Tom Atwell

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Published
July 22, 2010

What Ales You: Beer drinkers invited to choose a winner

How would you like to have a hand in deciding what Boston Beer Co.’s next beer is going to be? Well, you can, although you will be only one of many voters. The maker of the Samuel Adams line of beers is holdings its sixth annual Beer Lover’s Choice contest, pitting a Belgian-style IPA against […]
Published
July 18, 2010

Maine Gardener: Clethra: Fragrant and so … not hydrangea

Clethra is a superb shrub that has a lot going for it. It has attractive bottle-brush shaped blossoms, it can tolerate shade or sun, it likes moist soils, it attracts butterflies, it is native to Maine and it blooms in summer — July to September, depending on location and variety. The most wonderful thing about […]
Published
July 15, 2010

What Ales You:Beer is about balance, even the brews called extreme

The most important aspect of any beer is balance, says David Geary, founder of both the D.L. Geary Brewing Co. and the craft beer movement in Maine. “You balance all things according to the dictates of the style of beer you are making,” he said. “A lot of extreme beers seem to lose sight of […]
Published
July 11, 2010

Maine Gardener: Pretty sunflowers arrive at height of summer

Nancy and I don’t have any sunflowers this year. It’s depressing, but it is probably our own fault. We didn’t plant any. Of course, we haven’t planted any in about 10 years, and when we did, they often were shorter varieties or unusual colors. Birds planted most of the sunflowers we have grown, dropping the […]
Published
July 8, 2010

What Ales You: With a name like Pugsley, it’s got to be good

Writing this column has already had a benefit: Alan Pugsley gave me a personal tour of the Shipyard Brewery last week. Pugsley’s the person who brought English-style brewing to Maine when he helped David Geary set up his brewery, which began selling its beer in 1986. Before that, Maine had no breweries or brew pubs. […]
Published
July 4, 2010

Maine Gardener: Rain garden gives city a green way to stop flow of pollution

The city of Portland has a new rain garden that is filtering water from about a quarter of the Back Cove parking lot on Preble Street extension. And this is a serious rain garden. Designed and paid for by Stantec, a national engineering firm with a Portland office, it has specially engineered soil, 168 carefully […]
Published
July 1, 2010

What Ales You: Berries, apricot or beets? Adding flavors to beer might be your cup of tea

BEER TASTES GOOD on its own. I wouldn’t be writing this column if I didn’t think so. But people keep adding things to their beer: to provide a little kick to the flavor, to lessen the alcohol content or to boost it. I’ll only discuss the first two this week. Boilermakers and depth charges come later. The […]
Published
June 27, 2010

Maine Gardener: Will city’s rose circle be unbroken?

The Karl Switzer Rose Circle at Deering Oaks in Portland has been around since the 1930s, serving as a way to beautify a neighborhood, and more recently as a display garden for All-America Rose Selections. But beautiful as it is — and it was absolutely in peak bloom when I spent a half-hour there in […]
Published
June 27, 2010

Books Q&A: In quite a state

If it’s oddball or eerie, you just might read about it in Michelle Souliere’s newly published ‘Strange Maine.’
Published
June 24, 2010

What Ales You: Allagash brings beer, family and brewing tips to the Bear

When I learned that Rob Tod, founder and brewer at Allagash Brewing Co., was going to be at the Great Lost Bear last Thursday night, I knew I had to go. The Bear, at 540 Forest Ave., is a bar I frequent — usually Monday nights after meetings of a group I belong to. The […]

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