Goulship Release!

Waited in line at the Allagash for some GoulShip! They had the cask room all decorated for Halloween and gave out some samples of Goulship. It was fruity, very bubbly, almost ciderish. I would not tell you to expect this to be a typical "spiced" pumpkin ale.  It is decidedly lambic in style, it has that great sour lambic flavor.  If you have ever tried any raw pumpkin or pumpkin juice that flavor is there, it gives this sour a mild fruitiness.  At first I was on the fence on liking it or not but as I drank more it really grew on me.  My only regret now is that I didn't buy more.

Smuttynose Gravitation

A Belgian style quad. Part of Smuttynose Big Beer series. A rich dark red in color. About 10ish ABV.  So good, has a bit of that Belgian sour flavor to it. I am on a big sour kick right now and this has helped me along with that.

Wolaver's Alta Gracia Coffee Porter

Awesome! Great coffee scent, rich and malty. I do not taste the vanilla bean. Do not drink this if you don't like coffee. Think of iced coffee. The coffee flavor is very powerful, it is still a rich porter.  Lite ABV I would say.

Portland Lager

From Portlands newest brewery Bull Jagger.  A great lager. At around 5.8abv very drinkable. If you like Yuengling, then you will love this. 100 times better than your traditional American lagers. Nice malt balanced with hops. Bottle conditioned, which is always a good thing! Go to RSVP or Downeast to pick some up!

Southern Tier Java-Ah

An Imperial coffee stout! More like a moca-coffee stout. Strong chocolate,  slight coffee, and a hint of caramel coming out. Nose is full of sweet malty chocolate and coffee. Not overly sweet dispite the high ABV. As with any stout very little hoppiness. Thick creamy dark head. 10.6ABV.

Alagash: Victoria Ale

At 9ABV, this is a strong ale. Distinctivly Belgian in character but with a cleaner golden hue, body, and finish.  Very little hop flavor or scent. I don't taste any of the grapes but I feel/taste the grapes prescence in the difference from a Belgium triple. It is very easy to drink too.  I am not a huge fan of wine and I was happy that the brewing with grapes did not give this any wine attributes.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

A great imperial stout. Rich malty gold here. A thick dark head. No overly sweet alcohol, even at 10.5ABV.. For a lover of stouts this a must.  It is hard to find here in Portland, ME. RSVP is out. The brew store on Forest Ave. has a few. I have not checked Downeast Beverage.  Good luck finding it, I will be hunting for a few to cellar.