NAME: Shipyard Prelude Ale
TYPE: English Strong Ale
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 6.8%
REVIEW: Clear, dark brown color, fresh, crisp smell with with a little coffee and brown sugar on the nose. Unfortunately it smelled a lot better than it tasted. Unpleasantly bitter from the get go, a little funky at the end with a stale, dry, sticky finish. Had on draught so can’t really say if it was the beer’s fault or the bar’s fault. In any case, it was not great.
goodwilltasting grade: D.
NAME: Allagash Four
TYPE: Quadrupel
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 10%
REVIEW: Dark amber, thick head with sweet fruity smell, notes of cherry and peach. Super smooth finish but a little too sweet aftertaste for me. From Allagash: “We brew this beer with four malts, four sugars, four hop varieties and we ferment it four times, using four different yeast strains.” Hence the name, I guess.
goodwilltasting grade: B+
NAME: Allagash Curieux
TYPE: Belgian-Style Tripel Aged in Bourbon Barrels
ORIGIN: Portland, Maine
ABV: 11%
REVIEW: Golden color, foamy head. Caramel and bourbon on the nose, sweet taste with woody, bourbon notes. A bit of a sharp finish but smooth overall.
goodwilltasting grade: B+
NAME: Rising Tide Ishmael American Copper Ale
TYPE: Altbier (German-style Brown Ale)
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 5.1%
REVIEW: Dark copper color, foamy head. Bready smell, subtle hops aroma, nice biscuity mouthfeel with strong malty backbone, bittersweet caramel flavor, smooth finish with little aftertaste. Solid subtly hoppy brown ale that would go well with fried seafood and chowdah that Portland does so well.
goodwilltasting grade: B
NAME: Rising Tide Daymark
TYPE: American Pale Ale
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 5.5%
REVIEW: Beautiful gold color, bubbly foamy head. Mellow hoppy citrus nose, pretty unremarkable taste but its a very drinkable, refreshing beer with a crisp bittersweet finish. Really just tastes like a blander version of Sierra Nevada.
goodwilltasting grade: B-
goodwilltasting 