The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Courtesy

I like to arrange my drinking so that specific beer styles coincide with the seasons. I take my dark beers in winter, my lighter beers in summer, and the respective grey areas fall on autumn and spring. This tends to serve me well until about what should be the close of winter, the end of February.

I say "should be" because in reasonable states, spring starts to creep in around March. However three years in Maine has indoctrinated me into the climatology of unreasonable states. Let's face it folks, by any accepted standards we should be drinking something for spring. So, in honor of the weather we should be experiencing, I've chosen to review two lighter beers.

This week, I've focused on the Pail Ale, from Black Bear Brewery in Orono and the Ex-Wife Bitter Blonde Ale from the Freeport Brewing Co., not surprisingly in Freeport. Joining me on this review are seniors Jack Drury and Lena Barouh. The logo for Black Bear's brew features an artfully drawn bear drinking from a metal pail, hence the pun in the title. The Pail Ale has a rich caramel and chestnut color. The beer is almost opaque-this is a very good sign. Many beers from large distribution labels filter their beers in an effort to ensure quality control. Yet what these breweries gain in similarity, they lose in flavor.

Black Bear's ale keeps almost no head, which for some is a good thing. However I like a good foamy cap to my pint, so I'll count this one against the Pail. The opening aroma hints at some complex hop flavors. These bitter notes appear ever so subtly at the finish of my first sip. The Pail opens quite nicely with a simple malty flavor, yet it opens to a warm and rich taste. Barouh commented that "It starts thin, yet the flavor builds quite nicely." Drury remarked that "it has enough of a hop bite to keep him interested," yet I thought that the complex notes in the aroma could have been a bit more present.

Stacked against the Pail Ale this week is the Ex-Wife Bitter Blonde Ale from the Freeport Brewing Co. "I like the awkwardly impressionistic blond on the logo," commented Drury. "She's just hot enough to make me want a beer, and slutty enough to make me satisfied." Like the label's sultry vixen, the ale is both beautiful and biting, featuring a substantial hop presence masked by a golden yellow color and a unique presence of cherry notes. Similar to the Pail Ale, the Ex-Wife is a nebulous brew. Unlike the Pail Ale, the Ex-Wife keeps a nice amount of head, and also features the interesting juxtaposition of fruity cherry notes, a yeasty sourness, and complicated hop flavors.

It was a tough call between the two brews, yet on the count of its devilish array of flavors and aromas alone I gave my endorsement to the Ex-Wife. However I must note the dissenting opinion of Drury, who argued that while the Blonde has some interesting flavors, the warmth and crescendo of flavor present in the Black Bear is far more significant. After much deliberation, we decided to vote on this week's champion. I cast my ballot for the Blonde, Drury for the Bear. All that was left was Barouh's deciding endorsement. After another round of each, Lena left the Bear in the woods, and sided with the sultry Blonde.

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