Maine Beer Company - "Lunch" India pale ale

Today's beer comes to us from Freeport, Maine, which many of you may recognize as the home of L.L. Bean. It's Maine Beer Company's "Lunch." It's a super fresh IPA, clocking in at 7% ABV. This beer is known this particular beer was bottled on 6/2/15, just a few weeks ago. Super fresh indeed!

Generally, hoppy beers don't age gracefully, and so stuff like this is definitely enjoyed in its youth. Let's dive in.

Poured it out into a pint glass and enjoyed the hazy orange color. It puffs up to a nice white foam, which dies down slowly and leaves lots of lacing in the glass rim.

It has a very citrusy nose to it, which I like. The flavors are pretty straightforward -nice hoppy flavors, pretty bright and citrusy, with a little bit of bitterness from hops throughout. There's a surprising amount of booziness on the finish, which I didn't expect. Although this beer is 7% ABV, it hides the alcohol pretty well up until the end. The aftertaste is of citrus hops, a bit bitter.

I'm always a fan of these kinds of refreshing beers, especially when it's hot out. And while a lot of the fresh hop IPAs are often "session IPAs" with the alcohol content down around 4% or 5%, this beer is at 7%. It's tasty, smooth, and strong enough to capture my attention. I've also tried Maine Beer Co.'s "Red Wheelbarrow," which is a red ale as the name might suggest. It was really tasty, so I'm now interested in seeing what else they have since both of the ones I've tried have been good.