer (as most blondes are) but good stuff for a warm afternoon. 
Pros: Easy to drink
Cons: Simple
Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Penosbscot Bay Brewing

Brewers Description:  Whig Street blonde ale is soft and delicate with balanced flavors and aromas. The taste is uncomplicated and clean. It is made from pale malt, a handful of malted wheat and finished with Perle hops for bittering and Cascade for aroma. It’s an easy drinking, comfortable ale for those lazy days and laid-back nights.

272. Southern Tier Unearthly IPA

This may be an example of an old bottle ruining a good beer but I could not find any bottle or freshness date on the bottle. Being an imperial IPA it really should be consumed fresh so the hops are still apparent. After time the alcohol seems to take over and you lose the taste the brewer intended.


No doubt this is a big beer with a great orange color and huge off white head. Plenty of lacing on the glass and only a mild aroma. Again this may be more subdued if this is an old bottle.The taste of this bottle was over the top alcohol with almost no hop or malt character.


Giving this 2 stars (below average) as I believe there is a good beer in there and will keep an eye out for a fresh bottle in the coming weeks and months. When I find one I will update this post accordingly. 
Pros: 
Cons: 
Alcohol Content: 9.5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): Lots
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Souther Tier

Brewers Description: At the Southern Tier Brewing Company, virorously hopped beer is our standard and inspiration. We continue a commitment to innovation with our  most aggressive offering yet. Unearthly is a manifestation of the brewers craft; skillfully balancing art and the forces of nature to produce a divine liquid. Delicately pour a taste into a fluted glass. Smell the enchanting aromas of the hops waft forward as your first sip divulges this beers fervent soul. To underestimate Unearthly is to trifle with the mysteries of the universe, so please consume wisely. FOOD PAIRINGS: Particularly tasty when paired with sharp artisan cheeses, curries, smoked brisket, spicy foods. 

267. Slumbrew Happy Sol

Summer is a great time to try hefeweizens as they are light, fruity and refreshing. Slumbrew is fairly new to Maine so I decided to pick up this beer as well as their IPA on one of my many visits to Bier Cellar in Portland. 


Appearance is slightly darker than other hefes but still has a nice cloudy look with very minimal white head that disappeared almost immediately leaving no lacing on the glass. Smell is mostly orange with some bread but unlike many other beers of this style there is little no banana. 


Taste has lots of citrus, some honey (which is actually quite good) and other spices. Beer is clean, crisp and quite refreshing, very easy to drink and something you should try if you enjoy this style.
Pros: Complex taste
Cons: No head
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 18
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Slumbrew

Brewers Description: A refreshingly tart and crisp hefeweizen brewed with local MA wildflower honey, orange peel and coriander, and fermented with the juice from over 1,000 blood oranges. It’s a cloudy, yet effervescent beer, with lingering banana and citrus notes balanced against a healthy wheat backbone and hoppy finish from Mt. Hood and Crystal hops.

256. Russian River Brewing Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder (and Younger) are beers that I had read a lot about but didn't think I would get a chance to try any time soon. Out of the blue a beer friend contacted me saying he had an "extra" bottle and would like to trade. Fortunately I had a beer that he wanted and we made the trade last week.


Pliny the Elder has a great label letting you know you NEED to drink it fresh, do not age, etc so I was sure to enjoy at my first opportunity. This is an Imperial/Double IPA which is my favorite style of beer lately.


Color is what you would expect from an IPA nice orange with a thick white head. Lots of aroma with plenty of pineapple, resin and a bit of alcohol. Very pleasant and draws you into the beer. Taste has everything you want from big IPA, lots of fruit tastes; pineapple, grapefruit and some pine bitterness. Malts are there to balance things out with a slightly sweet ending. This is one of the best Double IPAs out there and if you get the chance be sure to try it. 
Pros: Everything
Cons: Not available in Maine :( 
Alcohol Content: 8.0% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): High
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Russian River Brewing

Brewers Description: Pliny the Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. It is well-balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol, slightly bitter with a fresh hop aroma of floral, citrus, and pine. Best enjoyed FRESH! That is why we make it in such limited supply. Actual bottling date is printed on each bottle!

Where did we come up with this name? Back in the year 2000, our friend, Vic Kralj, who owns the Bistro in Hayward, California, decided to have his first ever Double IPA festival. Vic invited 10 breweries, 6 of whom (including us) had to brew something special for him since we had nothing that would fall under this style category. Vinnie had made a Double IPA at Blind Pig in 1994, but was not brewing one at Russian River Brewing at the time. He had an idea for the recipe, but not a name. After much research in beer books, brainstorming, and deliberation, we came up with "Pliny the Elder". Pliny, the man, lived in the first century- 23 to 79 A.D. According to our brewing references, he and his contemporaries either created the botanical name or at least wrote about Lupus Salictarius, or hops, currently known as Humulus Lupulus. That was a very early reference to an important part of any Double IPA! Pliny the beer has now become one of our flagship brews!

Pliny the Elder was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who wrote about his uncle succumbing to ash and smoke during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. while rescuing people. Cheers to the scholar, historian, officer, writer, and Roman Naturalist- Pliny the Elder!

250. Penobscot Bay Brewery Winnah 2011

I visited Penobscot Bay Brewery last week and while I was there picked up the 3 beers they brew that I had not tried yet including the Winnah 2011 which is the beer that won the 2011 Home Brew Contest in Bangor, ME. The winner was Nate Engelbrecht and he was invited to the brewery to make a batch of his Rye IPA to bottle and sell. Penobscot Bay brewed another batch of this beer in recent weeks and is bottling one last time before the next home brew contest. I believe the beer will remain in their lineup under a different name and I hope it does.


Color is a deep orange almost brown with a thick off white head. Aroma has some citrus hops and plenty of sweet malts. Taste starts with plenty of malts and has a solid hop finish with some grapefruit and pine flavors. This is the first rye beer that I truly enjoyed and is very well balanced. Really enjoyed this one and will grab a couple more bottles the next time I am in Winterport. If you are interested in a bottle let me know and I will grab you one too as this will be gone soon. 
Pros: Very well balanced
Cons: 
Alcohol Content: 7% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Penobscot Bay Brewery

Brewers Description: Not currently listed on their website. 

249. Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

Found this bottle of Stone's 14th Anniversary IPA in my local IGA of all places. They have a decent selection of Stone, Rogue, Allagash and a few other bombers but apparently do not sell many of them. This beer was released in June of 2010 and since then Stone has released their 15th anniversary and must be prepping the 16th anniversary versions. I was a bit skeptical with a nearly two year old IPA but figured I would give it a shot.

The color is beautiful cloudy yellow with a very solid white head. Lots of different aromas with nothing really standing out over the rest; certainly some citrus and pine hops, something sweet and earthy in there as well. So far it appears the beer has held up well. 

I did not try this beer fresh so I have nothing to compare it to but I think the hop taste has probably faded a bit over the years. There is still a fair amount of hop bite here but there is also a sweetness that may not have been there when it was brewed. Ends with some grapefruit flavors that linger. Overall this was better than I had hoped and I may just grab another bottle to age for a couple more years to see how it holds up.

241. Widmer Brothers Nelson Imperial IPA

Picked this one up at RSVP a couple of weeks ago and was not sure where the name Nelson Imperial IPA came from. Assumed it was named after the brewer but in fact it is named after a variety of hop from New Zealand.


Beer pours a dark orange almost amber color with a nice white head. Lots of grapefruit and citrus aromas coming from this one. The taste is all hops to start but evened out nicely by the sweet malts Complex flavor which changes a bit as the beer warms. Easy to drink for the amount of alcohol in and leaves little to no aftertaste. Very well done. 
Pros: Complex flavor

Cons: 

Alcohol Content: 8.6% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 70Rating:
Brewers Website: Widmer Brothers

Brewers Description: Take your taste buds on a journey to the far side of the world. New Zealand's legendary Nelson Sauvin hop gives us a powerful hoppy character, but none of the heaviness you sometimes find in imperials IPAs. The result is a big brew with a sweet, malty character that perfectly balances the intense hop aroma and flavor.

239. Sebago Brewing Trekker Pale Ale

Thanks to Kevin @ Sebago Brewing I was able to pickup 2 bottles of Trekker Pale Ale last week and enjoyed one on Sunday afternoon. This is the beer that I "helped" to brew during Sebago's Brewing for a Cause day back in April. If you have not been to this read my blog post here. This was a great event and if you are at all interested in craft beer, the brew process or simply hanging out with others that enjoy good beer I highly recommend you attend next year. If you do I am sure to see you there as this is going to be an annual event for me.


The Trekker Pale Ale from Sebago is a great example of the style and probably my second favorite pale ale in the 230+ beers I have had. My favorite so far is Edward by Hill Farmstead and that hardly qualifies as a pale ale as it is hoppier than many IPAs. If you had to sit someone down and give them an example of a quality pale ale Trekker would be my choice. Color is a nice orange with a slight white head. Aroma is nicely balanced with some hops and malts both apparent. Taste follows the nose with malts up front and the hops kick in late and linger a bit. The beer is very easy to drink, refreshing and leaves you wanting another even after a 22 oz bottle. Really enjoyed this beer and glad I have another to share with friends over the Memorial Day weekend. 
Pros: Good representation of the style

Cons: Available for a very limited time as it sells out quickly  

Alcohol Content: 6.1% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Sebago Brewing

Brewers Description: Trekker Pale Ale was brewed at Brewing For A Cause, a fundraiser for the Trek Across Maine - a 3-day, 180 mile bike ride in support of the mission of the American Lung Association. This beer was our fastest selling Single Batch Series beer in 2011 and we've brewed a double batch this year for all our thirsty guests! Trekker Pale Ale (6.1% ABV) is a classic American pale ale. It is light bronze in color, with a moderate malt character up front that gives way to an increasing hop aroma with a clean dry finish. Available starting Friday May 11th on draft and in 22oz bottles.