Reviewed: Maine Beer Company Another One
Official description: When we expanded our brewery in 2013, the stress was something, to say the least. I ran out of creative juice for a minute so I decided to have another one for inspiration. Malt: American 2-Row, Red Wheat, Carapils. Hops: Cascade, Citra, Simcoe.
Maine Beer Company – Maine Beer Company Another One – 1 pint .9 oz bottle served in stemless snifter – 7% ABV
Background
I gave a little background about Maine Beer Co. and my experience with them in an earlier review of MBC’s Lunch. Another One comes in the same format, same price ($8 plus tax), same style, and same ABV as Lunch. But Another One’s recipe drops the caramel and Munich malt and subs out Amarillo and Centennial hops for Cascade and Citra.
One thing I forgot to mention in my review for Lunch is that Maine Beer Co. bottle conditions their IPAs. Bottle conditioning involves adding a little bit of priming sugar and yeast into the beer before packaging to create a small amount of natural carbonation. Many craft breweries no longer do this with their packaged IPAs, though, as the process usually involves letting the beer rest at a warm temperature for the refermentation to occur. That warm storage is argued to degrade fragile beers like hoppy pale ales.
Review
I’m sampling this from single 1 pint .9 oz bottle that I picked up while visiting the East Coast. On the side of the label is a printed date of 5/21/19. Though Maine Beer omits telling you whether this is the packaging date or the best by date – a big oversight I think. However, lower down on the side label in MBC’s characteristic size 6 micro font is “Drink this beer fresh, within 90 days of the stamped born on date.” So this is less than three weeks old at the time of writing.
Into my glass, Another One is a hazy, glowing straw color with impressive foam that rises out of the glass and sticks around for several minutes before collapsing. Because this is bottle-conditioned, the bottom of the bottle has a bit of yeast sediment that further clouds up the beer if added in.
Another One’s aroma is brighter and modern with a nice mix of pineapple, peach, strawberry, mango plus some green plant matter from the hops themselves. Flavor-wise, Another One comes across very APA-like with sharp bitterness accentuated by a lighter, dry body. With the removal of the caramel and Munich malts, Another One is crisp and snappy with very little sugar to offset the bitterness. Usually I’m not a fan of this combo (dry plus bitter), but it works well here. Another One is never astringent or rough though make no mistake it is aggressively bitter and almost stings at times. It’s a fun take on the modern, dry IPA.
Perceived Specs for Maine Beer Co. Another One
Conclusion
Another One is a bit too dry for an IPA in my opinion, but it pulls it off extremely well. The flavor profile is bright and modern with beautiful, expressive summer fruits. Another One is still a tough sell given its high price, single bottle format, and I have concerns about quality issues when shipped all the way to California. My sample picked up on the East Coast was exceptionally fresh, so keep that in mind when reading this review.
Similar Beers
Another One drinks closer to an APA in my opinion given its light body. One of my favorite APAs right now is Victory Summer Love which is also able to pull off the dry plus bitter combo very well.
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