The Journey Of A Thousand Beers Begins With A Single Sip


Brewery and Country of Origin: Maine Beer Company of Unit 3 Industrial Way, Portland, ME, 04103, USA

Date Reviewed: 1-12-15

Three years ago today, we ultimately decided to embark on a journey which would chronicle our perpetual quest to find our new favorite beer. Since February 18th, 2011, Lion Stout has been king of the jungle, with a record setting rating of 4.34. Since then, many beers have come within striking distance, and we've been as optimistic as ever, but to this day, we have not yet found a beer which, at least in our humble opinions, exceeds in every way, the experience of Lion Stout. Still, we press on because our belief is that there will always be something better. There are thousands of breweries in the world, and most of them produce a wide variety of perennial and seasonal offerings, waiting to usurp The Lion as the new top of the class. This pale ale from Maine Beer Company, was by no means the best beer we've ever tasted, it wasn't even the best pale ale we've had to date. But it was indeed a very good instance of the style, and more importantly, it was a new beer for us. To be specific, this particular new beer for us, was #1000. And while that may seem like somewhat of an accomplishment, we know full well that our journey is just getting started. In fact, by the time you read this, we may already have hit #1100, #1200, or so on. The reason? We're not satisfied. We can't settle. Nothing against Lion, but if we knew we would have to go through life knowing what the best beer that the entire world has to offer was one we'd already rated, then that would essentially defeat the purpose of going out of our way to try new things; potentially better, more exciting, and more unique beers. There would be little point of picking new and intriguing beers at the store or at the pub. What makes this particular beer special, isn't necessarily what it was as a very good Pale Ale. What does, however, is that its sheer list number is a reminder that the journey never stops. Every new beer we try could be our new favorite, our new highest rated. And yet, even if we find a new favorite, all time best beer tomorrow, the mission is the same: find something better, greater, and more inspiring. The perpetual excitement of trying new brews with the possibility that they could in fact exceed anything we've ever tried before is what keeps websites like this one going. Lion's rating of 4.34 is also something to ponder. Because we do have a completely empty segment higher than that of Lion's (4.50-5.00), we have intentionally given ourselves room to find beers that could potentially be far better than anything we've had before. All we have to do is discover it.
Date Sampled: 11-22-14 At: Tavern Road, 343 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210, USA
Beer Style: American Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 5.50%
Serving Type: 16.9 oz Bottle, 12 oz Nonic Tumbler Glass
Rating: 3.76

Look

Peeper Ale pours fairly choppy with an above average amount of carbonation action, producing a thick, full inch tall foam head with a high density, a creamy texture, a white color, and a good retention rate. This beer gets its hazy appearance from the inclusion of a small amount of fine sediment. This means that the Peeper Ale only has a rather dull shine, but a very bright golden colored glow in light. This beer displays a medium low amount of effervescent effect, a medium full amount of lacing on the glass, and does not show off any settling.

Aroma

Overall, this beer's aroma is slightly below average in terms of strength, and is immediately noticeable with a fair amount of dull, yet clean soap like piney northwestern style hops that convey a good amount of bitterness. This is slightly balanced with a moderate amount of pale grainy like cereal notes from this beer's pale malt, and also mixed in are some spices including aromatic pepper and clove. The aroma contains no alcohol or metallic tinges, and while somewhat restrained in strength, the aroma does enhance the crisp, hop oriented bitter side of this beer's flavor profile.

Feel

This is a medium light bodied brew that has an above average amount of carbonation, a medium low viscosity, and a matching average weight. This beer offers a good amount of refreshment and comes with a crisp, dry finish. This beer is lighter in general and has an easy to drink presence. This beer's dry finish has a moderate amount of lingering with a nice crispness, no alcohol bite or warming, and a subtle cooling effect at the close.

Taste

This beer delivers a strong and immediately present clean and bitter piney floral hop character which is slightly citrusy and spicy with a hint of black pepper and clove. This is accompanied by a somewhat balancing pale malty grainy cereal note, and a subtle but detectable biscuity undertone. This beer finishes dry and contains a strong amount of crisp hop bitterness in the lingering aftertaste. This beer's flavor does not contain any detrimental alcohol or metallic tinges.

Our Take

While this beer marks a fairly special point in our fledgling timeline, each and every beer has been, must be, and always will be put through the crucible that is our rating process. Fortunately, we did pick a beer which ended up being a very good example. Maine Beer's Peeper Ale is a crisp, clean, and pretty beer which offers robust hop bitterness, while delivering a fairly balanced experience overall. This beer's comparatively lighter presence makes it a better choice for any season other than winter, but we believe that this beer would more than adequately satisfy anyone looking for a moderately hoppy beer at any time of the year. An added hint of spice increases the unique complexity of this beer. If you are, however, looking for something a bit maltier, you may need to keep walking. This beer's rather bitter flavor and aroma make it an excellent pair for fish fry, poultry, cream sauce pasta, cheese pizza, and shrimp.