We’re at about the midpoint of summer and it already feels like it’s going way too fast. When you live in a state where thousands of people (millions? We don’t know, we haven’t run the numbers.) flock each summer, it’s easy to take it for granted. We encourage you to take some time this week to get outside and drink up the amazing vibe that is Maine in the summertime. Bonus points if you also literally drink up Maine via a local brew.
Here’s this week’s guide to the latest beer releases, rundowns of what’s on tap, upcoming brewery events, and a roundup of Maine beer news.
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Upcoming Releases & Events
You’ve got a pair of Sours coming your way over the next few days, as well as IPAs, Pale Ales, a Mexican-style Lager, Hefeweizen, and a Stout. If you can’t find something to please your palate, then we think you subscribed to the wrong newsletter.
Thursday, July 29
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Broadbill, Hefeweizen (5%) & Interchangeable #11, Pale Ale
Brewed for long summer days, this wheat beer is perfect for enjoying all day. Brewed with 60% wheat and lightly hopped with Mittlefruh, Broadbill is built to refresh and help you relax after a long day.
Part of Blaze Brewing’s constantly rotating always-in-flux Pale Ale series, Interchangeable #11 smells and tastes like coconut cream, orange juice, and mango nectar. Blaze increased the wheat in this one, which gives it an even heftier mouthfeel while still remaining soft and drinkable. Its drinkability is perfect for a leisurely day on the lake.
Friday, July 30
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Radiant Days, Sour (4.9%)
Brewed with mandarin orange, raspberry, and marshmallow, Definitive’s newest double-fruited Sour Ale is coming to fill the rest of your summer with radiance. The perfectly balanced blend of sweet and citrus will give you a bursting mouthful of summertime fruit salad with every sip. If sunshine had a flavor, this would be it.
Flight Deck Brewing
11 Atlantic Ave., Brunswick
Vuelo Nocturno, Mexican-style Amber Lager
The newest addition to Flight Deck’s draft list will have you dreaming of just one more. Vuelo Nocturno, or Night Flight, is a Mexican-style Amber Lager. It’s malt-forward, resembling a Red Ale, yet crisp and light like a Pilsner. A beer to quench the thirst of both light and dark beer drinkers.
Island Dog Brewing
125 John Roberts Rd., Unit 15, South Portland
St. Hubbins, Gose Sour Fruited Ale (4.2%)
St. Hubbins is a wheat Ale brewed with limes. A mild Sour, it has salty notes and tastes like a margarita. Yum!
Maine Beer Company
525 US-1, Freeport
Dinner, Double IPA (8.2%)
Dinner, Maine Beer Company’s original Double India Pale Ale, has notes of intense mango, passion fruit, and pineapple; undertones of garlic, onion, and pine; and sweet aromatics of malt and caramel. It features Citra, Falconer’s Flight, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops.
SoMe Brewing
1 York St. #3, York
Apostrolox IPA (7%) & Campfire Whoopie, Stout (6.3%)
A double-dry-hopped mashup of Apostrophe and Goldilox, Apostrolox IPA shines with big notes of mango and citrus from the pairing of Mosaic and Citra hops at a smooth 7% ABV.
The latest addition to the Whoopie Pie Stout family, Campfire Whoopie features toasted marshmallow, graham cracker, and cinnamon. The flavor shines in this Milk Stout, perfect for an evening by the campfire.
New Releases
Allagash is showing our state some more Love, while Banded has brewed up its newest iteration of Charms & Hexes. If you’re more into Hard Seltzers to slake your thirst on hot summer nights, then Funky Bow, Belleflower, and Rising Tide are ready to hook you up and cool you down.
Allagash Brewing Co.
50 Industrial Way, Portland
From Maine, With Love #07, Pale Ale (5.2%)
The newest addition to the From Maine, With Love series of brewery-only beers is a Pale Ale. The tropical fruit and spice notes from Allagash’s saison yeast pair with the light tartness of lemon, all balanced out by a subtle pinch of sea salt. Together, these diverse flavors result in an unexpected beer that offers uncommon refreshment.
Banded Brewing Co.
32 Main St., Bldg. 13-W, Ste. 102, Biddeford and 82 Hanover St., Ste. 6, Portland
Charms & Hexes with Strawberries & Rhubarb, Sour
Banded Brewing’s latest edition of Charms & Hexes is here! This batch is a sweet and tart summer sipper and has notes of underripe strawberry, rhubarb, and green apple. Light in appearance and on the palate, this batch is brewed, as always, with natural ingredients and no added sugar or artificial color.
Bangor Beer Co.
330 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor
Juri, DDH New England IPA (7.5%)
A cantina specialty with notes of guava and passion fruit that leaves winter behind, Juri is back on tap.
Barreled Souls Brewing Company
743 Portland Rd., Saco
POGs and Slammers, Imperial Gose (8.5%)
POGs and Slammers is an Imperial Gose brewed with passion fruit, orange, and guava and is available on draft, in cans, and in slushy (!) form.
Bath Brewing Co.
141 Front St., Bath
Bath Pale Ale (5.8%)
Bath Pale Ale has peppery, floral, and grassy notes, and is back in cans and in the cooler.
Belleflower Brewing
66 Cove St., Portland
Dew Drop Raspberry Lime, Hard Seltzer (4.7%)
Coming out of Belleflower’s pilot program, this Hard Seltzer is fruited with raspberry and lime purée. Refreshingly tart and slightly sweet, Dew Drop Raspberry Lime pours pink with a light haze.
Black Pug Brewing
30 Bath Rd., Brunswick
Trickshot, Sour (6.5%)
A prickly pear Sour, Trickshot combines sour melon and green apple notes to make a sweet and sour beer that tastes like sour gummy candies.
First Mile Brewing Co.
28 Market St., Ste. 103, Fort Kent
Haskap Berry Ale, Fruit Beer (5.2%)
For those unfamiliar (like us), a Haskap Berry is essentially an oblong blueberry lookalike that tastes like a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry. The more you know! To brew Haskap Berry Ale, First Mile juices a ton (figuratively speaking) of these berries and adds them to their La Creme Biere. The result—a refreshingly tart fruited ale.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth and 33 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
Bold Coast, New England Double IPA (7%)
Bold Coast is named in honor of Maine’s spectacular coastal region, beginning just a few miles from Fogtown’s brewery headquarters in Ellsworth and their Bar Harbor taproom and kitchen. Fogtown took their flagship Maine Coast IPA and double dry-hop blasted it with Ella, Mosaic and Citra.
Foulmouthed Brewing
15 Ocean St., South Portland
Frobscottle, Sour (4.8%)
It’s raspberry season and Frobscottle is tasting fantastically fresh. It is oh so refreshing with a mild sourness and subtle addition of real raspberries for a perfect summer treat.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Bocce Pils, Pilsner (4.5%)
Foundation’s Italian-style Pilsner is the ultimate warm weather crusher—a 4.5% Lager that’s delicately dry hopped and refreshingly crispy.
Funky Bow Brewery & Beer Company
21 Ledgewood Ln., Lyman
Black Cherry Hard Seltzer (5%) & Mainely Haze, IPA (5.7%)
Black Cherry Hard Seltzer is a fermented Craft Seltzer brewed using all-natural black cherry juice concentrate. It’s dry, slightly tart, and extremely refreshing.
We didn’t receive a description for Mainely Haze which means one thing—we clearly need to take a trip down to Lyman to conduct some “research” this weekend.
Grateful Grain Brewing Company
26 ME-126, Monmouth
Camp Road, Pale Ale (5%)
Camp Road is a crisp, clean, easy-drinking Pale Ale brewed with a generous charge of late-addition Mosaic Hops to deliver a hoppy flavor and aroma.
Mason’s Brewing Company
13 Hardy St., Brewery
Hipster Apocalypse, IPA (5.7%)
A hazy and juicy showcase for the Idaho-7 hop varietal, Hipster Apocalypse is dank and piney with strong tangerine characteristics.
Norway Brewing Company
237 Main St., Norway
Bam’s Brown, Brown Ale (5.6%)
Bam’s, a simple pub-style Brown Ale, was brewed with Blue Ox Malthouse Pale and Munich malts. Pro tip: this malt-forward, slightly roasty, and nutty Brown Ale pairs perfectly with Norway Brewing’s Bam’s Crème Doughnut, a freshly prepared doughnut layered with vanilla custard and Bam’s Brown chocolate sauce.
Rising Tide Brewing Company
103 Fox St., Portland
Seaway Raspberry Lime, Hard Seltzer (1.5%)
Bright, clear, and refreshing, this sugar-fermented Hard Seltzer clears the way. The raspberry lime flavor is available now at the brewery only, both on draft and in cans to take home.
Maine Beer in the News
Freeport has #squadgoals when it comes to its booming brewery scene, and learn how you can win cool stuff by drinking beer (which, in and of itself, is also a win).
Tap Lines: New Mast Landing location adds to Freeport brewery archipelago
It’s not a walkable cluster, but the town has become a destination for beer lovers.
The Maine Beer Trail Features More Than 100 Breweries, And Here’s How To Win Each Prize Tier
Maine has more breweries to choose from than most, and devoted fans will be happy to know that they can be rewarded for each trail section.
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Maine Beer This Week! If you own a brewery or other beer business and would like to be featured in upcoming issues, please email or call us to learn more.
[email protected] (207) 209-2094
