Austin Street Brewery

Agree. Definitely an up and comer. love Patina Pale and had their DIPA on tap at Black Birch last weekend and it was very solid...in the juicy but a little bitter Maine style.

 

I was in Portland last week to get my Swish and Epiphany and, Austin Street not being open Wednesdays, it was maddening to be that close to DDH Patina and not be able to put some in my mouth. I may have actually left a nose-and-forehead print on their window while I was waiting for Foundation to open. Also, the largest concentration of douchey hipsters I've ever encountered in my life was blocking their doorway and milling around in front of the service window last summer. I'm not sure how compelling a reason it may be, from a business standpoint, but, if I could get my beer at a remote location without having to go through that again, it could only be a good thing.

 

I was lucky enough to discover them on a trip up to Foundation when the staff there said to walk around back and try them out. They were still brewing in the plastic fermenters and Patina Pale was on tap. A keeper right from the start. Looking forward to some cans.

 

If you are ever in that situation again, Portland Pie Co in Scarborough next to the Cabela's store always seems to have it on tap recently when I'm getting a pie to bring to my mom's.

 

I was also disappointed when I looked them up for the first time in Portland, and unfortunately this was on the Sunday of my trip, so they were closed.

Luckily I found a few of their beers on tap at Mash Tun (maybe Rally and something else). I believe I've had their Patina Pale Ale at The Little Tap House as well.

 

my wife and I have enjoyed them for a year or so now...patina is great and would love more convenient access to it.

we make trips to portland maybe 6 or so times a year. It's a no brainer to stop there before/after allagash. We were actually surprised that we liked their offerings way more than Foundation a few weeks ago. Something didn't seem right with Epiphany...it was thin and malty. Made Austin taste all the better.

 

Epiphany is definitely different now. I used to love getting a four pack at the market down the street from my office here and enjoy one with my wife each Friday night. Somewhere in the last 6 - 12 months the beer completely changed. Flavor, mouthfeel, look, smell. All have changed. Considering this market and the fact that they are more or less known only for Epiphany, they better get it back on track. We had visited a few times when they first opened and the small group of owners couldn't have been nicer to us. They were very nice when my cousin brought us up to the otd Bissell, Foundation, Allagash stop years back for my bachelor party. So I hate to have anything negative to say about the beer. But something just isn't right.

 

Well I guess it's not just us. We too love Foundation, but something just ain't right these days. I wonder if something got messed up during their expansion? The timeline seems to match up. When this beer is at its best I would take it over any other Maine ipa. I very specifically remember waiting in line for substance, walking over to foundation and having an epiphany and wondering why I just waited in line.

Does anyone from Foundation ever post here? I wonder if the change was intentional. It's certainly not a BAD beer by any means, just doesn't seem to have the same punch that it used to.

 

Interesting that you guys say that, I first tried Epiphany in December, and I thought for such a hyped up beer that it was wildly overrated. So much so that I had every intention of buying a case and only left with a 4-pack. Obviously, not a bad beer, but my expectations were way too high.

Was pleasantly surprised by Austin Street, Neverender was awesome and Patina was great as well. Wish I had grabbed a growler of Snowblower.

 

Epiphany had this really great mouthfeel, not syrupy but enough of a body that it felt great to sip on. Almost as if you were feeling the hop oils. As stated it had a very unique taste and hop profile that was so so explosive out of the can and glass. The can says "maine IPA" and it made sense how unique it was.

To me it's thinner, last fragrant and not as intense in the hop flavors now. Almost a matiness to it now.

I would compare it to Fiddlehead Batch 1 Mastermind to what Mastermind is today. Both, I feel, suffer from the same issues. When the mastermind cans came to the MA area my dad got me some. I was so let down. But fuck, do I love Fiddlehead IPA

 

It's changed... and it's sad.
First few batches were absolutely incredible. Now I don't bother..

 

My impression exactly. I picked up a case Wednesday before last (see above) and was so disappointed that I shoved the rest of it to the back of the fridge. I had two today and, defying everything I thought I knew about IPA's, it's actually improved a lot. I poured it hard into a spiegelau and it's drinking like a dream, all hop-oily and everything like I remembered it. I'm at a total loss to explain it but I'm going to drink as much as I can as fast I can before my palate shifts again.

(With apologies to AS for carrying on the thread-hijack).

 

Getting back to Austin Street - thanks for starting this thread and glad to hear about the canning news! I totally applaud the slow and measured growth and think Patina and DDH Patina are amazing. As I said in an earlier thread but want to repeat - I believe the Hoof Hearted collab they did last summer called Yann Bandana was the best and most juicy IPA Maine has ever seen (seriously!) and Austin Street does some really great Brett saisons. I think Patina shares a spot among Maine's best along with Substance, Swish, and Epiphany. Cheers!