183. Maine Beer Company Thank You Allan

This is the Maine Beer Company's limited release beer - 250 hand numbered bottles with $10 from each going to the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund (see below for details). I was fortunate to pickup bottles #10, 11 & 12 on the first day of the sale and decided to open bottle #12 today. The bottle is amazing - better picture available in my prior post and the beer inside is different than any other beer I have had before. First they use brettanomyces (see Wikipedia info here) as the yeast which is typically only used in sours. This is probably the first beer I have reviewed that uses this type of yeast and then they aged it in Syrah barrels. Syrah is a type of grape used to make wines in France and by aging beer in a barrel used previously for wine it takes on a lot of those characteristics. The appearance is not all that different than other beers, light in color, slightly hazy with a thin head after an aggressive pour. Head disappears quickly and leaves no lacing on the glass. Lightly carbonated with a slightly sour aroma, like a green apple. Taste has some wine characteristics but feels more like a champagne with light carbonation. A bit of the sour apple/grape in the flavor profile as well a slight spice finish. The beer is very easy to drink and I am not sure what the alcohol content is but it seems to be fairly high with no alcohol bite to it. Overall this is a unique beer from Maine Beer Company and it is well crafted as they all seem to be. I have two more bottles and will age at least one to see how it taste a year or two from now. 
Pros: Unique, easy to drink

Cons: Only 250 bottles released

Alcohol Content: ??% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): ??
Rating: 
Brewers Website: Maine Beer Company

Brewers Description: This is our farmhouse ale. It was fermented with a blend of ale strains and aged in french oak Syrah barrels with brettanomyces. $10 from your purchase goes straight to the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund. Thank You!