Lunch
Maine Beer Company

4.1/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into a tulip, good 2 finger cream colored head, recedes to a pool, great lacing. Amberish orange in the glass, crystal clear, slight chill haze. Smells of ripe pineapple, pine, citrus and slight tropical fruit. Taste is pine resin pineapple, orange and grapefruit peel and finishes with a good bitterness. Dry on the finish, slight residual sweetness. Drinks well for 7%. Glad I was able to get these in Houston, will probably get it again in a restaurant, but honestly for the $$ there are better deals out there

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4.21/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

drank 5/13/20. bottled 4/28/20.
pours a light golden / burnt orange. a touch a yeasty cloudiness. huge, thick, pillow-y chalk white head.
nose is pine, pineapple, grapefruit, citrus rind.
taste follows. a sweet candy pineapple, pine, resin, nice bitter hop punch. grapefruit, citrus find. lemon rind.
finish is a pleasantly dry, citrus/lemon rind.
clean crisp body and mouthfeel.
a very good beer. Will be interesting to see how an $8 16oz bottle of non-hazy beer plays in the market these days.

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4.34/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottled on date 04/28/20

A: Pours a copper/orange color. With a slight chilled haze. A dense white head rises to over two fingers. Excellent retention and rings of sticky lace left behind.
S: Citrus and generally fruity aroma up front. Orange, maybe tangerine like and grapefruit, a bit of melon. Really aromatic and excellent.
T: Follows the nose with the citrus/orange/grapefruit flavors, and a melon like flavor mixing into everything. Floral and grassy. A touch of pine resin, some residual sweetness and caramel malts to help balance. Lingering bitterness that makes for a very nice finish.
M/O: A medium to full body. Excellent carbonation that is crisp and effervescent. A touch of sweetness, and a bit chewy from the malts. Though finishes super clean with a nice dryness. Really easy to drink, another IPA from Maine I will be coming back to a lot.

I have been impressed with all the IPA's I have had from Maine. Great classic takes that I have missed since the murk bombs took over. I'll keep coming back to these as long as I can find them fresh, even if they are on the more expensive side.

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3.9/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a mildly hazy golden color with a finger width foamy head. Head retention is good as is lacing. Aroma of citrus, piney resin and some bready malts. Nice citrus flavor with some bitter pineyness with a more bready taste at the end. Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

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4.09/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

500ml bottle from Tavour. Top 50 IPA, so it was on my list. Deep golden pour, light haze, with a soft, foamy white head, streaky lacing. Aroma is oranges, bready, light malty notes. Taste opens with a light bitterness, then offers notes of orange and faint pine. smooth, gentle, near creamy. I can see why this is so highly regarded.

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4.39/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Incredibly fresh and lively IPA, fruity and slightly earth toned hops with a classic balance, not New England Style.

Bold flavors, delicious herbal malt, balance is perfect and the feel is simply lush due to the active yeast quality.

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4.43/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Delicious IPA. Truly world class - I see why it’s rated so highly. 3/17/20 date printed on bottle so this was quite fresh. Pours a beautiful golden color with abundant fluffy white head even after a fairly gentle pour, great sticky sheets of lingering lacing. Great to look at. Smells very fragrant, fresh ripe fruity hops - tangerine, grapefruit, guava, lemon, passion fruit. Also malt, creamy vanilla, bread, weaker floral and herbal hops. Taste follows the nose, nice bitter hit of hops at the finish which was well balanced with the sweeter malt backbone. Excellent balance and depth, good complexity and flavors. Couldn’t taste the slightly higher ABV. Smooth sticky mouthfeel that was actually a little soft, good retention of carbonation. Really an excellent IPA and one others should aspire to emulate.

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4.42/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer looked slightly hazy when poured. The body was golden amber in color, and the head was well proportioned at two fingers thick and lasted for a while. The aroma was pleasingly hoppy,giving off notes of grapefruit, peach, and tangerine. The taste felt floral and mild at first , but then hops hit hard mid palette, giving off a burst of bitter resin. The finish was dry, and lengthy. The feel of the beer was soft, and the body medium thick. There was no booziness to this, making it very easy to drink. Had never seen before on shelves in Georgia, but I am glad they are distributing here.

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4.36/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from Lúpulo. About 1.5 months old.
Golden deep copper to amber. Fluffy head for days. Slight haze. Yeast at bottom.
Floral and honey hop smell.
Floral and herbal dominate taste. Malty sweetness. A little citrus and pine notes.
Fairly thick mouthfeel for an ipa.
Overall a very different ipa experience than I’ve had for a while. A time warp to before west coast ipas and far before neipas.
Reminds me a lot of zombie dust by 3Floyds. The caramel sweetness and hip balance well balanced.

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4.79/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This is undoubtedly one of the most sublime, well conceived and unbelievably drinkable elite level beers I have encountered. Well apportioned but subdued hops taste and exquisitely clean finish make this a sessionable and crushable marvel that keeps you hunting for anyone local that carries it. Impeccable.

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4.21/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A lovely thing to behold with a golden oak hue and nice tight bubbly lacing on the side and a beautiful head. The nose belies more malt than hop to me for an IPA but is perfectly pleasant. This is a traditional old school American IPA that goes against the hazy grain. It took a few sips to get into this, it's a lot subtler than a NEIPA. It even took a little warming up to allow all the flavors to come through. Again heavy on the malt for an IPA again it adds complexity and little sweetness to the IPA profile that is offering lots of pungent pine and spice. Gorgeous aftertaste.

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4.85/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Bottled 10/01/19.
Poured from a 17oz bottle into a pint glass.
L: Pale, butterscotch-golden color with orange haze. Fat, pillowy head with a mix of large and fine bubbles on the top. Head retention is solid, never completely gone. Laces on the side of the glass.
S: Wow. Fruity, citrusy and sweet malts. Orange is the dominant smell, accentuated with bright hops. Grains and alcohol are secondary but present and complimentary. Some lemongrass too.
T: World-class taste. Orange and tangerine citrus, with tempered bitterness that is just wonderful. Malt flavors are rich and lightly sweet, like a toasted dinner roll, but are truly a stage for the juicy, hop-forward palette.
F: Warm, rich mouthfeel that is neither too heavy nor too watery. Carbonation is light to medium, but not abrasive in any sense.

The hype around this beer is real. I found it first on tap at the Beer Belly Deli in Wescott, Syracuse, NY but was lucky enough to come across this bottle so I could do a review. They're really hard to find, especially if you're not in the Northeast. If you're lucky enough to come across some, definitely buy. Probably my favorite pale ale on the market. Maine Beer Company doesn't make any beer short of exceptional!

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4.08/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured effervescent gold with a thick head after a somewhat vigorous pour into a goblet. Head remained for a few minutes with a dollop of froth lingering like vanilla ice cream in a butterscotch float

Smells of an orangesicle Ice cream pop, buttery and not overly boozy

Taste is as good as any ipa, but a noticeable full body that hits every note just right, so no struggling to find the flavors your tasting through a overtly hoppy and bitter front or aftertaste

Feels good, maybe a little flat

Overall a very good showing by a brewery that has the right thing going. Would definitely recommend

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4.84/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This is one bad arse beer. I downed 10 of these at Roza Lyons in South Boston and each one went down easier. Seriously chug-gable, this one gets the Louis Nix seal of approval. Ash Wednesday, ripping drunk at noon.

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4.78/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Draft served in a 10oz tulip at Maggie’s in Watertown,NY

Even haze, golden khaki-beige with a slight orange cast. Fine white head fades quickly to a persistent ring that leaves pretty lacing.

Nose is faint. piney, earthy with bubblegum notes moving into a dry floral range.

Dry bittering hop flavors up front. Celery seed. Creamy malty backbone with hint of caramel shows quickly. Flash of bubblegum and jasmine flavors. Fast segue to grapefruit esthers.

Enveloping rich silky mouthfeel.

Slow wavering finish, oaky, resinous, gummy, and bittersweet.

I too was skeptical of the hype, but this is a truly complex and interesting beer. One of the few modern IPAs that begs to be contemplated.

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4.5/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Nice hazy straw orange, with slight white head, retained
Orange one the nose with lemon, herbal pine.
Taste is orange, pine, citrus, grapefruit and faint tropical fruit, balanced with a hint of sweetness,
hops are Amarillo, centennial and simcoe.
Malt is American 2-row. carapils, caramel 40, Munich 10 and red wheat.
It feels smooth, with natural carbonation
This is one for sipping. It is like a champagne of beers

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4.54/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bomber from McCaffrey's marked 484 12:29 12/31/19
gorgeous, hazy, dark straw color with a nice helping of foam on top.
I'm not getting a huge nose for some reason. Just a bit of pine and malt.
Taste is an excellently balanced malt with hopforward and a hop ending that is dry and satisfying. Not supercomplex, but excellent with a glorious mouthfeel

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4.78/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Poured into a Duvel tulip glass. It has a light golden hue mildly opaque as one can barely see the tiny bubbles rising from the sketched D at the bottom of the snifter. The ale has a two finger white frothy head with residual thick lacing gracing the glass. Smell is of ample citrus and pine - what I expect in a respectable IPA.
Taste is very hoppy (yum) but nicely balanced with malty notes. The yeast notes remind of a srtong Belgian ale.
Magnificent mouthfeel with residual warm notes of the hops and yeast aftertaste (it remains on the palate for a significant amount of time).
Overall is now at the top of my IPA list - Top Shelf brewing. I have been rewarded by trying different IPA's and my search for excellence has been closely achieved in finding the Maine Beer Company and its IPA's. It is a bit pricey but at least some of the profits go to a wildlife conservation cause similar to the monks at Chimay donating to charitable human endeavors. I for one say "Well Done" !!!

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4.14/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Very true golden color with a bit of haze that makes it appear frosty. Small head of very tight white bubbles. Citrus, grass, and pine on the nose but not overpowering. When tasting this beer all I could think was "balanced." Hop forward, notes of blood orange, grapefruit, very mid pine, grassy--refreshing. Crisp finish that's ever so slightly warm and bitter on the way down. Great benchmark for the style.

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4.48/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Beautifully hued bright orange with a frothy white head.
Plentiful citrus notes, tropical odors pleasantly enter my nose,
Juicy citrus, orange rind, great hop bite.
Well brewed beer that I was glad to see on the shelf.

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4.28/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look - poured into an IPA glass. Beautiful three finger head, golden, transparent. Quite a gorgeous look.
Smell - pine forward in smell, with some bits of citrus. A nice complex smell that is reminiscent of West Coast IPAs.
Taste - hop flavors come through, though not quite as bitter. the beer finishes with a delicious malt-like sweetness. absolutely delicious.
Feel - medium bodied, average carbonation, and respectably boozy at 7% ABV.
Overall - this is a phenomenal beer. it has all of the quintessential aspects of a West Coast style IPA, and I can never get enough.

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4.69/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This pours with just the slightest bit of haze. I get a nice nose of pineapple juice and some citrus on the back end. It’s sharply bitter, with that pineapple concentrate just snapping across the palate. Delicious.

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4.5/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I would describe the taste somewhere between Sierra Nevada Torpedo and Bells Two Hearted Ale. Nice hazy golden color with a little foamy head. Definitely has some floral hoppiness but not too bitter. Downside is it’s a bit pricey at $7 for a pint but would recommend for sure as it’s delicious.

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4.16/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a straw-yellow typical of the style, minimal head. Nice citurs-pine notes, first taste reminded me of a west-coast style, but followed up with a slightly creamy-malt mouthfeel! Superb example of the style!!

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4.09/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L:. Pours a pale golden yellow with a large foamy white head and thick lacing around the glass.

S:. Fresh orange and grapefruit mix with a strong pine and notes of caramel. Lots of ripe tropical fruit.

T:. Grapefruit rind, a light lemon, mix with a strong piney bitterness, notes of caramel, not quite as juicy as the aroma would suggest.

F:. Medium body, prickly carbonation.

O:. Nice IPA but I like the aroma a little better than the taste.

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