Salvaging the Day

It is funny how your opinion of a day can change on a moment. Jenn had given me the opportunity to spend the day exploring and I decided to head north to check out some places I’d never been before. So I got on the road and took the trip up Route 16 to North Conway.

North Conway is an outlet shopper’s Mecca, and I usually avoid it like the plague. Today it wasn’t too crowded, and we had the delightful mix of rain, sleet, and lightning. It is a pretty good base camp for skiing, and has plenty of inns, a Marriott Resident Inn on the main drag, mini-golf, as well as their own brewpub, Moat Mountain (http://moatmountain.com/). I’ve recommended the pub to many friends, and they’ve all thanked me in the end. I got there as they opened, and ordered a taster of all their drafts. And although I typically prefer ales, their Czech Pilsner was excellent. I ordered Barbeque Reuben, their own smoked brisket coated with cole slaw, which came with Cajun fries. It was all delicious.

So I pulled out my Garmin and headed towards Lovell, ME, the home of one of the 100 best beer bars in the country (according to DRAFT magazine), Ebenezer’s Pub (http://www.ebenezerspub.net/). I knew I was in trouble when Garmin tried to take me down a closed road. So I found an alternate, and made it to Ebenezer’s right on schedule at 12:45. Unfortunately they didn’t open until 3PM. I was disappointed, standing in the doorway about how bad I screwed this up. My day was ruined. And then I did something out of character and knocked on the door. Chris the owner answered and listened to my sob story about my inability to read an e-mail or ask a question properly. Chris opened the door and offered me a beer, and while they cleaned the place up (they had a Belgian beer festival planned for that day) I wandered around and had the place to myself.

I first tried the Alvinne Caper Fumatis, a slightly smoked Belgian ale that was delicious. Chris has owned the place for about 8 years, and had turned the place into a Belgian beer house. Chris has been well acclaimed and had established relationships with both American and Belgian brewers. All his tap handles were specialty glass from Stone Brewery. De Struisse Brothers Black Albert, a Russian Imperial Stout, was originally brewed exclusively for Ebenezer’s. Each week he receives beer from around the world to sample. And Chris had just returned from Westmalle Trappist Abbey, and highly recommended a Belgian beer tour (a slight hint for my 50th birthday Jenn). I followed my first beer with Nogne O Tiger Tripel from Norway, a sweet Tripel, and then was treated to a tour of his beer cellar. Remarkable! I was amazed at the rows upon rows of beer, catching glimpses of beers that I’d only ever heard of. His zoning prevents folks from buying bottled beers to go, which was probably for the best since I was seriously tempted by several of his bottled offerings (i.e., Jolly Pumpkin La Porcela, Moorhouse’s Blonde Bitch, and Mikkellar Highland Park Cask). Chris thanked me for the interest as I thanked him for his time, and gave me a bottle Cuvee Delphine (Black Albert aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels). I can’t wait to share, and I can’t wait to get back.

My journey home was uneventful. As Jacob says, we’re checkers, so I stopped by Bray’s brewpub (http://www.braysbrewpub.com/index1.html) in Naples and got a sampler. Their IRA (Irish Red Ale) was their best offering. I got a cup of their chowdah, made with clams, scallops, bacon and corn, some nourishment for the road. I made it home by 5PM (as promised), and that let Jenn go out to dinner with her sisters. A day that could have been ruined turned out to be memorable. – 5767/10549

"May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!" - Gandalf