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I went to a tasting of High and Mighty Beer Co.’s beers last week.  They were definitely worth mentioning.  The brewing company is owned by Will Shelton, of Shelton Bros. fame, and brews their beers at Paper City in Holyoke, MA.  He was explaining each beer as he poured them and explained his brewing philosophy and where he hopes to take his brewery.

He explained that he didn’t want to brew the same thing as everyone else.  In his age (which, based on looks alone, is no more than 50), he isn’t interested in drinking high alcohol beers and getting wasted off just a couple.  He wanted beers he could drink all night and not get plastered.  At the same time, he wanted something full of flavor, but different from what everyone else is brewing.  Instead of brewing IPAs, pale ales, big stouts, or crazy Belgian-inspired beers, he brewed some original recipes that don’t stick to any single style.

He started us off with what he said was his favorite of his beers, Beer of the Gods.  BeerAdvocate labels it an American blonde ale.  Will described it as a cross between a German altbier and a kolsch.  It’s an ale that he cold conditions.  It’s a very tasty beer with a nice hop flavor from the German hops.  It’s very refreshing and would be excellent on a warm spring or summer day.  This was also my favorite of the beers we tried that night.  I’m not sure I would have called it a blonde ale, but I can’t really think of where else I’d label it.  It has similar tastes to a pilsner, though it’s a bit more malty and not as crisp.  Not to mention, it’s an ale.  It’s too hoppy to be a kolsch.  American blonde ale is probably the only place it does fit, but it should not be reviewed as one.

The second beer, Purity of Essence, is what he calls an IPL, or India Pale Lager.  It’s basically a hoppy lager.  When I tried it, it reminded me of a toned down version of Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner.  It tastes like an IPA but has a crispness to it that you can only get from a lager.  BA classifies it as American Malt Liquor, but I would hardly put it there.  It’s more of an American pilsner, going with the Imperial Pilsner similarities.  As Will explained, he’s not brewing within any style guidelines, and it works.  The beer is really good and definitely worth seeking out.

The third beer was my least favorite.  It’s called St. Hubbins Abbey.  Will described it as a saison brewed with coriander and orange peel, which are usually found in witbiers.  The beer was good and the spices were evident.  It didn’t taste much like a saison to me, but the flavors worked.  Again, it was something original, but still tasty.  BA classifies this one as a dubbel, but once again, it is most definitely not a dubbel.  I would probably have classified it as a saison.

Finally, we had his chocolate stout called Two Headed Beast.  This beer was excellent.  The chocolate flavors were right on and it was well balanced.  It didn’t taste overly chocolatey and it didn’t taste like chocolate syrup.  It was a nice natural chocolate flavor.  This is probably the only one we had that was brewed to a specific style.

It was very refreshing to try so many beers that were brewed outside of style and weren’t high in alcohol.  I think the highest was about 6-6.5% ABV, which is nothing in today’s standards.  The beers are all solid.  They’re priced at about $5/22 oz. bomber.  And they’re all definitely worth the money and your time.  Will had mentioned that he hopes to have his own brewery at some point with a canning line.  That would be awesome.  Nothing better than more craft beer in cans.  If you have seen these on the shelf and wondered what they were, try them.  They’re good.

So, now you know the reason why I held off on my review of Portsmouth Brewery.  I extended my vacation by a day and went up to Portsmouth for Kate the Great on Monday with a bunch of other beer geeks from RI.  In fact, I was the designated driver of a 12 passenger van.  I’m sure the question on anyone’s mind who hasn’t tried Kate the Great is “How is it?”  Well… it’s awesome, but I’ll get to more on that later.

The final day of the Maine trip, we drove back from the Olde Saco Inn.  Since we had a huge breakfast, none of us were hungry for a while.  We decided it’d be a good idea to stop for lunch in Portsmouth, since it was already 2:00.  We figured the Portsmouth Brewery would be the best place… and it was.  We had to wait a little bit for a table, but it was worth the wait.  Our hunger had crept up to us by then.  We had a great waitress.  The food was excellent.  I had a chicken pesto sandwich with tortillas and salsa rather than fries.  I was all fried out by then.  I tried their Flanders Red with my lunch.  The beer was great (though some disliked it on Monday, I still thought it was excellent).  It was a bit tart and a little musty.  Apparently, it’s not infected, but rather utilizes a sour mash to get that flavor.  I still thought it was really good.  Everyone else got their Oatmeal Stout, which is also excellent.

Anyway, back to Kate the Great Day… We got up bright and early and met at 6:00 to head up to Portsmouth that morning.  We arrived around 8:30 to find that they had already started handing out calendar dates.  They use page-a-day calendars as their numbers for the beer and call everyone up a month at a time.  It actually worked out really smoothly and there weren’t any problems.  By the time we had arrived, they were up to the beginning of July.  We knew we would get our bottles because they released 900 bottles and there was a 2 bottle limit per person.  After we got our bottles, we headed to the Friendly Toast for some breakfast.  The place had no idea what was coming.  They had 1 waiter on and a line of people out the door.  They ended up calling in more and things started to calm down a bit.  I had french toast, which was huge, and pretty good, but nothing overly special (the breakfast at Julian’s is much better).

Once we were nicely stuffed with food, which many of us failed to finish due to the sheer quantity, we headed out and wandered around Portsmouth while we waited for the brewery to open at 11:30.  Around 11, we got in line outside the brewery and waited for the doors to open.  As soon as we made it to the door, we headed to the downstairs bar, which I had no idea existed, and sat ourselves down right at the bar.  It worked out great as a bunch of people we knew who had heckled us for waiting in line were without seats.

We hung out, chatted with various people, drank some beer, and killed some time before 1:14 when they tapped Kate.  They had some great beers on, including their Oatmeal Stout dry-hopped with Columbus hops on cask, which we killed and was followed by their Dubbled dry-hopped with Saaz hops on cask.  Both were excellent.  Being the designated driver, I drank mostly water throughout the day.

As 1:14 arrived, the place went nuts, the bartenders went crazy filling glasses, and we were the first to get to try Kate the Great.  The beer is a very thick black imperial stout.  It has a lot of chocolate flavor to it, similar to, but not quite the same as, Southern Tier Choklat.  There are some roasted undertones, a little coffee bitterness, some fruitiness, and a slight alcoholic warming.  The beer, according to the bartender, is about 12.5% ABV.  It drank like it had 9%.  It was very heavy and I’m not sure I could have drunk more than one of them if I wanted to.  While the party was going on, we all eventually got up and bought our 2 bottles and kept chatting with other beer geeks from RI and CT and all over New England and some from around the country.

By 3:30, it was time for more food.  I ordered the steak and cheese, which was phenomenal.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had a steak and cheese sub that was this good.  It was juicy, full of flavor, and completely hit the spot.  I washed it down with their Dirty Blonde Ale, as I was looking for something a bit lighter.  The beer was an excellent blonde ale with a nice flavor and finish, but not heavy.  The others ended up getting food and as things started to wind down, we decided it was time to head out.  We made it back to RI around 7:00, but decided to head to Julian’s because they had Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien on tap, an expensive beer and supposedly the most expensive keg ever purchased in RI.  That beer was also excellent, though in quite a different manner.  It had a nice vinous quality to it and tasted like a cross between a gueuze, a Flanders red, and a biere de garde.  At 15% ABV, it was strong, but the alcohol stayed hidden.  The beer also changed quite a bit as it warmed up.  It was a nice finish to a great day.

If you’re in New England and driving along 95, stop by the Portsmouth Brewery.  It’s easy to find and the food and beer make it worth a stop.  Portsmouth is a cool little town.  It reminded me quite a bit of a smaller version of Burlington, VT.  If you were at Kate the Great Day and got your 2 bottles, here’s a little tip.  One of the guys in our group was chatting with Tod Mott, the brewer.  He suggested you set the beer down for a year before opening it.  That’s likely what I’ll do, though it will be very tempting to open.  It’s a really good stout, deserving of the hype, and, in my opinion, the #1 spot on BA.  Westvleteren 12 isn’t quite as deserving.

No vacation would be worthwhile without beer involved.  So, since we had 4 beer geeks in the car, there were a few stops.

Gritty McDuff’s Brewpub, Freeport, ME

On our ride up to Sunday River, we stopped in Freeport to visit the flagship LL Bean retail store(s).  Since it was lunchtime, we decided to stop into Gritty’s Brewpub just down the street.  The place is big and pretty open.  There are 2 halves, one with a bigger bar than the other (it’s got the casks).  The side we sat in had the smaller bar with just some taps and regular drinks.  The tables were mostly picnic style tables, kind of like a German bar.  The food was excellent.  I had a burger that was fantastic.  The others in our group also really enjoyed their food.  They had their IPA and Scottish Ale on cask.  I got the IPA, Susan got the Scottish.  The IPA was awesome, but the Scottish was way off.  They also had the Black Fly Stout on nitro, which was also excellent.  We stopped by the gift shop, picked up a mini-keg of the stout and got some t-shirts.

Sunday River Brewing Co., Bethel, ME

At the end (or beginning, depending on which way you’re going) of Sunday River Rd. is the Sunday River Brewing Co.  This brewpub used to be owned by Stone Coast, before they went out of business.  It’s now the only place you can still get fresh Stone Coast beer, and what good beer it is.  I had the Alt and the IPA (still the good old 420 IPA).  Others in the group got the Red, which was also very good.  Their food is excellent.  They do a great BBQ and their house-made pastrami is awesome.  It’s also really cheap.  Pints are normally $3.50, but on Wednesdays from 3-7, they’re just $1.50.  If you’re in the area, SRBC is a “don’t miss”.

Shipyard Brewhaus, Whitecap Lodge, Sunday River Resort, Newry, ME

While this isn’t an actual brewpub or brewery, Shipyard has a bar at the Sunday River resort.  It serves beers other than Shipyard.  It’s a little on the pricey side with regards to the food, which is pretty good, but nothing special.  However, they have pretty much every Shipyard beer available (with the exception of the Pugsley’s Signature Series).  The beer is good, and pretty cheap.  Pitchers were just $15.  They had the Brown Ale, which is a special one, and it’s a good one.  They also had their Bluefin Stout, which was also excellent.  If you’re at Sunday River, you should stop by the Shipyard Brewhaus at Whitecap Lodge for some beer (though you can skip the food here).

And now… last but most certainly not least… (in fact, I saved the best for last)…

Ebenezer’s Pub, Lovell, ME

Note: I’m going to include a review of an inn here as well, because it’s necessary to spend a night if you plan on visiting Ebenezer’s.

The last night of our trip, we stayed at the Olde Saco Inn in Fryeburg, ME.  The inn is off Rt. 5, but way back in the woods.  In fact, the street wasn’t found on my GPS, probably because it’s really just a driveway for the inn.  The inn is gorgeous and the innkeepers are super nice and friendly.  They were very welcoming and accommodating.  The rooms were nice.  There was a huge fireplace in the middle of the first floor, which kept the whole place nice and warm and smelled fantastic.  They were baking cookies when we arrived.  The morning after, we woke up to the great smell of maple and bacon.  Since breakfast was included, we also got a huge meal.  It was well worth the cost.  It should also be noted that they run a shuttle service in conjunction with Ebenezer’s.  You drive to Ebenezer’s, drink a lot of great beer, someone from Ebenezer’s will drive you back to the inn, the next morning, the innkeeper will bring you back to get your car.

Now onto the stuff you wanted to know… Ebenezer’s!

Ebenezer’s Pub is a small restaurant and bar also set back in the woods (apparently, it’s on a golf course, but in the middle of the winter, you can’t see anything but white).  A lot of their business was snowmobilers, for whom they kept the heat down (my only complaint as it was quite chilly in there).  It was packed when we arrived, so we ordered some beer and waited for a table (Susan wasn’t able to sit at a bar height table because of her knee).  The tap list looks like you’re at a bar in Belgium that also serves a few American craft beers.  It ranged from the common Stella Artois (which I doubt he carries often) to the rare Black Albert and Cantillon St. Lamvinus.  In fact, the only non-craft beer on the list was Stella.  He did have bottles of Bud and Corona, probably to keep him in business.  Most of the people in there were drinking something other than the great draft beers they had.  After we ordered food, one of the waitresses started talking to us and bringing us samples of some of the great beers on tap, including Black Albert and a couple Cantillon lambics.  We drank a lot of beer, more from samples than actual orders.  They had Samichlaus Helles on draft as well as a 2004 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine.  Both were excellent.  The 4 Cantillons I had (2006 Framboise, 2006 Kriek, Rose Gambrinus, and St. Lamvinus) were excellent, though not quite as sour as they are from the bottle.  The Black Albert was simply amazing.  It was a little light in body, but the flavor was awesome.  The bartender had also brought us a bunch of samples.  The staff couldn’t have been better.

Ebenezer’s is a must visit for anyone who loves beer.  While they may not have the most taps or the biggest bottle list, they make up for it 10 times over with their staff.  We didn’t even get to meet the owner, Chris.

This doesn’t include all the beer we drank at the condo (Shipyard Export Ale, Geary’s Pale Ale, Geary’s HSA, Sebago Frye’s Leap IPA, Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, and more…).  It also doesn’t include the stop we made for lunch at the Portsmouth Brewery on our drive home.  I’ll write more about that next as it’ll include a bit more than just that lunch stop.

It’s been about a week since I left Maine and I have failed to write about my great ski trip.  We went up to Sunday River for 5 days of skiing.  Consider this a basic review of the entire experience.  We rented a condo at the Sunrise complex with ski in/out access to the South Ridge area (the largest base area at Sunday River).

Condo Review

The condo was supposedly a 1 bedroom that could sleep a maximum of 6 people.  We were told the bedroom had a queen sized bed and 2 bunk beds and the living room had a queen sized pull out couch.  The “bedroom” was actually this downstairs area.  The bed down there was only a full that sagged in the middle (not fun).  The upstairs was tiny with a really small bathroom area and tiny kitchen area that had a table that barely fit 4 people with the way it was situated.  The living room was 3 steps above the kitchen area and had a chair and the couch and a TV with a DVD/VCR player (that ended up not being hooked up, good thing we brought the portable DVD player).  The couch actually was a queen sleeper, though it was lumpy (I didn’t sleep on it, but the other couple did).  Luckily, there were only 4 of us as the hot water barely made it through 3 showers.  Other than those issues, the condo was fine for a ski trip.

The basement of the building had all the ski lockers.  We were not informed that our locker was at the end and not the same as the owner’s locker.  It was just a basic locker, about the size of a large high school style locker.  It barely held 4 pairs of skis and poles.  Had we had 2 others with us, their skis would not have fit and would have had to been kept in the condo, even though you’re not supposed to do that.  I don’t know what we would have done had any of us had a snowboard.

Snow/Mountain Review

I have skied Sunday River before.  In fact, it was at Sunday River where I first learned to ski about 11 years ago.  I took their 4 hour learn to ski program, which has to be one of the best programs for first time skiers available at any mountain.  If I have kids and want them to learn, they’re going to Sunday River to learn.  I skied there the following year when I first skied a blue trail (and busted my knee in a fall on that trail, but got up and skied it the very next day).  I didn’t return until about 2 years ago when Susan and I went back for a couple days, staying in the Grand Summit Hotel.  This was the longest ski trip I have ever taken, and it was well worth it, especially since it was all mid-week.

We all started out the first day in the North Peak area, getting our bearings and feet wet.  I then took off and skied American Express on Spruce Peak and Lollapalooza on Jordan Bowl.  The snow could not be beat.  The weather was perfect, the snow was great, and there was not a speck of ice to be found.  Over the course of week, I managed to ski something on every mountain (though didn’t hit the summits of White Cap, Locke, or Oz – Locke because they were doing racing events on the trails there, White Cap and Oz because I wasn’t ready to ski some of the difficult terrain there).  My favorite trails of the week had to be Risky Business, Lollapalooza, and the 2 blues on Jordan.  Unfortunately, the black trails I had wanted to ski were either left bumpy or closed for race events.  I didn’t make the jump to blacks that week.  I hope to go back next season to make that jump.

Clinic Review

I had taken a clinic there on the fourth, and coldest, day.  I was originally placed in a blue clinic, which I was told was for people looking to make the jump to blacks.  However, there were a lot of people in the clinic and only one in the black clinic and I was told I could join the black one.  So I did.  It was a smart move.  I had Mike from Bridgton, ME as the instructor (I believe he’s in charge of the ski school).  While I wasn’t sure what the clinic was helping with at first, I didn’t realize how much it helped until the next day when I was skiing perfectly parallel (I am a pretty decent skier, I consider myself a strong intermediate skier, but always ended up in a slight snowplow on steeper terrain).  Hopefully, I’ll be able to go skiing once or twice more this season to practice what I learned and get it into my muscle memory before I forget about it over the summer.

Overall, it was a great week.  I could not have asked for more.  The people at Sunday River are some of the best in the ski business.  They are super helpful, the staff is great, the instructors are top notch, and the mountain has something for everyone, from great beginner areas to serious glades, steeps, and moguls.  Susan ended up falling and messed up her knee.  Even the ski patrol was extremely helpful.

Someone created a petition for Phish to bring back Tickets-by-Mail.  While I know that they laid off pretty much their entire organization when they broke up in 2004 (and probably a bunch more when they went on hiatus in 2000), the tickets-by-mail ticket lottery was far and away the best method of ensuring that scalpers were not getting their hands on tickets.  It required actual footwork to get your tickets ordered and prevented people from getting on a computer and putting in a bunch of orders from the comforts of their home or office.

I understand Phish’s relationship with MusicToday and how they use them for all their merchandise and ticket sales now.  However, this argument has been brought up time and time again beginning when they first switched to the electronic request system.

Bring Back Tickets-By-Mail Petition