Maine Brewing (out of, well, let’s just leave it at Maine) has never really blown me away, but I’m always intrigued to try a new brew from them. I haven’t seen many lately, but on a recent excursion, I jumped at this sucker. It’s a counterpart to Maine’s Another One IPA; both beers use the same hop schedule (Warrior, Cascade, Citra, Simcoe), but while Another One has a very clean malt bill, the Weez here incorporates various dark and roasty malts (making this one of them American Black Ale thingies, or India Black Ales, or whatever you want to call them). An interesting idea, though I really wish I had the counterpart IPA to compare notes!
Maine Weez – Pours. Very dark, almost black, with a few fingers of light brown head and lots of lacing as I drink. Smell hits first with fruity citrus and pine hops, and then those dark malts kick in, bringing some toasty aromas to play. Taste has a muted feel, roast and those citrus and pine hops, followed by a dry, bitter finish. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, but tight, with a lighter body than you might expect, and a fair amount of dryness too. Overall, this is decent stuff. B
Beer Nerd Details: 7.2% ABV bottled (500 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass on 2/1/14. Bottled 12/31/13 (there’s also a “04” on the label, presumably a batch number?)
So there you have it. I will be on the lookout for Another One, amongst, well, other ones from Maine.
I thought this one was decent, but the piney aftertaste is kind of holding it back from being a superb Black IPA for me. In general I agree that most of the Maine beers are not blowing anyone away, but have you tried King Titus? That one is up there with the Hill Farmstead Everett as one of the best porters I’ve ever had.
I finally was able to get my hands on some Lunch over this past week, so I’ll see how that one is.
I’ve avoided King Titus because I wasn’t super impressed with Mean Old Tom (I think that’s what it’s called) and I’m usually not a big fan of porters… but I do love Everett, so maybe I need to try one of those. Thanks for the tip!
Lunch is good, though I tried it in a group setting and didn’t take good notes, etc… so I don’t remember much about it other than that I liked it. And I haven’t seen it since… And I never saw Dinner around either.
Yeah I thought Mean Old Tom was fairly average as far as stouts go. King Titus was definitely a surprise after having the Mean Old Tom since I wasn’t expecting anything great.