Weenie Rocket IPA (Portsmouth Brewery)

Fine, so techinally it's classified as a mild and the bottle does say "American Mild" on it, but this beer is more affectionately known as "Weenie Rocket IPA". That is what you'll see it called at the brewery and that is what I had to ask for a glass of this past weekend. Makes you wish they had to come up with a real label for it! Regardless of its name, I really enjoyed it on tap and made sure to grab a bomber at the bottle shop before leaving Portsmouth.

Pours a slightly hazy straw color with a great carbonation level and a very nice looking head. Pretty much a perfect looking pour for a refreshing summer time beer.

Smell is grassy, hoppy, a bit bready and some sweetness (lemonade perhaps?).  

Taste is very crisp and refreshing. I don't know what other way to describe that initial pleasure I get from a big sip of this beer. Nothing is overpowering at all. There are citrus, apple, sour malt and some light sugary notes.

Weenie Rocket is obviously not at the same level as its big, bad brother the Bottle Rocket IPA but what makes it different is its shear drinkability and it does hold its own with quite a bit of hoppiness. I was thinking of how this could be the perfect session beer for a long, lazy day in the backyard with the grill going. Its nice and hoppy, crisp and refreshing and its not high in alcohol content. Overall, its an amazingly drinkable light beer. You can't do much better than this in the sub 5% category!

BEER FACTS

Name: Weenie Rocket IPA (a.k.a. American Mild)

Style: English Pale Mild Ale

Brewery: The Portsmouth Brewery

Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: ?

ABV: 4.8%

IBUs: ?

Shoals Pale Ale (Smuttynose Brewing Company)

It wasn't too long ago that I'd scoff at pale ale when an IPA was within reach. The mere idea of drinking something that wasn't pushed to the limit with hops was hard for me to swallow. Nowadays I can appreciate a well-balanced British style pale ale much more than during my extreme hop head days (which I still relapse into...see Big A IPA review) so I've decided to give this one my full unbiased attention.

Pours a light auburn color with a big fluffy head that hugs the rim of the glass very tightly. The clarity of this beer is very nice and the bubbles that float to the head make it a really good looking pour. 

Smell is fresh malty, hop crispness, grass, hay and some earthy tones. Its smells a bit like bread dough that is rising in a bakery.

Taste is actually quite hoppy with some astringency from the malt. This one does have some wheat in it so maybe that is where that comes from? Not a lot of aftertaste or bitter notes like in the IPA, the finish is actually more of malty sweetness than hoppy bitterness. Pretty tasty stuff!

You'll want to give this beer a chance to warm up a bit and breathe in the glass. It will bring out a lot more taste and smell. This is also a great candidate for a cask...

BEER FACTS

Name: Shoals Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Company

Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Pale Brewers, Crystal 60°L, Carastan & Wheat

Hops: Cascade & Chinook

ABV: 5%

IBUs: 30

Vacationland Summer Ale (Gritty's)

You have to admit, the label on this beer must draw in the tourists looking to bring back something for their friends back home. Look honey, this one's got a moose and a lighthouse on it! Gritty's calls this beer an "Extra Special Golden Ale" but I've also seen it categorized as a pale ale. I guess its up to you to decide.

It pours a nice, super clean golden color (hey, they were right!). Its got a nice foamy head on it and looks like a prototypical light bodied summer ale.

The smell is toasty malt sweetness and a little bit of hay/grass as well. I also get some of that oh-so-familiar yeast strain known as Ringwood.

Taste is light malt, butter and some wheat. I checked and it is indeed brewed with some wheat malt, so I'm not crazy. Its also brewed with cascade hops and I taste a bit of the hop bitterness and can just make out the faint floral smell from them.

A very easy drinking beer from Gritty's. It makes me want go camping and catch a moose while fishing from a kayak near a lighthouse up in the mountains!

BEER FACTS

Name: Vacationland Summer Ale

Style: Extra Special Golden Ale/Pale Ale

Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewpub

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Pale and Wheat Malt

Hops: Cascade, Saaz

ABV: 4.9%

IBUs: 22

Brewed in Maine

Original Pub Style Ale (Gritty McDuff's)

Gritty's was Maine's first brewpub. Say the name Gritty's in Maine and people know that you are talking about beer. 

This is a beer many patrons of Gritty's brewpubs know well. Its sort of odd to be drinking it from a bottle to be honest. It pours a clear, darker goldon color with a frothy head. The head on this is not as big or as creamy as it is when poured on draught. Nonetheless it is a decent size with medium bubble holes. 

Smell at first is buttered toast followed by some yeast, hay and sugar (what a combo). I am going to wager and guess and say that their is some Ringwood action going on here. I could be wrong though. The bottle does say its brewed and bottled at the Freeport location. If you've not been there yet, pay a visit. Its a nice reprieve from all that outlet shopping madness.

Taste is smooth. A little buttery but crisp and a bit drying. Its sort of creamy but still easy drinking. This is reminiscent, to me, of British style pale ales. Not an overly present hoppiness, but still enough to stand out from a bitter. All in all, its a very easy drinking session ale. 

"This is the kind of beer that really started the whole Maine brewing revolution." - Ed Stebbins (Gritty's Brewmaster)

BEER FACTS

Name: Original Pub Style (Maine's Classic Pale Ale)

Style: Pale Ale

Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewpub

Location: Freeport, Maine, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: Willamette & Cascade

ABV: 4.5%

IBUs: 20

Brewed in Maine

#9 (Magic Hat)

It only seems fitting that Magic Hat would have a flagship beer that is a "not quite pale ale" infused with apricot. You really can't expect anything less from such an eccentric group of people. Nevertheless, this was my first introduction to Magic Hat back in the day and I was a big fan.

Things have changed a bit when it comes to my palate. I am not such a fan of sweet, fruit laden beers. I do love the taste of apricots so that could be a big reason why I was originally drawn to this one.

Pours super clean, clear and rather dark apricot in color (can I call it that?). Anyways, this is a nice amber colored beer with absolutely no imperfections in the glass. Its super clean with a nice thick white head. The smell is actually kind of like hay infused with fruit syrup. I can't think of a better way to describe it. The actual apricot smell is not overly detectable, its a sweet fruit smell but to make it out as a apricot would take some skills.

Taste is immediately sweet and fruity with a drying slightly hoppy aftertaste. Its definitely apricot-ey once it gets in your mouth. But, I think that is a good fruit for beer. Its not overbearing or overly sweet and doesn't take all the other qualities of the beer away. I guess once you are over the apricot taste of this beer, there isn't a whole lot left. Its not a bad beer, it is what it is. If you've never had it, give it a shot. There are worse fruit beers out there and if you went by the amount of beer sold, this one is a winner for Magic Hat!

If you like Magic Hat's #9 be sure to check out these closely related beers:

Dogfish Head Aprihop

Pyramid Apricot Weizen

Middle Ages Apricot Ale

BEER FACTS

Name: #9

Style: Pale Ale, Fruit Ale (Apricot)

Brewery: Magic Hat Brewing Company

Location: Burlington, Vermont, USA

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: Pale & Crystal
Hops: Cascade & CTZ

ABV: 4.6%

IBU’s: 18

Chamberlain Pale Ale (Shipyard)

Joshua Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine (foreshadowing?). He attended Bowdoin College where he would also be a professor of an array of different disciplines and ultimately become the President. In his life he would become fluent in 9 languages, be a Civil War hero (winning the Medal of Honor) and serve four years as the Governor of Maine. He is buried in Brunswick. That is the briefest summary of his life as you will find, as Chamberlain was a truly amazing person and worthy of the numerous books written about him. This beer is a liquid homage to the man with the "Soul of the Lion".

Pours a nice, clear, clean light amber color with a nice white head that stays put. Holding this glass up to the light shows off a great clarity and lots of perfect little bubbles bouncing around. Smell is yeasty, a little buttery, cinnamon rolls and faint hints of hops.

The taste is quite rich. More than I was expecting based on the clarity of the beer. This is definitely akin to a nice British pale ale. Its not really a hoppy pale ale, but more of a balanced one with a nice smooth taste. The aftertaste has that familiar Ringwood flavor that I am trying to grow accustomed to and look past when I drink Shipyard's beers. Overall, this is a very enjoyable beer.

I can imagine this is a great candidate for a beer engine. Its got a real ale taste to it and this is surely a beer worthy of the great Chamberlain name.

BEER FACTS

Name: Chamberlain Pale Ale

Style: Pale Ale (English)

Brewery: Shipyard Brewing Company

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: Pale, Crystal and Chocolate

Hops: Fuggles, Cascade and Tettnang

ABV: 4.9%

IBUs: ?

Brewed in Maine

Maple Oat Ale (Peak Organic Brewing Company)

Peak Organic Brewing Company is an independent brewing establishment that contract brews at the Shipyard Brewery. All of their beers are certified organic and seem to be catching on with the beer drinking populous quite well. They have three stable brews they sell in six packs but this is the first I've seen being sold in 22 oz. bottles.

According to the bottle Peak Organic brews their Maple Oat Ale with "Maine-grown GrandyOats and maple syrup from Vermont's Butternut Mountain Farm". That's pretty cool if you ask me. Its nice to see this sort of collaboration go into making a beer.

This pours a nice clean, clear golden color. Its definitely fresh considering this beer was just released this week. It smells sweet, crisp and a bit like brown sugar. The head is thin, but again I think its because I drink my beer a little colder than I should.

Call me crazy but I think this beer tastes very similar to Geary's Pale Ale. It has a similar sharp taste and that crispness that is sort of lager-esque. This is a very clean beer with a touch of malt sweetness and not a lot of hop bitterness.

I think that people are going to find this a very easy drinking beer. Its hard to detect the maple syrup (or the oats for that matter) but its likely supposed to be that way. I am not a huge fan of the other Peak beers but thats mainly because they are rather run of the mill. Give this a shot if you see it, its a special release so it probably won't be on the shelves for long.

BEER FACTS

Name: Maple Oat Ale

Style: Pale Ale?

Brewery: Peak Organic Brewing Company

Location: Portland, Maine, USA

Container: 22 oz. bottle

Malts: ? & Oatmeal

Hops: ?

ABV: 5.2%

IBUs: ?

Brewed in Maine

Longshot Grape Pale Ale (Samuel Adams)

I know what you're thinking. What the hell is a "grape pale ale"? Well, it's a pale ale brewed with grapes. Go figure! This one was created by Lili Hess, a Sam Adams employee from Hawaii. It was also one of three winners of this past Samuel Adams "Longshot" Homebrew Contest. 

The other winners were a weizenbock and a double IPA that unfortunately didn't make it into production this year due to the worldwide hop shortage (it must have been pretty hoppy as it was 9.6% and over 100 IBUs). So there are just two styles in this year's 6-packs. You can get them anywhere they sell Sam Adams and a 6'er retails for $7.99.

According to the bottle:

As Lili describes it, "It's like you are drinking a pale ale after biting into a green seedless grape". 

Intrigued? I was. It pours darker than I thought it would. I was expecting a very light colored beer. The smell was sweet but not like grapes. I really don't think green grapes have a lot of taste or smell, other than a subtle sweetness. Maybe thats what I was smelling along with some maltiness? 

The taste was nice. It had a very refreshing quality too it with a really subtle taste. It kind of reminded me of Magic Hat #9 but with about 1/4 of the apricot sweetness. Its a very unique beer in that it was brewed with "natural grape flavor and maple syrup" but its not an overly flavorful beer nor does it have to be. It would make a great beer on a hot day. Too bad those days are still far off here in Maine. 

I can't help wishing that Lili had done something with pineapple to make this beer a little more Hawaiian. That would have been pretty cool! Maybe next year!

BEER FACTS:

Name: Longshot Grape Pale Ale

Style: Fruit Flavored Ale

Brewery: Boston Beer Company

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Malts: ?

Hops: ?

ABV: ?

IBUs: ?

For more about the 2007 Sam Adams Longshot Contest winners go HERE!

To enter the contest for a chance to see your homebrew in production go HERE!