Gritty's Pub Ale?($6.89 for a six pack at Hannaford)
It seemed time for me to say hello to one of my old favorites, Gritty McDuff. Known for his robust taste profiles and witty labeling, Mr. McDuff gave a true clinic in how to make a pale ale with this brew.
Classified as an American pale ale, the beer pours as any pale ale would?light golden tones with a hint of amber entrenched in the depths of the bubbles, all while having less of a head than a stout but more than a lager. In fact, this beer's coloring is lighter than I thought it would be, considering the staunchly brown bottle and typically darker hues that Gritty tends to incorporate into his brews. The label is terrifically lively, displaying a four-person party where one stoic man is raising a barrel of what I can only hope is more of this marvelous beverage.
The color scheming is fairly complementary to other Gritty's bottles, incorporating more of a mundane palate than say, a Shipyard or a Harp. The fact that it is pub style is also an interesting notion since I am still not sure what makes a beer taste like it is straight from a pub. Do they brew in the smell of smoke? Perhaps they liquefy laughter and pour it into the mix. Either way, this beer is a great pale ale. My Scores: Taste: 4.2/5, Label: 3.8/5, Benefit/Cost: 4.5/5.
Carrabassett Pale Ale?($7.99 at Uncle Tom's)
Keeping true to the Maine microbrews, I picked up a few of these fine pale ales while doing my weekly keg shopping. The first thing I noticed when I cracked the first bottle was the smell?a strong, earthy aroma that let me know this beer came to play. The pour was a darker shade than most other pale ales, looking deep enough to be a mild brown ale but with more hops. Visually, the head is big and had more presence than most, not fizzing out from the beer until the last sip was taken. The taste was powerful but not explosive, allowing me to enjoy the roller-coaster ride of Carrabassett without the dynamite flavorings of, say, Gritty's Christmas Ale. Probably the most enjoyable part of this beer was the label; it displayed a flowing river and towering mountains, an obvious reference to the legendary Carrabassett Valley of Maine. It is almost as if I am being whisked away to another world of natural beauties when I drink this beer, but then I realize it is just because the six pack is gone. I would definitely recommend this beer as a good Maine microbrew, another one to add to a long list. My scores: Taste: 4.0, Label: 4.8, Benefit/Cost: 3.7.