When you travel with a group you always need to make compromises when it comes to an itinerary. I recently took a trip to Portland with a group of 10 friends from college, we had guys travel from 5 different states to attend, and a number of us contributed to the plan for the weekend. A few of the other guys are into beer, a few dabble and a couple couldn’t care at all, so it wouldn’t have been fair to make the whole trip beer-centric. Fortunately I was able to steer the group out to Industrial Way to tour Allagash and check out the other breweries in that area. One brewery that has really grown over the last few years is Foundation Brewing. My first visit to Foundation was soon after they opened and I enjoyed their initial offerings and thought they had some serious potential. Since then they have introduced a number of extremely popular beers, including Epiphany, a Double IPA that has been consistently ranked amongst the best in the state. My recent visit was the first time I’d been back since their expansion, the brewery is beautiful, especially on a nice spring day when you can sit outside and sample some delicious beers. I grabbed some to go too, Epiphany (of course) and their “other” DIPA called Venture, which was new to me. I completely forgot to grab a Foundation glass for my glassware collection, I’ll need to do that next time I am in town. Foundation Venture is brewed with five varieties of New World hops and is available on a rotating basis on draft and in 16 oz. tallboy cans.
Foundation Venture pours a hazy orange with a massive white head. The scent is a big burst of hops, mostly citrus and tropical fruit. Venture drinks like a hybrid of the New England and West Coast IPA styles. There is a ton of hop flavor, notes of grapefruit, orange, mango and pine along with a solid bitter bite. This is balanced by some malt, touches of bread crust and honey. Venture has a medium body and drinks very easy for 8% ABV. The finish is crisp with some lingering hop flavor and bitterness. Venture is another very good Foundation beer, this is quickly becoming a must visit brewery for anyone checking out the Portland area. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.
Previous Foundation Reviews:
Foundation Afterglow, Foundation Wanderlust, Foundation Epiphany
Cambridge Brewing Co. Working Class Hero pours a hazy bright yellow with a solid white head. The scent is mostly fruity and spicy Belgian yeast along with a touch of citrusy hops. The yeast leads the flavor, notes of pear, clove and apricot. The citrus peel and hop flavors complement this well, adding touches of orange, lemon, and grass along with a crisp bitterness. The malts round out the flavor with touches of wheat bread and cereal. Working Class Hero is light and crushable, a session beer at 4.5% ABV. The finish is crisp and dry with some lingering yeast and citrus flavors. This is a delicious saison, after we tried it my wife exclaimed “I think I’ve found my summer beer for the year”! I agree and highly recommend grabbing some. Hoppy Boston score: 4.75/5.
Battery Steele Kineo IPA pours a hazy yellow with a solid white head. The scent is solidly hoppy, mostly tropical fruit. This is very much a New England IPA. There is plenty of hop flavor with notes of passion fruit, melon and grapefruit and a very mild bitterness. This is balanced by a touch of malt, hints of white bread and cereal. Kineo is light bodied and easy to drink with moderate alcohol at 6.5% ABV. The finish is crisp with lingering hop flavor. Kineo is a very solid start for Battery Steele, I’m looking forward to visiting again on my next trip up to Industrial Way! Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Narragansett It’s About Time IPA pours a clear deep orange with a solid off-white head. The scent is a solid hit of hops, lots of citrus with some herbs and resin. The flavor is hop forward, notes of grapefruit, pine and grass along with a hit of bitterness. There is noticeable malt balance, hints of bread dough and crackers. It’s About Time IPA is medium bodied and smooth, not too boozy at 6% ABV. The finish is crisp with some lingering hop flavor and bite. This is a solid IPA, I imagine it will quickly become one of Narragansett’s most popular offerings. My one criticism, I would have loved it in the 16 oz. tallboy can, something that Narragansett is so well known for but didn’t use here. Hoppy Boston score: 4.0/5.
Exhibit A Danko pours a murky light orange with a small white head. The scent is a big burst of fruity new world hops. There is also plenty of hop flavor, notes of orange, grapefruit and cut grass along with a little bitter bite. This is balanced by substantial malt character, spicy rye and bread crust. Some hoppy rye beers skimp on the grain to the point that you can barely tell that the rye is there, this is not one of those beers. The hops and the rye complement each other pretty well. Danko is medium bodied, drinks easy and isn’t overly boozy at 6% ABV. The finish is crisp with lingering hop and rye flavor. This is another very tasty beer from a brewery that has come out of the gate hitting on all cylinders. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Those articles cover a lot, but there are a few points that I especially agree with. I think that the big beer conglomerates definitely hurt Sam Adams, the average person buying a 12 pack in the grocery store doesn’t know that InBev owns Goose Island (and they probably don’t care). The expansion of brands like Goose, Lagunitas and Ballast Point eat into the supermarket/convenience store sales that are key for a bigger brewery. It also hurts that Sam Adams isn’t popular with beer geeks (outside of a couple very small releases like Utopias). Other larger craft brewers have found ways to balance large sales with innovation that drives hype, for example the Beer Camp festivals and mix packs from Sierra Nevada. Owning alcoholic iced tea and seltzer brands probably doesn’t help with the perception that Boston Beer isn’t focused on brewing great beer.
Unfortunately this news isn’t very surprising. When Geary’s launched in 1983 their classic takes on flavorful British ales stood out in a market dominated by light lagers. Their immediately recognizable lobster logo was great marketing in the tourist towns along the Maine coast. I grew up working in a family-run specialty grocery store and Geary’s beers flew off the shelves, especially in the summer months. In those days the number of Maine breweries were limited, and sales were good. In the last few years the Maine beer scene has exploded and competition for shelf space and sales dollars has become fierce.
I want Geary’s to succeed. Every beer geek has a few beers that helped lead them from macro lagers to better beer. They may not be your favorite beers anymore, but these beers were an important step in the transition from keg parties to beer appreciation. Geary’s Pale Ale was definitely one of these beers for me. I drank more than a few during my years at Bowdoin, and have enjoyed more since. I am still a big fan of HSA and London Porter. These two styles that aren’t in as high demand as IPAs, imperial stouts and sours, but they are well crafted and tasty. I think there can still be a market for some of these under-appreciated styles, but they can’t be all that you brew. Hopefully the new ownership finds a nice balance between tradition and innovation and we can all enjoy a new era of Geary’s beer.