Sunday, January 4, 2009

Real ale from Sheepscot Valley Brewing Co.

Last week my friend John and I took the hour-long drive from Auburn out to Whitefield, Maine, where the Sheepscot Valley brewery was open from 4-6 p.m. refilling growlers.


Steve Gorrill, who along with a barn on his property comprises the entire brewery, only sells his beer twice a week. He once told me he started the brewery so he could spend more time with his kids, so despite the demand for his beers he doesn't let the brewery consume his life. So you call ahead, then show up during his hours on Friday evening or Saturday afternoon. $6.50 to refill a growler with most of his beers, or $8.50 if you're buying a full new growler.

So it must be pretty good if I'm driving an hour away, down a dirt road called "Hollywood Boulevard," to a barn that's only open 4 hours a week. It's actually incredible. Gorrill's flagship ale is a Scottish style called Pemaquid Ale. The demand for it is so high that he has Sebago contract brewing for kegs in bars and for the 22 oz. bombers you can find in Maine's better beer stores.

But getting it fresh from Gorrill's barn is so much better. Pemaquid packs a kick, but it's medium bodied and malty sweet- heavy on dark crystal malts. He makes a citrusy pale ale and a roasty stout, but I haven't had either one in months.

If you get one growler, get a Pemaquid. If you get two, grab a double brown. It's $9.50, or $7.50 to refill. It's a strong ale, but like the Pemaquid hides it well under malty sweetness. It's a little heavier than the Pemaquid, but I didn't find it overly filling.

I figure Gorrill's setup is perfect. He does everything on his own terms. He's not in a convenient location and he doesn't keep the most convenient hours. But I waited in line to get my growler refilled, and there were several people in line behind me. John and I had stopped at the Liberal Cup (a brewpub which will get its own post) and I asked Gorrill if he had a bathroom there. "I have an outdoors," he said.

Totally on his terms, and the beer is so good, I keep going back.

The New York Times visited the brewery and a half dozen others on a tour of Maine beers. It's a good read.

1 comment:

paz said...

mmm, Sheepscott is soooo sooo good.