The Maine Thing - East-Coast Pale Ale
Big Time Brewery & Alehouse

I'm not sure what's meant by an "East-Coast pale ale" though the bartender suggested it was, "sort of in between a pale ale and an IPA." Perhaps "east-coast" suggests an intended absence of big hop flavor. No, that's not it. There's plenty of hops here - so much so that they infect the body with a grassy astringency.

Hops emerge eagerly with a piquant bouquet and contribute an herbaceous zeal to the flavor, which is a virtual hop garden though I sense there's more than lupulus rooted in The Maine Thing's garden. I also detect a flavor akin to tomato vine or something with a bite like thistle or nettles.

Unfortunately the Maine Thing's body is not full enough to contain the excess of presumed tannins and the mouthfeel comes across as coarse and agitated. And while the strong hop presence will easily seduce certified hopheads, the malts are too timid to provide any appreciable counterbalance.

Maine Thing is brassy gold, unfiltered, and throws splotchy lace in abundance. A slight measure of Tetley's instant tea with lemon rounds out its "east-coast" flavor profile. The name takes a light-hearted jab at Hale's Brewery where they're fond of saying, "The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing."