Maine "Lunch" IPA

I like the simple labels these guys use. It is very straight forward, and it reminds me of nothing so much as a simple wine label from one of the more pretentious vineyards. As a beer label, though, I enjoy the simplicity. Yes, they could have color coded or something so it was a bit easier to remember which beer one had consumed before, but this is where we are.

This Maine crew likes their beers clear, don't they? They are like the opposite of Bearded Iris in that respect, but respect is what I give them for the choice. The amber colored beer blooms with a significant head (despite a gentle pour) that leaves splotches of lacing down the sides until a primary island attaches to the sticky bubbles on the sides. The aroma is much more of a dough malt than an IPA has a right to be, but the hops (subtle as they are) seem tropical.

First sip unveils a curiously lumpy experience. The bread has a sharpness to it at the beginning, and there is tropical fruit deeper down, but the journey to bitterness is a short one while the stay on Bitterness Island lasts for a while before a fog of forgetfulness settles in. It is not particularly nice to sip.

Tip-in is bitter bread without the sharpness that was in the sip, but tangerine and grapefruit are only spritzed into the mouth with it. The middle rises with a crisp edge of bread dough, grapefruit, tangerine, and nectarine while carbonation burns the tongue. The finish is a rise of sweetness before the bitterness comes back to continue through the trail off.

Bottom Line: A little too challenging for it's own good - but it's still not bad.

2.5/5