Under Construction: In’finiti

Word is starting to spread on In’finiti as more folks get the chance to see the new space and attend one of the pre-opening friends and family events. According to a community forum post on BeerAdvocate.com, they’ll be opening on Monday.

The look is somewhat industrial with a touch of steampunk, a beautiful view of the brewhouse and distillery, a touch of nautical (portholes), a huge deck right on the wharf, a beautiful wood bar and tables, and the railings and lots of other touches built from Allagash barrel staves. The menu is great with a good variety of nicely done upscale pub food and entrees, local without being in-your-face-local…

Review of Peak Organic Espresso Amber

The Beer Babe has published a review of Peak Organic Espresso Amber.

Instead of overwhelming me with a plume of coffee aroma, this beer offered up a lot more subtle profile. There was definitely a malt-forward aroma, and it’s almost like the coffee came in as a gentle suggestion towards the end of each whiff. The taste was unusually balanced – with a great wash of malt and complementary coffee flavors. However, the coffee flavor seemed just perfectly distributed throughout what would have been a good beer to begin with.

Allagash FV13

The Beer Babe went on a Brew Bus tour of Allagash and got to sample some FV13.

The result? A sour beer lover’s dream. Tart, funky and fruity, this orange and copper colored beer had one of those aromas that just draws you in and turns you away at the same time because of its oddity. A mix of apple and vinegar and oak flavors (in a good way, I swear) dance around your tongue when you taste it and keep it interesting at every turn. As a lover of sour beers, this one hits all the marks for me.

The Festival Tickets on Sale

Tickets for the craft beer event taking place in Portland this summer, The Festival, are now on sale.

According to organizers, the event will be bringing “70 of the best beer, cider and mead makers” serving “200 of the best beers, ciders, and meads from all over the world” with producers on-hand to talk about their product.

The Festival is organized by Shelton Brothers and 12 Percent Imports. It will be taking place at the Portland Yacht Services Building on Fore Street.

Bar Review of Frog & Turtle

The Press Herald has published a bar review of The Frog and Turtle.

I was surprised to find that the drink was much sweeter than I expected, but it was still quite refreshing. I sipped my cocktail while munching on a rather large helping of the small order of poutine — a popular French dish with fries, smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds.

Also in today’s paper is the latest installment f the What Ales You beer column.

Bar Review of Blue Spoon

Today’s Press Herald includes a bar review of Blue Spoon,

If you have the chance and get there at the right time, I would highly suggest trying this bar for brunch. The steak and eggs plate I ordered was absolutely delicious, as was Melissa’s eggs benedict.

If Blue Spoon is busy whenever you’re able to drop in, be patient. It’s worth the wait.

and the latest installment of the What Ales You column.

MRW Overview & The Beer Babe

Today’s Press Herald includes an overview of Maine Restaurant Week. The food event will be taking place March 1-10.

This is the fifth year of Maine Restaurant Week, and while there are some interesting changes in store, its basic structure will stay the same. The breakfast cook-off and the other major event of the week, a cocktail-and-dessert competition called the Signature Event, are extremely popular and usually sell out. These parties haven’t changed much because the basic formats have not yet gotten (pardon the expression) stale.

Also worth noting is a new blog from the Press Herald. The Beer Babe is written by Carla Companion. Her most recent post is a review of the beer list at Pai Men Miyake.

I chose a Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale “Zymatore”, which is relatively rare even at Belgian beer bars. A third party – with agreements with many famous brewers – takes small batches of amazing beer, and then ages it in barrels – in this case Zinfandel barrels, and each release is unique and complex…

Allagash Tour, Rising Tide Profile, Lil One

The Blueberry Files has posted a piece on her recent tour of Allagash Brewing,

We stopped first where the tanks are, continued onto the bottling and keg line, and ended in the barrel aging room. The tour script is friendly to non-beer nerds, and our guide was also willing to entertain any questions, no matter how basic, like… what does ‘coagulate’ mean? (No joke.) I wanted to know why the big bottles are finished with a cork and cage, rather than a bottle cap (because of tradition and in-bottle carbonation).

the Insurance Guy Beer Blog has published a brief profile of Rising Tide, and Urban Beer Nerd has posted some initial tasting notes on Maine Beer Company’s new brew Lil One.

ddd