When something special happens, it's nice to hop on board from the ground floor. Such is the case with me and the Smuttynose Brewing Company of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: we go way back. In fact, I can even remember when they first rolled out their "Big Beer" series of specialty brews in 22 ounce "bomber" bottles. Today, lots of brewers follow this practice, but 12 years ago? Not so much.

In fact, I can still remember when Smuttynose Maibock first rolled out, and here's what I thought about it when it did back in April of 1998:

(Begin flashback portion of review, preferably in black and white....)

I got lucky today. Technically, Smuttynose Maibock, the second in their limited production "Big Beer" series (750 cases for this one), isn't due to hit the shelves here in Rhode Island until the end of May. The manager at my preferred liquor store got a bottle as a sample from the distributor salesman, and since I'm his best beer customer, he saved it for me.

I really enjoyed the Imperial Stout Smuttynose put out (I bought the remaining stock at my local today), but as good an example of the style as it was, I think the Maibock is even more representative of it's respective style. That's a  big compliment, considering that this is the first lager produced by Smuttynose, at least to my knowledge.

Smuttynose Maibock is a rusty copper in color with very little carbonation and a subtle, slightly fruity nose. This beer screams malt, it has a thick, sticky, malt palate with an omnipresent but not overwhelming toastiness reminiscent of a decocted brew. What impressed me most about this beer however was the sublime sweet malty finish ( a prerequisite for the style IMHO) that combines with the 7.5% alcohol by volume warmth and a touch of fruit to leave a lasting impression on the tongue. Another outstanding brew
from Smuttynose.

(End flashback segment)

Today, I live in Atlanta, and much to my approbation, Smuttynose beers have followed me south. Certainly, Smuttynose is a bigger brewer today than it was 12 years ago, and I'm quite sure they're brewing more than 750 cases of their big beers. At any rate, I managed to score some Smuttynose Maibock last spring, and I've had a bottle cellared for almost a year now.

This is a big beer, and it is well suited to laying down for a time, although I wouldn't push it much past a year of aging. Smuttynose takes liberties with it, and they freely admit as much. Smuttynose Maibock is bottle conditioned, for example, and I noticed a splotch of yeast at the bottom of my bottle. The label also has  "bottle conditioned in 2009/2010/2011/2012" at the bottom, although none are circled. Duh.

Smuttynose seems to change the recipe from year to year. The strength of the beer is certainly variable. As mentioned above, it was 7.5% when it debuted in 1998, and Smuttynose cites the alcohol content as 6.2% for their 2008 edition, and 8.4% for the 2009 that I'm drinking now. That's a bit big for the style, but it's working for me. Here, let me elaborate:

Smuttynose Maibock pours to a rich golden color with a thick foamy head formation and a soft, slightly fruity malt nose. The body is a tad light and very toasty with a decidedly sweetish flavor; it's also a little nutty, too. A hint of canned corn and seemingly misplaced fruity pineapple appear as well. This is all balanced out by a generous dash of grassy hops and alcohol warmth in the finish.

Once again, this is really nice stuff. I'm liking the 2009 with about a year's age lots, and looking forward to the 2010 version. Which, as it happens, comes out this month. I'll let you know what I think.