Maine Beer Zoe

Brewed by Maine Beer Company
Style: Amber Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Perfect. If I could drink a beer everyday then this would be it. Slightly hazy copper pour with a 1 inch frothy head. Caramel malt and grassy hops come right through. Taste is medium to heavy bitter with a long let off. Thanks a million mcox90!

03/22/11 - 16.9oz to pint glass A: Wow. Power waft of hops upon first crack of bottle and the glass proved just as impressive. This smells fucking delicious. Smooth bold hops smell liike sweet, sugary, candied spruce, pineapple, orange and lemon - all of this riding high atop a beautiful caramel maltiness. Superb. Damn this nice. A: Pours a rich dark brown with reddish hue (dark sienna) with huge, dense, 3 finger seafoam colored head. I grew impatient as I waited for this thing to lay down. Sticky lace paints the sides of the glass as if it was sponged on. T: Happy things going on here: A healthy, borderline IPA, dose of piney evergreen-like hops complemented by a solid caramel and nutty backbone of malt goodness with a orange/grapefruit sweetness reappearing mid sip and riding thru the finish. P: Medium, super creamy, nice slighty sweet and bitter finish. End of one sip is an almost perfect seque into the next. O: Sleek bottle, clean simple label, and every aspect of the the beer itself is spot on tight. These guys only have 2 brews and both are simply fantastic. Highly recommended, this is superb drinking. I’ll buy one each time I see it. I’m thoroughly impressed - count me in, I am a fan.

for a brewery that makes 2 beers, this is an unextected surprise, even though it shouldnt be because the spring ale was so good, but this rivals nugget nectar for the best amber ive ever had. perfect color and palate, and very close for the other categories, absolutely delicious, would have it everyday if it was easier to get, hint hint MBC, BREW SOME MORE!!!

drank 1/19/12 from notes. Nice head, deep amber color, hoppy w/ slightly sweet backbone. Really good beer.

Big thanks to my Nor’Easter buddy Eli for this bottle. Enjoyed late at night alone with the super-good Journey soundtrack.

Fine, fun, reserved label art. Reminds me of Japanese penmanship - elegant use of white space. The bottle opens with a snap, and gunsmoke, lots of it. Excellent beginnings.

A. Looks like an Oud Bruin. Deep russet, fall colors. A medium, uneven burgundy-tinged head lingers. Very little lace, spotty. Quite clear. The head, incidentally, lasts for ever.

S. In a word: grand. Terrific balance here, malty and "red" for sure, but lots of caramel malt. The comparisons to Nugget Nectar are inevitable. The hops are both fruity and herbal in measure. There is a soft, malt driven, polished sweetness and a perfume note (sandalwood?) that brings to mind the fine Hitachino brews out of the East. Some beers try to shoehorn in a lot of ingredients and hope for this best, Zoe, by contrast, is simple, direct, and mojo filled.

T. Simply the finest Amber ale I’ve had to date. Zoe is a masterful, magic blend of semi-sweet malt sugar and balancing bitter, nuanced hop. There is a tremendous depth to this beer, but like many such beers, it’s very hard to nail down. Harmonious only begins to describe it. The hop flavor - earthy, damp, bitter, dry, green - blends so well into the malt - sweet, fruity, complex, gently toasted, red - that they become one. There are no steps or stages. The finish is gently sweet and fades out, leaving a dry, bitter-green finish that is long and moreish. This is amazingly well brewed beer.

M / P. Full, rounded carbonation exudes confidence. Zoe is absolutely sessionable, despite the rather high 7.2% alcohol, which is nowhere to be found.

Zoe is simply superb beer, a unique take on an little brewed style (in this case, Imperial Amber) and is such a self=assured, lush and harmonious beer that it deserves great praise. This is what American craft brewing is all about. I tip my hat to Maine brewing company. Everyone should enjoy Zoe.

Draft at Navare Res. Drk and murky with a rocky top. Wickedly enticing aroma of piney woods. The drink is rich and viscous. Thick with woodsy hops, this was not a beer to chug. (#4226, 8/23/2011)

I bought this beer on a whim at Molly’s Pub Bottle shop in Lancaster, PA. I am embarrassed how much I paid for a single bottle ($11) but it intrigued me and I was thirsty. I normally carry my rate beer ap on my iphone to check beer ratings, but I left my iphone in the car and just decided to go for it. I figured it was going to be either really good or really bad. Pours a dark caramel brown with a tan creamy head. Not really fond of amber ales this dark. Things turned around when I took a whiff from the bottle. Wow! a pronounced fresh hop smell at the forefront. This beer deserves its high ratings - very hoppy but also well balanced, and very creamy. It is rare to find an amber ale that balances the roasty malt flavors with pronounced hops. The hops are more on the floral grassy side, with no bitterness whatsoever. An excellent job by a brewery I had never heard of.

Pours a beautiful deep red color with a huge bubbly tan head that survived for the entire glass despite leaving lots of lace in its wake. Orange and other citrus fruits dominate the aroma. Hints of resin are mixed in there sparingly and mingle well with the caramel and bready malt aromas. Great smelling brew. Taste is mildly caramel and a little sweet. Think of bready malt mixed with citrus, orange rind and tangerines. Hints of chocolate and citrus in a long lingering but fairly dry finish. Medium to light body is maybe the only thing I could suggest to improve this one. I would have loved a touch more body. Smooth resinous and candy like sweet mouthfeel, medium level of carbonation. Wow, this is a fantastic beer. Not once did I notice the 7.2% abv. Smooth light easy to drink, if they could only find a way to make this more available I would buy this all the time.

From a bottle. Pours dark amber brown with cream head. Thick aroma, resinous hops, little chocolate in the background, some dark fruit. Taste is a harmony of hops, caramel, toffee, raisins and chocolate. Slightly bitter finish. Very bloody nice

.5 liter bottle bought at Downeast Beverage in Portland, ME. I think maybe $6? Pours a very deep bright clear amber with a massive incredibly tight cloud-like off beige head- almost meringue like with sick lace. Aroma is incredibly fresh with tons of hops- very citrusy and resinous, tons of pine, some dank weed, mostly big columbus (fresh legit stuff with no garlic), and a decent caramel malt backbone hints of nutty soft sweet chocolate- tootsie roll as well. As the beer warms there is a crazy fresh hop and coffee clash that is kind of amazing! Flavor is a good balance (not harsh malts clashing with hops) with hops somewhat dominating, but malt is soft nutty chocolate with a soft fresh either green coffee bean or some very light roasted bean- but most of the flavor is resinous pine sap and green citrusy hops- orange and grapefruit oils. Very soft clean finish with a moderate bitterness. Damn- I didn’t even look to see if this was going to be good when I bought it, but I am very surprised. I love this stuff. Maine needs more brewers like this new Maine Beer Company (and Marshall Wharf). Great stuff! Not sure if this should be a IPA, DIPA, Hoppy as hell Amber ale, Black IPA, or American Strong Ale- either way it is delicious. Glad I have another to share with people.