Mould's Beer Blog

Thanks for coming by everyone!  Yesterday, I was tipped off from the Little Bros Beverage Outlet's email list that they were having a closeout sale on Sixpoint Diesel, selling 4-packs for $3.99!!  When I stopped by to pick some up, of course I checked out the rest of the beer section (which is always great).  I spied a bottle of Maine Beer Company Lil One.  I hadn't seen bottles of this beer since Maine Beer Company started distributing to NJ, so I picked a bottle up.  Let's crack it open and see how it is! Maine Beer Company Lil One Lil One Maine Beer Company Style:  The brewers prefer not to classify it, Beer Advocate penciled it in as an American Strong Ale 9.1% ABV Bottled on January 31, 2013 1 Pint 0.9 oz. bottle poured into my Dogfish Head Signature Glass Maine Beer Company's Lil One pours a cloudy, orange, copper color with a two finger off white head.  Very pleasant lacing is left on the walls of the glass as the head ...

Hey everyone!  Tonight, I bring you this beer tasting with a winter storm cutely named Nemo knocking on my door.  With plans of staying inside for the next 12 - 20 hours, Kerry and I reactivated our Netflix streaming subscription.  Right now we are watching Adventureland, which has a few Velvet Underground/Lou Reed songs playing on the soundtrack.  There is lots of other good stuff too (The Replacements, Bowie, Husker Du).  Those are good, but it really makes me question why I don't listen to Lou Reed more.  I think I'm going to have to add him to my Pandora stations! Allagash Dubbel  In the world of craft beer, Allagash Brewing can't seem to do much wrong.  They have an incredibly strong core lineup of beers, including their White, Tripel, Black and Curieux.  Tonight I am going to drink a bottle of their Dubbel.  I have had this beer in the past, but not in quite some time.  With Allagash's reputation, I have high hopes this ...

Winter is coming, and not just in Westeros.  When it gets to the point where it's dark out when I leave work and I have to wear my coat everyday, it's time to break out the bigger beers.  Barleywines, imperial stouts, tripels and quads, Belgian strong ales.  These are collectively my, and I'm sure a lot of yours, favorite styles of beer.  Tonight I'm drinking another beer by Atlantic Brewing Company .  Their Brother Adam's Bragget sounded like just the right thing for tonight.  From the bottle, it's a barleywine style honey ale, brewed with Maine honey.  Brother Adam sounded like a pretty awesome beer wrangler, just check out his wiki page !  I bought this beer from the brewery itself while I was in Maine, and it was a bottle from 2010.   Brewery :  Atlantic Brewing Company Beer :  Brother Adam's Bragget (2010) ABV :  11.8% (from Untappd/BeerAdvocate) Brother Adam's Bragget poured a reddish-brown color, with a tiny he...

Today is International Stout Day.  It is one of the new beer "holidays", each celebrating a style of beer.  The most popular of these "holidays" is IPA Day, which passed not long ago (August 2).  There is also Session Beer Day (April 7) and the less well known Sour Beer Day (September 8).  To celebrate International Stout Day, many bars will be tapping some special stout offerings.  Also, everyone's favorite beer check-in service, Untappd , offers a badge for checking in a stout on International Stout Day (if you're into that sort of thing). Before I knew that Maine Beer Company was beginning to distribute their beer to NJ, I picked up their Mean Old Tom at a liquor store in Bar Harbor, ME.  Yesterday, I had a post on Maine Beer Co.'s Zoe .  Zoe was a great hoppy, amber ale that left me wanting to try more from Maine Beer Co.!  Without further ado, here is my take on Mean Old Tom!  Enjoy International Stout Day everyone! Bottling Date:...

Around a month ago, Maine Beer Company expanded their distribution into NJ.  Beer fans were excited over this, since besides being known for their simple, to the point labels, they are known for making some great beer.  I came across their beer Zoe in my local Wegmans.  I think it was maybe $7 for a 1 pint .9 fl oz bottle. Another great thing about Maine Beer Co., 1% of their sales is donated to environmental non-profits.  Specifically for sales from Zoe, they donate to Allied Whale, a non-profit who uses their funds to study marine mammals. Bottled on:  09-30-12 Drink by:  12-30-12 Style:  According to Maine Beer Co., a happy, hoppy, amber ale Zoe poured a dark amber color, almost brown, with a huge head.  As the head lessened, it left some great lacing on the glass.  Zoe has a nice aroma of a mixture of pine resin and citrus fruits, especially grapefruit.  The taste was full of sticky, piney hops, but balanced by a toffee flav...

I've been reviewing quite a bit of beers recently from Atlantic Brewing Company.  A very solid brewery, you can find links to my reviews of their blueberry ale, S.O.B., and Coal Porter at the end of this write up.  Tonight I'm sipping on their MacFoochie's Scottish Ale and watching Urban Legend  on TV.  Gotta love cheesy '90s thrillers! MacFoochie's Scottish Ale poured black into my wine glass.  Very little head to speak of, and as I drink, there is no lacing left on the glass.  It has a very smooth, silky appearance.  In the aroma, I smell roasted malt, caramel and smoke.  The smoke might be a figment of my imagination though.  I know it's supposed to be in there, because it's a scottish ale, but I'm definitely not getting a lot of the smoke in this one.  The mouthfeel on the MacFoochie's is very smooth and a bit thin.  Lots of roasted malts and more smoke comes through in the flavor.     Overall :  A good b...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for the weekend to get here.  Due to the weather, and honestly, just being kind of lazy, I haven't gotten out to do many runs recently, but I do have a beer review here!  That counts for something, right?  Atlantic Brewing Company's S.O.B, Special Old Bitter Ale, is another beer I picked up during my recent trip to Maine.  The label claims the beer is a bitter and an IPA, so if I can expect one thing from this beer, it's hops! The S.O.B. poured a dark copper color into my Hofbrauhaus mug (thanks Ben and Nancy!) with a large and foamy head.  The beer has an aroma of caramel and citrus, and the taste follows closely.  It's a bit more bitter than most English bitters I've had.  Definitely more like an IPA.  The malt backbone tries to stand up to the bitterness, but can't quite do it.  As the name suggests, the bitterness is front and central.  This is a mighty...

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope you're all enjoying the weekend!  Beautiful day today, I took full advantage of it and jogged around 1.7 miles, averaging just around 10 minutes per mile.  After that, had some Wawa subs for lunch, and worked on a beer mapping project (more details on that later).   The beer write-up today will be another bay I picked up while on vacation in Maine, Penobscot Bay Brewery's Red Flannel Ale.  As a side note, I've decided to start using a fairly arbitrary 10 point system for my beer write-ups. Not this red flannel though! Penobscot Bay Brewery's Red Flannel Ale pours a brown color with a hint of red in the light.  Not even half a finger width of head developed.  Smells a sweet caramel, and some dark fruit in there too.  The taste is also quite sweet, full of caramel, lightly roasted coffee, and some raisin in the aftertaste.  The beer tastes only lightly carbonated.  I only got a hint of alcohol...

Hey everyone!  I don't know about you guys, but I am relieved it is finally Thursday night!  One more day of work this week, and then the weekend is here!  I was able to get 3 runs in this week, and after a 1.5 mile run today, I rewarded myself with a beer! Tonight's beer is Ishmael from Rising Tide Brewing Company .  I picked this bottle up while on vacation in Maine, at House Wine in Bar Harbor. Rising Tide is a 2 year old brewery located in Portland, Maine, and as of right now you can only find their beers in Maine or Massachusetts.  I'm very excited to get to try this! From the back of the bottle, Ishmael is an "American interpretation of the altbiers of Dusseldorf."  I wasn't too familiar with what to expect from the altbier style, so I consulted Michael Jackson's Beer Companion .  According to Jackson, the altbier reigned in German cities, usually in the north and west, that hadn't been converted to the bottom-fermented lagers.  ...

BBQ Sampler @ Mainely Meat BBQ.  Ridiculously good! After touring Atlantic Brewing Company, tasting their beers and ravaging their bottle/gift shop, Kerry and I had developed quite the appetite!  Directly next to the brewery resides Mainely Meat BBQ at the Knox Road Grille.  The smell of their delicious meats just brings you right in!  They serve BBQ ribs, chicken, pulled pork, sausage and lots of great sides.  We decided to get their sampler plate, which gives you a little bit of everything.  Taking advantage of being right next to the brewery, they serve up practically all of Atlantic Brewing Company's lineup of beers on draft.  I opted for their Big Wicked Double IPA, while Kerry got the Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.  Real great stuff!  Take a look at the pictures below!  I just got word that Mainely Meat BBQ is closed for the season, but you should definitely make a trip there for some BBQ and beer after Memorial Day '13 wh...

Visiting Atlantic Brewing Company during our visit to Bar Harbor, Maine was a must-do.  We chose a day that was supposed to have a higher chance of rain, just because there is so many outdoor things to do in the Bar Harbor area.  A few miles driving down Rte 3 from our hotel and we were there... We parked in the gravel lot behind the small building that holds the brewery.  The grounds of Atlantic Brewing Company are pretty awesome.  In the picture to the left, you can see the gift shop, which is actually where they hold the beer tastings after the brewery tour.  They also sell all of their bottled beers there, and other swag like pint glasses, shirts, stickers, and mustard made with their beer. We met our tour guide in the gift shop, and walked outside to the second building, which housed the brewery.  Check out the pictures we took below! Atlantic Brewing Company makes several year-round brews, as well as seasonal a...

Tonight I decided to review Atlantic Brewing Company's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. According to Atlantic Brewing Company's website , their addition of blueberries to this ale only adds a "subtle blueberry aroma without the sweet aftertaste."  I am hoping this rings true, because if there's one thing that turns me off of a beer, is if that beer is a fruit-bomb.  Going into this beer with an open mind.... Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale poured into my Ithaca Beer Co. pub glass a light amber, copper color with a finger width head.  Smells primarily of blueberry, with a little bit of caramel and bread, but not much.  Tastes a mix of blueberry and light malts.  Very little sweetness!  Quite a bit of carbonation on the tongue, but a very light mouthfeel.  Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale is an easy drinking, refreshing beer.  I am pleasantly surprised with this beer.  Going into it, I tried to keep an open mind, but I really didn't think I would like it. ...

For the last week, my wife and I have been vacationing in Maine.  I've been going to Maine regularly for the past 15 years or so, and the time in Maine has greatly contributed to my love of good beer.  In Bar Harbor, which must receive millions of tourists every summer, almost every bar serves beer from Atlantic and Bar Harbor Brewing Companies, which are locally brewed right on the island.  Most also have Shipyard Brewing on draft.  Where my wife and I are in NJ, you just don't see that kind of loyalty.  Sure, there's a bar here and a bar there that have great stuff, but for the most part, there really isn't much choice on the draft lines.  There is some good news coming from the shore towns in NJ though.  Both only a little more than a year old now, Kane Brewing and Carton Brewing are getting their beers on tap in restaurants where previously you only would have seen Bud/Miller/Coors.  It's great things to look forward to in NJ! I took advan...