Cheers!

Chaddah

CLASS OF ’88 BARLEY WINE (DESCHUTES/ROGUE/NORTH COAST)

10.2% ABV

Purchased at Final Gravity in Roseville, California ($7.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

This barley wine is a collaboration ale brewed by West coast stalwarts Deschutes, Rogue, and North Coast to commemorate their mutual 25th anniversaries.  Each brewery made their own batch of Class of ’88 at their own facilities, and this Deschutes version pours a viscous, honey gold with a tight, off-white head.  The sticky-sweet nose jumps out of the glass with honey, saltwater taffy, and candied citrus.  It offers mostly dessert-like flavors up front, including taffy, caramel, and bubblegum, but it gives way to a profound, pine-and-citrus hop bitterness on the aftertaste.  Class of ’88 is pretty drinkable for a 10-plus percent barley wine, and it could be considered an encapsulation of these three venerable breweries’ mission statements – to make strong and “strange” beers palatable to the American tongue.  That said, it’s a little too sweet for its own good, and would probably be best in small portions only. (3 ½ toasts)

Brewed by: Hill Farmstead Brewery

ABV: 8%

Style: American Imperial Pale Ale

Hill Farmstead is not available in Maine; I picked up a growler at the brewery on a recent trip through Vermont.

Poured very cloudy, yellow/gold in color with a fluffy white head that left lacing down the glass.

Smells incredible, big and hoppy, strong citrusy, grapefruit, some light grassy notes, it makes my mouth water. I don’t really pick up the malt profile in the nose, the hops are very pronounced.

The malt is really nice, slightly bready, toasted grains; the hops seem to show up about mid-sip with a big citrus burst, grapefruit, mango, a slight grassiness and some pine. Nice medium-full body, steady carbonation and a slightly bitter finish with a citrus aftertaste.

Overall an IPA I’d drive off the beaten path to have again. Hill Farmstead Brewery is a destination; you don’t just pop off the road and pick up a growler, you have to be willing to take your car off the pavement, up in to the countryside where the roads intersect without stop signs, a quieter place with a really nice view. This was a wonderful beer and I’m glad I made the trip; I haven’t had a beer from Hill Farmstead that I didn’t like.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Hill Farmstead Brewery

This list of Brewfests is a work in progress, I will continue to update this list as I learn of new Festivals. I do not endorse any of these festivals, I have not attended all of these festivals, this is just a compilation of upcoming events. If you see something missing please contact me via Facebook or Email me IfMyCoasterCouldTalk@Gmail.com  and I’ll make sure it gets added.

Cheers!

Chaddah

2012 Vermont Brewers Festival

JUNE

May 31 & June 1 – American Craft Beer Fest – Boston, MA

June 14 -  2nd annual Hyper-Local Craft Brewfest – Somerville, MA

June 15 – 9^th Annual Green River Brew Fest  – Greenfield, MA

June 21 & 22 – The Festival – Portland, ME

June 22 – Tap Into Summer Brew Fest – Bangor, ME

June 29 -  Nashua River Brewers Festival – Fitchburg, MA

JULY

July 12 & 13 – Drink Craft Beer Summerfest – Boston, MA

July 13 – Craft Beer comes to the Maine State Pier – Portland, ME

July 19 & 20 – Vermont Brewers Festival – Burlington, VT

July 26 & 27 – Southern New Hampshire Brewers Festival – Hooksett, NH

July 27 – Yankee Homecoming Brewfest – Newburyport, MA

August

August 10 – Bangor Brew Fest presented by KahBang – Bangor, ME

August 10 – Festival of Farmhouse Ales – Greensboro, VT

August 30 & 31 – Portland Brew Festival – Portland, ME

SEMPTEMBER

September 7 – Brass City Brewfest – Waterbury, CT

September 13 – Night of the Funk – Boston, MA

September 14 – Belgian Beer Fest – Boston, MA

September 28 – 10^th Annual Maine Lakes Brew Fest – Casco, ME

September 28 – Cape Cod Brew Fest – Falmouth, MA

OCTOBER

October 4-6 – Killington Brewfest Weekend – Killington, VT

October 12 -  Acadia’s Oktoberfest – Southwest Harbor, ME

October 19 – 6th Year of Beer & Pemaquid Mussel Festival – Belfast, ME

October 19 – Witches Brew Fest – Augusta, ME

Acadia’s Oktoberfest Glasses

This Friday, May 17^th at 6pm at the Penobscot Valley Country Club you’ll have just that opportunity as Bangor Wine and Cheese presents a Beer & Game Dinner for $45, Check out this Menu:

-Crispy Rattlesnake atop a spicy corn cake w/ caramelized jalapenos and bacon dust, paired with Allagash Tripel

-Twin Antelope Sliders; one with allspice and black pepper w/ tangy plum sauce, the other with almond crust and porcini mushroom sauce, paired with both Four Ale and the Prince Tuesday Collaboration Ale

-Grilled Elk Sausage served with a crispy leek gruyere latke, paired with the famed FV-13

-Grilled kangaroo tenderloin served on a bed of shredded summer squash and zucchini with roasted potatoes paired with Allagash Blonde Ale

-Wild Boar Lollipop Chops with a drizzle of dried fruit BBQ sauce served with a side of wild greens with candied dried fruit and nuts, paired with Curieux Barrel Aged Ale

-And, for dessert, if you can find room after all that glorious food, is a Stout Float, made with Allagash Black Belgian Stout

Reservations can be made by calling the Penobscot Valley Country Club at (207)-866-2060

Cheers!

Chaddah

Brewed By: Redhook Ale Brewery

ABV: 5.3%

Style: Black Lager brewed with Lobster

I recently received this bottle from Redhook; I was actually excited to try this as I can’t say I’ve ever had a beer that was actually brewed with Lobster. This beer is Redbook’s twist on an Oyster Stout which I have had before but instead of stout and oysters they are doing a black lager with lobsters, this beer is part of their backyard series and to my knowledge is only available in New England.

Lobstah Lager pours black but does allow some light through and takes on a deep brown to red color when held up to the light, the pour produced a thick off white head that settled to a thin layer across the surface.

The beer smells of dark roasted grains, lager yeast; it’s a very crisp and clean smelling beer.

Interesting flavor, I will tell you up front it’s not like taking a bite of lobster, there is a distinct dark roasted grain flavor and just a touch of smokiness, past that I get a slight briny flavor that just hints at seafood. The beer finishes clean like I would expect from a lager but there is a subtle aftertaste that reminds me of breathing in the sea air on the coast, this took me by surprise.

Overall not a bad beer, definitely different than anything I’ve had before and I do enjoy oyster stouts. This had a similar briny flavor that you find in an oyster stout that I don’t think stood out quite as much in a lager, the finish is where I was really caught off guard, with that sort of salty air aftertaste. I enjoyed the beer and I thank Redhook for sending me a bottle, if you stumble across this beer I say give it a go, unless of course you can’t have lobster.

Cheers!

Chaddah

I called a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs committee to find out how the majority voted on this bill and found that the majority vote was Ought Not To Pass except for one vote Ought To Pass.

This committee vote shows that LD 1082 is lacking support but is still alive and may need to have some amendments presented when it goes before the full Maine Senate in order to gain more support. Looking at the testimony in opposition to this bill, it’s clear that there are certain details about refilling growlers in question, details that are present in the current laws that allow breweries and brewpubs to fill growlers. In testimony by both the Maine State Police and Cheryl Timberlake, executive vice president of the Maine Beer and Wine Distributors Association, the same questions regarding LD 1082 are brought up

1. Definition of size of refillable container.
2. Could a customer refill a small keg?
3. Would customers provide their own container?

In Maine Statutes under manufacturer’s licenses, these three questions are answered with one line:

“Malt liquor must be dispensed in bottles provided by and with labels unique to the brewery of 32 to 64 ounces in volume.”

This should be an amendment to the proposed bill, as it answers the question of bottle size and does not allow for refills of small kegs but also doesn’t allow customers to bring in any form of vessel for refill.

1. Would retailers be able to pre-fill containers for sale?

Again, same statutes for manufacturer’s license specify: “No more than 6 bottles may be pre-filled at any one time.”

I would think this would be an easy amendment for retailers who are already cooling beer in a controlled, carbonated keg and would not want to lose the extra cooler space for filled growlers when there is the possibility of refilling growlers brought back by a customer, this seems like it would be more of hindrance for Brewpubs who would have to stop and fill growlers off of active taps as opposed to having “to go” bottles at the ready.

1. Would the containers be sealed with tamper proof seals

The same statutes again state: “The bottle in which the malt liquor is dispensed must be sealed by the licensee with a seal that is tamper-evident.”

This seems like an obvious amendment to stay in good standing with current Maine laws on open containers. There is also a line that requires the sales receipt with time stamp be present with the growler, which I have to assume is proof that the product in the bottle is what the person holding it says it is and not something else.

I could continue, but these were the biggest questions from both parties that stood out to me and they are all legitimate questions that should be addressed. I don’t for a moment think that Retailers left out information on container size with the hopes of filling 5 gallon buckets or something crazy, and I realize that branded bottles may be extra cost for the retailers but it’s also a form of advertising. I have purchased plain brown glass growlers from a Maine brewery that were marked with a hangtag, maybe this is an option to get around the extra cost and would allow them to also include information like the Name, Brand and ABV of the beer being dispensed.

Where do we go from here? The bill now needs to go before the House and Senate, the amendments to the bill will need to be made and this may breathe some new life into the bill and bolster some support. If the amended bill passes through the House and Senate it could be on its way to the governor’s desk. If it doesn’t pass it could conceivably be the end for LD 1082, but I would hope it doesn’t go down without a fight.

This is where you come in!  Please call or email your state senator and state representative to make sure they know about LD 1082. If you want to go the extra mile, call or email the sponsors and cosponsors of this bill to make sure they are fighting for it when the bill goes to the full senate and the full house.  At this point, the best chance we have at passage of this bill is if we demand action by our elected officials.  Member lookup: maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm.

Sponsor/cosponsor list of LD 1082: http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/sponsors.asp?ID=280047832

Because I was interested I actually took a look at info from Vermont’s Liquor Control Board, and some of their regulations could easily apply as amendments for LD 1082, in their general regulations they specify that retailers who want to participate in the growler program must notify the Department of Liquor Control, products must be filled for immediate sale, no pre-filling,  clean growlers must be provided by the retailer for each sale so customers would swap out glass each time and the retailer would make sure they are clean which I assume is to support quality control, labels on the product must have name of retailer, product, ABV, name of manufacturer and “Best consumed in 72 hours”.

I would like thank my friend and reader of this blog who would prefer to remain nameless for all the help in research and answering questions for me as I wrote this blog post, I learned a lot about the political process and a lot about Maine liquor laws.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Sadie’s the Lady Hops Soap comes in 4oz bars, it’s a greenish color with brown flecks, very natural looking and slightly rough to the touch. Now I won’t lie, I had it in my head that this soap was going to smell like a hop bomb of an IPA like Marshall Wharf Cant Dog or something along those lines and I was wrong. Sadie’s the Lady is a really clean smelling soap, it’s not artificially scented but has a pleasant slightly fruity aroma; coconut, olive oil, maybe just a light earthy hops scent. I would say it’s a unisex bar of soap as far as scent, it appealed to both myself and my wife.

My wife and I both agreed that the soap felt great on our skin, smooth, soft, and lathered up easily without being sticky like some bar soaps. My wife mentioned immediately after drying her hands how good her skin still felt, as if she has just finished moisturizing them as opposed to washing them. Post hand washing and our skin felt great, but the most noticeable thing was what was missing from washing with most any other soap out there, the lack of smell, clean skin, no perfumes or clinging aromas.

Overall the wife and I enjoyed this product. Hops aren’t only great in beer but have antiseptic properties that make them useful in treating small cuts, they can be used on dry skin and even in anti-wrinkle creams. I think the remainder of this bar will be used by my son who has dry skin and is sensitive to products that are overly scented. If you are looking to try a new soap that’s locally produced and produced with Maine grown hops no less, give Sadie’s the Lady a shot, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Thanks again to Krista at Aroostook hops for sending me a sample to try.

Oh, and did I mention she sent two bars? She did! Since this is my 100^th blog post and I’m feeling grateful for all my readers, I’m going to give away the second bar to one of you. Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite IPA is and you’ll be entered to win a bar of Sadie’s the Lady hops soap produced at Aroostook Hops in Northern  Maine.  You will have until 6pm on Sunday May 12^th to enter; I will select a winner at random and announce the winner below and on my Facebook Page.

Good Luck!

Chaddah

Brewed By: Wynkoop Brewing Company

ABV: 7.5%

It all started as an April fool’s Day joke in the form of a video posted on the Wynkoop website, and is now a reality, Stout brewed with Bull Testicles and sold in two packs. Wynkoop Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout is not available in Maine, thanks to my friends Nate and Heather who have friends in Colorado and hooked me up with a sampling.

Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout pours black, no light shows through; pour produced a dark khaki colored head.

Smells of dark roasted malts, alcohol is noticeable but not boozy, strong black roasted coffee and dark chocolate.

Right up front I get black coffee, alcohol is prominent but not in an overwhelming way, it really works here. There are some bittersweet chocolate notes that really balance everything out. This beer has a smooth, creamy mouthfeel, medium to full body with a slightly sweet finish and a pleasant coffee aftertaste.

Overall a really drinkable beer along the lines of a nice coffee stout, you can’t even taste the bull testicles. Be brave, step out of your element, fear no beer.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Brewed by: Dogfish Head Brewery Inc.

ABV: 6.5%

Style: IPA brewed with Syrah Grape Must

Sixty-One pours very clear and has a rose color, looks more like wine than beer. The pour raised a short white head with a slight pink hue.

Very interesting smelling beer, toasted grains, caramel sweetness, grapes, floral hops. This is sort of what I’d imagine a dry hopped wine to smell like.

Flavor seems to lean more toward a wine, right up front I picked up some toasted grains but that quickly turned into grape flavor, the beer is very dry with an almost tart acidity, with some citrus that I have to assume is the hops and a really nice bitterness to balance everything out.

Overall a really interesting beer, I’ve had other Dogfish Head beers brewed with grape must but I don’t remember them being as wine like. If you are looking for an interesting take on an IPA I would recommend this one, now I wish I had bought more than one bottle.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Brewed By: Rising Tide Brewing Company

Style: Hefeweizen

ABV: 4.5%

Purchased: Bangor Wine and Cheese

Spinnaker is unfiltered and unpasteurized, I swirled the bottle and poured the yeast, this beer is very cloudy with a yellow/golden color, the pour produced a thick white head.

Smells like a traditional hefeweizen, strong smell of wheat and yeast, very bready. Yeast comes through with some banana and spicy notes.

Really tasty beer, bready, yeasty, with notes of wheat, banana, cloves, even a note of citrus, this is a very drinkable beer that will be a welcome addition to a hot summer day.

Overall a really nice beer, Rising Tide never disappoints me.  I would say this is the one beer that my wife (who is currently pregnant) is celebrating the release of, with the baby due in June she’s got her summer beer picked for relaxing by the lake. If you are a fan of Hefeweizen or if you are looking to suggest a great local craft beer to that friend who “just doesn’t like those dark beers” this would be a great one.

Cheers!

Chaddah