It's barely been three months since the kettles were fired up at Lewiston, Maine's Baxter Brewing Company and already they've planned to double capacity to keep up with demand. Stowaway IPA is one of their two canned offerings thus far (the other being Pamola Xtra Pale Ale) with more on the way as well as some draft only beers to come. I've had precious little experience with this not-so-faraway brewery and hope to change all that this summer. 

From the Baxter Brewing site:

"Deep amber-to-orangish in color; pours with a nice, creamy head; huge hop aroma of citrus, pine and grapefruit rind notes with a big, complex, and intense hop flavor that lingers for a very long time. The malt flavor up-front turns dry and crisp; full bodied and a dry finish with a pleasant, long lasting, hop aftertaste and beautiful lace left in the glass. Stowaway leaves you wanting more."

Here we go...

Pour - tangerine-orange in color, clean and clear with a very rich, very thick and creamy head. Very impressive pour, be it from a can, bottle or on tap. 

Aroma - citrus, fresh pine and evergreen needles, orange peel, grapefruit and 

Taste - lemony-orange citrus flavors hit the tongue first followed by some malty sweetness and some notes of passionfruit and other tropical fruits. Nice carbonation levels with tiny little bubbles bringing refreshment to your taste buds. A bit dry in the finish which has you dipping your face back in the glass for more. Somehow this beer weighs in at 6.9% ABV, but I don't taste it. I could get into some trouble with a case of these...

Overall - a nice debut IPA from the canning folks in the great state of Maine. As this brewery ages I expect to see this beer mastered and certainly become one of the top IPAs in a very crowded New England brewing scene. 

Would I buy more of it? - absolutely. I'll definitely be picking up some more cans of this IPA next time I'm up in Maine. 

Note - Baxter Brewing is the only brewery in the state of Maine that cans their beers. They are also the only brewery in New England that has chosen to can their entire lineup of beers. Why yes, the flying moose in the label has a story behind it...the below is from the Baxter Brewing site:

What’s with the flying moose? 

The creature in our logo is Pamola, an Abenaki and Penobscot legend of a spirit which is said to be the god of Thunder, the cause of cold weather and protector of Mt Katahdin, the tallest peak in the state of Maine. The Indians described him as having the head of a moose, the body of a man and the wings and talons of an eagle. Pamola was both feared and respected by the tribes who believed in him.