Ray Mongeau visits Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine.
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Ebenezer's Pub review
Submitted by Ray
Mongeau
This review planned to cover
the
Moat Mountain Smoke
House and Brewery.
However, as I talked on the phone to Will Gilson, brew master at Moat Mountain, he mentioned a brewpub called Ebenezer's Pub, located in Lovell, Maine. Will made the place sound so good that I couldn’t resist a visit.
I found myself waiting for the weekend in a state of anxious anxiety, almost like a child waiting the arrival of a Christmas morning. Could any brewpub be worth getting this excited over?
That Saturday morning I met Will in the parking
lot at Moat
Mountain. He is a tall, slender man with dark hair, the kind of
physique
with a persona
you expect to see skiing the backcountry or scaling a wall of ice
on
some
mountainside.
We pulled out of the parking lot about 11:30am and headed without delay to our destination. We departed in Will’s Volvo station wagon along with two of his friends Bill and Gerri, a husband and wife from Massachusetts.
Bill I discovered is a home brewer and judges many of the areas homebrew competitions. He has an extensive knowledge of beer brewing and having been to Ebenezer's previously, he seemed more excited than I was to get to the brewpub.
We reached Ebenezer's Pub just after noon and upon entering I saw a sign hanging by the door that gave a glimpse of what possible delights we might expect to find inside. It stated that over 500 beers were available and that the establishment had been rated by Beer Advocate Magazine as the number one beer bar in the USA.
Will asked for Chris, the owner of Ebenezer's
Pub. The waiter said
that Chris was out, so we ordered a round of Ayinger Brau Weisse,
a
Bavarian
brew. It was great! It had an aroma of bananas and orange, a slight
fruit
taste, an almost champagne carbonation, a fine thick head and it was
so smooth
and palatable I was ready right then and there to move to Bavaria.
Not a lot of this beer is readily available in America as only ten percent of Ayinger beers are exported, mainly to Italy, the United States and the rest of Europe.
As we enjoyed the Ayinger, Chris arrived and greeted us. This man has an unbelievable amount of knowledge about Belgian and other European beers. His contacts with brewmasters and breweries throughout Europe is perhaps his greatest asset besides his knowledge of beer.
He can talk beer
and amaze even the most knowledgeable of beer connoisseurs. With all
his
contacts and friends in the European circuit, Chris has a fine stock of
Belgium
and other European beers seldom if ever found all in one place in the
United
States.
Some of these beers though are not for sale and are part of his private personal stock. He avidly told us of beers he had that people were willing to pay up to $35.00 per pint and hundreds of dollars per bottle.
Chris first brought out a bottle of
TRAPPISTENBIER.
The brew is
made by monks in Europe and it has a full-bodied taste with a malty
aftertaste
that is obtained from its exceptional quality. It has a deep red-brown
color
with a thick tan head and its taste is a sweet, complex juxtaposition
of plum,
root beer, nuts, other fruits and red wine.
It is just too complex and well-brewed to give a complete and accurate description. Every one of us had something slightly different to say about the brew.
Anyone who says beer cannot be equated to wine in taste and quality is a knucklehead. This beer had a quality and taste far above any American beer I've tasted.
The great brews kept on flowing at Ebenezer's
Pub. La Moneuse
Saison is a beer that
should not be drunk cold.
It is better let this brew warm some to enjoy its flavor and balance.
It is a highly-energized liquid of
substantial finesse.
It tastes a bit of coriander, oranges, juniper and fresh-baked dough. Bouquets of fragrance and yeast escape from the rising foam.
This beer was developed as a beer for all occasions and it definitely meets its purpose. The carbonation is reminiscent of champagne and the flavor a bit harsh when cold, but at near room temperature it redefines itself into a truly unique brew of fine quality.
La Choufle Ale is a Belgian brew that comes with its own song: http://www.achouffe.be/chouffeen.mp3
The pour has a good head and the color of golden straw. The head and solid carbonation promises a rich creamy brew with hints of suspended yeast and spice, the aroma is of ripe fruits, bold esters and sweet malts. The brew also has slight tastes of spices that dance around the tongue and it finishes with a mild-dry flavor. This is simply another fabulous beer.
Next out of the Ebenezer's Pub vaults came VAL-DIEU TRIPLE,
from
Brasserie De L'Abbaye Du. Val-Dieu is a triple ale from Cistercian
Abbey du
Val-Dieu with the color of golden plums.
It is a very delicate nutty aroma with a clean maltiness and a dry finish reminiscent of mint. It has a great creamy head that is slow to diminish and the taste of citrus and mint.
The beer is very creamy in the mouth and its alcohol content is well hidden. This is an outstanding Belgian beer. Well, never mind moving to Bavaria, I just want to hit the lottery and roam Europe seeking and drinking these great beers.
Maybe I can become a beer-brewing monk if the lottery fails.
After we ate (I had a chili bread bowl), Ebenezer's Pub owner Chris brought out a Scottish ale called Old Engine Oil. It has a dark color almost like used engine oil and it is made by a former Ford worker, Ken Brooker.
While the ale may look like old used oil,
it definitely does
not
have an oily taste. It is very silky, like stout, with a tart
citrus
flavor and a
hint of dark unsweetened chocolate. This beer would be a very good
winter
warmer or after-dinner brew.
All of us wanted to stay longer at Ebenezer's Pub, but we had to head back to Moat Mountain Smoke House. Will needed to stew blueberries and add them to the stout he had brewing, along with getting things ready for tonight’s beer fest dinner.
You can read about it in the next review, along with descriptions of Will Gilson's fine brews. That is if I haven't snuck off to Bavaria or Belgium, or moved into the cellars at Ebenezer's Pub!
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