This is a beer for people who don’t like beer. That would be me. I don’t loathe it, I just don’t particularly crave it. But the man I live with loves beer and because of that, not that long ago I brought him home a bottle each of Maine Beer Company’s Red Wheelbarrow (hoppy red ale) and Another One (IPA). And as he rhapsodized, I took grudging sips and became a serious convert.
Someone compared the Freeport-based craft brewer’s beers to Champagne, and that is apt. This beer tastes special, celebratory, rich. But also insanely fresh. Literally; the bottles are time stamped and the recommendation is to drink them within 90 days. Not a problem.
The names attached to the 13 beers Maine Beer Company sells tend to be droll or deadpan (“Lunch” and “Dinner” particularly) and yeah, that’s good marketing, but the intrigue of this one’s name (“a tiny beautiful something”) delivered on first taste. Developed last year after some experimenting with a new hop variety called El Dorado, this tiny beautiful something is oaty in flavor, with a hint of citrus.
As for the sustainability aspect, Maine Beer Company delivers its spent grain to Crystal Spring Farm and Milk Weed Farm in Brunswick for pig feed. I’ll be closing the loop when I take delivery on my pig from Crystal Spring soon. And what will I quaff with that first smoked pork butt? Probably this tiny beautiful thing.
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