RSVP in Portland

MBC Lunch bottled on Thursday and MO still in stock (and maybe the rest? didn't look closely). Still have a pile of Bull Jagger No. 19 Baltic Porter on an end display.

Fantome Hiver, Cisco Lady of the Woods and Galaxy White IPA bottled with Brett came in Friday. A pile of new Mikellers that made me dizzy. Always have 4 to 6 cork and caged Jolly Pumpkins always in stock. A couple of White Birch cork & cage wilds and maybe 6 capped releases. Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog showed up last week.

No rare Allagash - at least by Maine standards - but they do stock pretty much all their current large format bottles.

...and hundreds of other tasty bottlings. I recommend you authorize your wife to "go wild"!

 

Worst store I've ever been to. They wouldn't sell to me with a VT drivers license AND a US passport...so your wife may not be able to be sold to even if she is of age.

 

Don't get Bull Jagger. You can brew better beer than that at home.

 

hhmm, the portland lager is average but if you can brew a better baltic porter I'd be impressed.

RSVP can be a frustrating place to shop but there will soon be an alternative.

 

What is this alternative you speak of? Do tell.

 

Sadly no, its occasionally available in MA, but not often.

It's annoying but yeah, if you are under 25 they will not expect an out-of-state ID. Pretty sure its a Maine state law. Also, for as frustrated as I get with RSVP much of the time...I find it to be a lot more reliable and less stress than Downeast. I feel like to get anything good at Downeast you have to be giving out handies and show up as soon as there is a whisper of something limited showing up.

 

Ive had an out of state ID for 5 yrs with no problems anywhere.

 

Downeast has never given me trouble for not having a Maine ID, same with Novare Res, Ebenezer's, The Liberal Cup, Lions Pride, Lou's Beverage...

 

Under 25 is not a Maine law but for a retailer it ain't a bad idea. If you sell to a minor you can loose your license. If 98% of your business is selling alcohol, without a license you have a serious problem.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and if you like Portland Lager, then that's just swell. Somebody has to keep those guys in business. Maybe if they sell enough beer they'll be able to stop fermenting in plastic.

Personally, I think Portland Lager is a complete failure as far as the beer is concerned. It's so far away from what it's marketed as (Munich Helles) that it is laughable. Maybe it's a Kellerbier, but even then it's not a well-brewed example. The Baltic Porter was slightly better, but the bottle I had was flat and had a very off, estery aroma.

 

yeah its called Whole Foods.

 

No I meant a good local beer store with a very knowledgeable owner, not a chain grocery store that has huge windows letting sun shine on their out of date beer.

 

You must be talking about Bier Cellar. http://biercellar.com
Any idea on when they are opening?

 

Nice selection of Stillwater stuff. Cheapest Cisco Woods beer I've ever seen, paid $15/bottle yesterday for Lady of the Woods. I've never had a problem with RSVP and shop there, Whole Foods, or Downeast on my Portland trips.

 

Although you've obviously visited the brewery you equally obviously either 1) didn't pay attention to the lagering process or 2) don't understand those conical "plastic" fermenters you're referring to, or 3) more likely have some personal issue with the brewery or the brewers. Maybe you think that name dropping another German lager will trick people into thinking you're an authority on the style. Whichever the case may be I hope you don't sway anyone from trying any of the Bull Jagger products, which are both awesome. ALL of the industrial blvd beers are well crafted and made by people who love beer and brewing.

Everyone in the Portland beer world knows that if you ever get a bad bottle from anyone in town they'd apologize and replace it, which is what you should have done in the case of your "estery" porter instead of making your self look foolish in a knowledgeable public forum.

 

Wow. Allow me to defend myself.

I have no personal issue with Bull Jagger. In fact, I wish them the best. I think it's great that there's a brewery in Portland brewing lagers. I just think they need to improve their flagship beer. Looking back on it, my comment above was snarky and negative. For that I apologize.

What German lager did I namedrop? Munich Helles is a STYLE. Maybe you should brush up on dein Deutsch.

I'm not trying to trick anyone into thinking I'm an authority on German beer. I'm no trained Braumeister, but I've had a lot of German beer: bad and good, fresh and old, in Germany and in the United States. I lived in and traveled throughout Germany for two years and feel I have a solid understanding of the country's traditional beer styles. Portland Lager is not a Munich Helles. That is pretty much a fact based on its cloudy golden appearance, unbalanced bitterness, and high hop flavor. I'm actually somewhat offended that Bull Jagger tries to market Portland Lager as a Helles. It's just not right.

Please, show me where some of these good bottles of Bull Jagger are, seeing as the three bottles of Portland Lager and two bottles of the Baltic Porter I've sampled over the past six months have all been "bad" and not indicative of the brewery's utmost quality control standards.