Hope you have your shovel handy because we’re getting clobbered AGAIN today by another wicked snowstorm. Once you’ve dug yourself out, we’ve got another fantastic lineup of Maine brews for you to peruse. And we know we told you this last week, but again, if you’re a procrastinator like us, there’s still time to pick up plenty of swag from your favorite breweries that will be practically perfect for everyone on your Christmas list!
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.
Beer This Week is Sponsored by: Tigpro Stainless Fabrication
Tigpro specializes in the design, fabrication, and installation of high-quality, custom-built brewing systems, tanks, process piping, and supporting equipment to the brewing industry. With more than a decade of experience, the Tigpro team can design a brewing system to meet your brewery’s unique needs.
Upcoming Releases & Events
One of our favorite Imperial Stouts is back this week and we couldn’t be more excited. Not only that, there are a couple of beers perfect for anyone who’s sick of the snow and yearning for a return to warmer weather flavors, one brewed with juicy mangos, and the other a margarita…in beer form!
Thursday, December 17
Foulmouthed Brewing
15 Ocean St., South Portland
Mango Floss IPA (7%)
Mango Floss IPA is dry-hopped with a blend of hops that each lend their own unique tropical flavors. Then Foulmouthed adds mangos for a juicy kick that fills your whole mouth. It has been a favorite in the pub for years, and now is being released in cans for the first time, with an increase of both the mango and the hops for packaging Also, keep an eye out for Sir Squirrel Brown Ale (5.8%), which is also coming soon.
Island Dog Brewing
125 John Roberts Rd., Unit 15, South Portland
Maine Brewers Guild Collab, IPA (6.5%)
This beer recipe represents a collaborative effort amongst brewers, hop vendors, and maltsters from Maine. All participating breweries followed the same recipe to brew this intriguing IPA, but based on the skill and knowledge of the brewers, each beer is still unique.
Friday, December 18
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Margarita Machine, Imperial Sour Ale (9.1%)
Margarita Machine is brewed with sea salt and then conditioned on orange, lime, and watermelon. It tastes like watermelon sour patch kids and your favorite salted-rim cocktail all in one. Don’t miss out on this tasty margarita brew, dropping Friday in Portland and Saturday in Kittery.
van der Brew
30 Summer St., Winthrop
2nd Anniversary Celebration
It’s not exactly how they envisioned it, but the folks at van der Brew are still excited to celebrate their 2nd anniversary with you all. They’ll be open Dec 18, 19, and 23 from 3:30-6 p.m. for growler fills and special 2nd-anniversary gift packages with beers steins, a vdB blanket, and some anniversary stickers all in a custom tote! Perfect for your last-minute holiday shopping needs.
Saturday, December 19
Banded Brewing Company
32 Main St., Bldg. 13-W, Ste 102, Biddeford & 82 Hanover St., Suite 6, Portland
Barrel-Aged Mountain, Imperial Stout (12%)
The aptly named The Mountain is dark and foreboding without overpowering the palate. Notes of burnt caramel, oak, and charcoal mingle with a deep, intense maltiness. One sip begs another chance to explore the complexities of The Mountain. As a reminder of things to come, a rogue’s share of The Mountain is aged for 12 months in whiskey barrels. Each year on their anniversary, Banded Brewing shares their Barrel-Aged Mountain with us, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
New Releases
We’re sensing a winter denial trend looking at some of these new releases. We’ve got a coconut cream Porter, a four-pack of tart Fruit Ales, and a Mango Habanero Limeade. But don’t fret, there’s still plenty of winter beers to choose from, including a Winter Saison, Baltic Porter, and an oh-so-seasonal dark chocolate peppermint Imperial Stout. No matter if you’re team Heat Miser or Team Snow Miser, you’re sure to find a beer destined to please your palate.
Austin Street Brewery
1 Industrial Way, #8, Portland & 115 Fox St., Portland
Pallino, Italian Pilsner (5.9%)
Say ciao to Austin Street’s brand-new Italian-style Pilsner, Pallino! This style features more dry hop character than most other pilsners, which gives this crisp beer an amplified fruity character.
Bath Brewing Company
141 Front St., Bath
Sea Trial, American Cream Ale (4.5%)
In cans for the first time this week, Sea Trial is an American Cream Ale brewed with malt from Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon. A light, crisp, and refreshing ale that is a perfect snowblower beer!
Blaze Brewing
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
One Way #7, IPA (6.7%)
One Way #7 is Blaze Brewing’s newest edition of their constantly evolving IPA series. This batch was dry-hopped with Citra, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Amarillo. They really dialed up the hop dose and the resulting beer is a total juice bomb. One Way #7 smells and tastes like orange nectar, pineapple, and dank cantaloupe.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St, Ellsworth
Cocodrilo, Porter (6.3%)
This toasted coconut cream Porter is made with Maine-grown barley, Patagonia-grown chocolate malt, and organic coconut toasted in house!
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
My Jam Sample Pack
This four-pack includes some of the Foundation team’s favorites from their Tart Fruit Ale lineup — Juicy Jam, Triple Berry Jam, Guava’s My Jam, and Cran-Orange Jam. Perfect for gifting to your favorite beer fan (our yourself).
Geary Brewing Co.
38 Evergreen Dr., Portland
Windhold, New England IPA (6.8%)
Windhold is the perfect aprés ski and winter activity beer. This American-style ale is from their contemporary line and blends traditional hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest with Mosaic. Simultaneously piney and tropical, the flavors perfectly complement an afternoon of Maine outdoor frosty adventures. Geary’s also recently celebrated their 34th anniversary of pouring their flagship beer, Pale Ale. Cheers to many more!
Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company
396 Fore St., Portland; 187 Lower Main St., Freeport; & 86 Main St., Auburn
Downeast Sipa, IPA (5%)
The Downeast Sipa(h if you’re fancy) is Gritty’s session IPA that features locally sourced and grown hops, barley, and oats. Feeling overwhelmed by all the high ABV beers this time of year? At 5% you can enjoy the holiday cheer without the holiday fear. Citrus flavors are key in this beer, and you can almost see it in its bright golden hue.
Lone Pine Brewing
219 Anderson St., Portland
Holy Donut – Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Imperial Stout (9%)
The newest variation of the HOLY DONUT squad is here just in time to put some pink in your cheeks and holiday spirit in your heart. Holy Donut – Dark Chocolate Peppermint was brewed with, you guessed it, dark chocolate, peppermint, and of course real donuts straight from the merry folks over at The Holy Donut. This Imperial Stout is reminiscent of dark chocolate peppermint bark with its sweet peppermint hot chocolate nose. It presents deep peppermint in flavor that fades into subtle cocoa and a dry menthol finish.
Maine Mead Works
51 Washington Ave, Portland
Mango Habanero Limeade is a refreshing twist on a fan favorite; a lightly carbonated mead with wildflower honey, lime juice, mango, and just the right amount of habanero pepper.
HoneyMaker Lavender Lemonade Mead is a lightly carbonated and thirst-quenching mead from wildflower honey, lemon juice, English lavender, and spearmint.
Based on a family recipe, HoneyMaker Iced Tea Mead is a dry mead made from wildflower honey and home-brewed black tea with lemon and spearmint, lightly carbonated to liven it up for the outdoors.
Nonesuch River Brewing
201 Gorham Rd., Scarborough
IKAWA, Coffee Porter (5.7%)
IKAWA is a collab with Rwanda Bean Coffee. This Coffee Porter is infused with bourbon barrel-aged cold brew coffee. It’s perfect for colder weather either by itself or mixed into a cocktail using 8 oz. of IKAWA, 3/4 oz. of Frangelico, 3/4 oz. vanilla vodka, and 1/2 oz. of maple syrup. Shake the syrup, Frangelico, and vanilla vodka over ice, then pour over the IKAWA. Trust us on this. It is AWESOME.
Tributary Brewing Company
10 Shapleigh Rd., Ste. A, Kittery
Winter Saison (8.5%) is a Farmhouse Style Golden Ale fermented on a blend of Belgian yeast strains that yields a pleasant phenolic character bringing forth a stonefruit, clove, and pepper content to balance the medium body and dry finish. This annual brew brings warmth as we approach the darkest days of winter.
Baltic Porter (6.4%) is fermented using lagering techniques and showcases the nuance and range that dark and crystal malts bring to the table. This year’s batch is profoundly chocolatey, velvety on the mouth, and cooked with the maillard components, bringing to mind a walnut brownie.
After falling head-over-heels for their ongoing reinterpretation of an East Coast DIPA this past summer, Tributary decided to repeat the recipe Tim Adams of Oxbow Brewing Company dubbed as a “faith restoring DIPA.” Double IPA (9.2%) utilizes a menagerie of base malts and German high-kilned malts and the hops of yesteryear including Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, and Citra. Remarkably easy to drink and balanced, this DIPA hits all the aromas and flavors typical for the style Americans ran away with.
Woodland Farms Brewery
306 US Route 1, Suite C, Kittery
Law of the Knife, DIPA (9.5%)
Law of the Knife is a big, hoppy West Coast-style double IPA. Plus, drinking it is guaranteed to make you look like a badass.* (*Disclaimer: There is not any scientific proof that you will, in fact, glean any badass vibes from drinking this beer. But, at least you’ll be enjoying a refreshing hop bomb!)
On Draft
Help support local breweries while sampling these flagship beers and rising stars. Here’s a taste of what you’ll be able to enjoy at select breweries this week.
Allagash Brewing Company
50 Industrial Way, Portland
Growlers:
- Fox Leap, Sour Ale (8.3%)
- Four, Belgian Quadruple (8.4%)
- Little Sal, Red Sour (6%)
- Nocturna, Imperial Stout (9%)
- Dubbel, Belgian Dubbel (6.8%)
Austin Street Brewery
1 Industrial Way, #8, Portland
- Patina, Pale Ale (5.3%)
- Six Grain, Milk Stout (6.4%)
- Neverender, DIPA (8.0%)
- Walcott, Smoked Brown Ale (5.7%)
- Anodyne, IPA (6%)
Baxter Brewing Co.
120 Mill St., Lewiston
- Stowaway IPA (6.9%)
- Couple More Miles, IPA (5.9%)
- Project 871 (4.9%)
- Pink Fruits for Pink Boots, IPA (6.9%)
- Parks and Rec, Blond Ale (4.6%)
Maine Beer in the News
Marsh Island Brewing created a beer to benefit Maine veterans and the rest is…well not the best news, but a look at some of the harsh realities facing the brewery and bar industry. Read all about it in this week’s Maine beer news you need to know.
‘Battle Buddies’ beer—the product of a ‘hopping’ holiday collaboration
The Maine Veterans Project and Marsh Island Brewing in Orono have created a new beer with a portion of proceeds going to assisting veterans in need
Maine’s breweries may face another challenge on top of an already challenging time
The 2017 Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act cut the cost of produced beer by the barrel in half. On Jan. 1, the extension for the bill ends.
Maine businesses that survived the early pandemic with federal aid on the brink again
Arcadia National Bar in downtown Portland is a place for Skee-Ball and NBA Jam, where friends can gather for a beer in the light of TVs connected to game consoles and flashing scoreboards. Owner Dave Aceto describes it as “the opposite of social distancing.”
One of Maine’s last LGBTQ+ bars fighting to stay alive while shuttered in pandemic
The city’s only LGBTQ bar has been shuttered since the start of the pandemic in March. Now, after eight months with closed doors, dry beer taps, and a silent cash register, Blackstones is asking for the public’s help to stay in business.
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 us to learn more.
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