Liberty Craft Brewing (or the day I was converted to sour beers)

One thing about the Beer Trail is I am definitely going to parts of Maine I have never been to before. Take Liberty, for example. Liberty is tucked away in Waldo County and is just shy of a thousand people. And this past Memorial Day weekend was a beautiful time to make the trek there. There are lots of rolling hills and, thankfully, the 220 is newly paved and provided smooth sailing.

So, I get to Liberty Craft Brewing and, I’ll be honest, I was a little hesitant about going in. There’s nothing wrong with the place. It just felt like I showed up at somebody’s house and was going to go in and drink their beer. But all the signs said “Open”, so what the heck! Getting out of my comfort zone is also part of this Beer Trail journey.

 

And I am so glad I went in! The owner, Guy, was there and was so welcoming. Guy was very informative about their beers and their business. If I remember correctly, he has been home brewing for about 7 years, has had the tasting room since last September and just included the food service within the past month. The space is small for sure, but during my hour there, probably 20 people came in to try the beer or grab a bite, or both! I had the lunch special which was BBQ chicken and it was awesome! But let’s get back to the beer!

Chupacabra XXX IPA – Smooth with a sweet twist to it. Guy says he brews it with Belgian sugar. I was going to get a growler of this but then…well, I’ll get to that.

St. George Golden Pilsner – very earthy taste to it, light and easy-drinking.

Smoked Spider Rauchbier – I tried this one for a few reasons, I’ve never had a smoked, Rauchbier-style before and the name intrigued me. There’s a definite smoke flavor to this beer. Consensus in the tasting room was that liquid smoke must be added to give it that flavor. Nope! Guy says he smokes the grains that he uses. So this was a first for me. But it wouldn’t be the last…

Tunk Spruce Ale – Another first, never had spruce in my beer! Light and woody tasting.

So, now we come to one that wasn’t in my flight. And I didn’t choose it for a reason. It’s a sour beer. I’ve tried several sour beers. I hate sour beers. Until this one. People in the tasting room were raving about it, so I had to try a taste.

Liquid Heat Sour Hot

Sour Beer infused with habanero peppers.

I loved it! Especially fresh off the tap. It converted me to sour beers. Or at least, this one. I even got a growler to take with me. I will admit, I did a lot of traveling and it didn’t really stand up through all the temperature changes and shaking that went on, but do not pass this one by! A little bit of heat that just makes this stand out. Excellent craftsmanship.

I also took a bottle of their award-winning, Nightcap Imperial Porter upta camp and it paired rather nicely with a couple of s’mores.

I never thought I would say this, but I can’t wait to go back to Liberty, Maine! Love this place and would definitely recommend you trying it out. I’m going to check it out in the fall because, well, I think this view says it all.