Trip to Moe's

The other great part about visiting Lee, Massachusetts is the chance to go to Moe's Tavern. It's a smallish bar just off main street that has a varying tap list, great bartenders, and a nice drinking environment. One of the things Jo and I really like is that the owner, Josh, replaced his small high top tables with tall picnic style tables that seat eight plus people. It makes the bar much friendlier and easier to hang out. The only thing Moe's doesn't have is food but you can bring any food into it so it's not a big deal.

When we arrived, I saw the Maine Beer Company Mean Old Tom was on draft and since I haven't found it in Philly yet I figured I'd order it. Mean Old Tom is an American Stout aged on vanilla beans.

Big roasty nose as expected though no hint of the supposed vanilla beans. Tasted like you'd expect a stout to taste, roast with coffee and some slight chocolate notes. At first I didn't get any vanilla but as I drank more I noticed a certain sweetness that would appear at times. Basically it was an average to decent stout but nothing particularly special especially with the claim that it was aged on vanilla beans. To be fair, their IPA and Pale Ale is what got them their name as far as I know and I haven't heard much about Mean Old Tom so don't judge their lineup based on these comments.

After that, I decided to give the Dogfish Head Noble Rot a try. It's a saison on BeerAdvocate but really it's an experimental style brewed with two different wine sugars and such so it doesn't end up tasting like any saison I know.

Really interesting nose. Reminded me of grape skins and was pretty tart and unique. I didn't know what to expect but the aroma really made me excited for it. First sip had more of that sharp grapiness (totally a word) with a bit of bitterness and sharpness. Basically follows through the whole glass with the tartness and grapes being the major points. Really quite enjoyable for me although others who are not quite used to weird flavors in beer may find it a bit much. Still, I think on the whole this experiment was definitely a success.

Another really fun visit to Moe's. Even if the Mean Old Tom didn't light the world on fire, it was still a totally decent stout which in the end is good enough for me. On top of that, the Noble Rot was pretty great and definitely made for a nice end to the visit. So if you're in the Berkshires and looking for a great bar, stop in at Moe's and get a glass of something tasty.