Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale

So I am going to break a couple of my unwritten, poorly defined and completely arbitrary blog rules with my review today. The first is that I try not to do reviews of beers from a single brewery on consecutive weeks. There are so many great local breweries, even when I visit a tap room and have a few different beers from one place to review I try to spread the posts out. The second is my anti “unicorn beer” stance, one of the goals of this blog is to identify great beers that are also readily available at your local bottle shop. Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale would have been considered a unicorn beer last year. The first run was only available in the state of Maine and even in state it sold quickly. I was fortunate enough to try it on a trip to Portland last spring. This year a limited amount was distributed to Massachusetts, and I was fortunate enough to grab some at CBC Newton last week. I decided to post quickly (even though I reviewed Printemps last week) to give you a chance to try the beer before it’s gone. My reviews might also get a little more haphazard in the coming weeks due to some major life changes, so I figured I would share my thoughts on this beer before that happens. Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale (or MITA) is a sessionable American pale ale brewed with Citra and Simcoe hops. It is available in the spring/summer on draft and in 16 oz. tallboy cans. A portion of the proceeds from the beer benefit the Maine Island Trail Association.

Rising Tide Maine Island Trail AleRising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale pours a pale straw yellow with a monstrous white head. The scent is a big burst of juicy citrus hops. There is also substantial hop flavor, notes of lemon, grass, pine and peach. The beer is remarkably light and easy to drink, the hop bitterness is present without being overwhelming. This is obviously a pale ale and not an IPA. Their is a mild malt backbone that contributes some cracker flavor and just enough balance and complexity. This beer is hop focused without being one-note, the problem that many hop-forward session bees run into. The finish is clean and dry with a touch of lingering hop flavor. This is a very well done hoppy session beer, one of my personal favorites, a great beer for BBQs and other outdoor activities that come with the warmer weather. Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.

Previous Rising Tide Reviews:

Rising Tide PrintempsRising Tide Calcutta CutterUrsa Minor Weizen Stout

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