I love visiting windy, rocky Pemaquid Point in the winter. The rocks there are dramatic, long banded fingers of stone with crashing surf on all sides. It doesn't look like anyplace else in Downeast Maine. The lighthouse is photogenic, there are picnic tables and rest rooms, and it's easy to reach from Damariscotta and Newcastle, and even from Boothbay Harbor.
Our destination after Pemaquid Point was in the farm country just on the other side of Route 1. I had read about Oxbow Beer and even sampled their flagship Farmhouse Pale Ale at Le Garage in Wiscasset. I knew they brew a line of "freestyle" one-off brews and other interesting brews, taking full advantage of the flexibility offered by their small size and dedicated following.
We were not disappointed! We chatted with Celeste and Jake, two young but very helpful and knowledgeable employees (Lorna also got to meet the cute and furry Director of Security, Matilda Barncat). These casks contain the Farmhouse Pale Ale and the Noel Christmas beer, both aging until they are ready.
I bought a growler of the Freestyle 12 all-Chinook Midcoast IPA and a swingtop 750mL bottle of the barrel-aged FPA. I can't drink all that beer myself, but I am fortunate to work with a crew of dedicated brewhounds who can not only help drink it, but also offer thoughtful feedback. These are then relayed to the mobile beer app Untappd (follow the Foodie Pilgrim there!). We had nothing but good things to say about both ales - you can read the check-in and see the photos at Untappd.
In a great stroke of luck, on the way to Oxbow we flew passed a sign for the Fat Friar's Meadery! That ancient beverage of Celts and Vikings is coming back in a big way, with meadmakers in Maine and New Hampshire and other parts of New England. And mead is a natural for fast-approaching Valentine's Day (in fact, I had already purchased a bottle of Honeymaker Lavender Mead in Portland after lunch). Naturally we had to investigate.
The Fat Friar himself, Sean Bailey, was out when we arrived, but his wife Dorothe (that's the right spelling - she's German by birth) graciously welcomed us and showed us where the mead is made.
I was half-expecting to see some sort of medieval setup with bees buzzing around and combs dripping with honey, but it was all gleaming sanitary steel and plastic and modern power tools.
The mead itself is also attractive, clear and clean and very flavorful, tasting of honey but without all the sweetness because much of the sugar has been fermented into alcohol. Mead is more like a wine than a beer, but it's really in a class by itself, and it's well-worth exploring.
We sampled the basic mead and really enjoyed it, but something else caught my eye... I bought a bottle of Capsumel.
There are different types of mead, depending on what is added to it: Cyser is mead brewed with apple cider, Pyment with grapes, Melomel with other fruits, Metheglin with herbs, etc. Capsumel is the Fat Friar's excellent special potion to spice up a Valentine's Day evening... with chili peppers!
It's delicious. Don't be scared.
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