Thank You India Pale Ale 2023

Review Date 9/25/2023  By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Ale   Brewery: Maine Beer   Country: USA   State: Maine   $ Per OZ: $.47 (B)   ABV: 6.1%

Thank You, Maine Brewing, for Thank You India Pale Ale 2023! As we say in New England (well, I did when I lived in New England which was more than half my life so far), when someone says thank you, “Thanking you!”. That might be a better name for this beer, I think; it’s a “more” New England name for a New England IPA. Does Maine Brewing have another beer named Thanking You? They do not; I just checked. At least, not that I could find.

Actually, Maine Thank You India Pale Ale changes from year to year, so I do not know that it is always an IPA. Here’s what the brewery says about it on their website:

Thank You is an IPA brewed with a different recipe each year, and dedicated to all who enjoy our beer. Thank you to our customers, nonprofit partners, employees, wholesalers, retailers, and everyone who continues to do what's right.

They list these ingredients:

HOPS: Citra, Mosaic, HBC 586

MALTS: Maris Otter, Vienna, Flaked Oats, Light Munich, Carahell, C-40

Maine Thank You India Pale Ale 2023 is the fifth beer I have tried from this brewery. To be completely honest, I have enjoyed them all, but found them mostly overhyped and overpriced. I spied Thank You India Pale Ale 2023 in August of 2023 with a bottled on date on the label of March 14^th. A bit long in the tooth as these New England/West Coast IPAs usually go, but I decided to chance it since March 14^th is my birthday. I got lucky and this beer was in fine shape. It has an alcohol content of 6.1% by volume and I paid $7.99 for it, which is still high for a half liter bottle, but that is what I have been paying for Maine beers since 2015. So, not quite as expensive as it used to be with inflation.

Maine Thank You India Pale Ale 2023 pours to a hazy orange color with a moderate white head of foam and a nose of vibrant orange grapefruit citrus laced with tropical pineapple. Taking a sip, the beer is light to medium in body and immediately bursts with tropical fruit: mango and pineapple to my taste with a hint of papaya. The citrus fruit reemerges bringing the grapefruit back, its pithy and peely and slightly bitter. Just a hint of resiny pine is present as well, and a bit of stone fruit (peach). The beer finishes gently bitter to slightly more, as well it should. It’s an IPA!

One of the better beers in this style. Would I buy it again? If I see Maine Thank You 2024, you know I will.

Glad I tried it?  T