We’ve got so many fun releases coming out this week with creative ingredients that run the gamut from peanut butter to Swedish fish, and can art featuring everything from fancy felines to flightless birds.
In a time when we can’t always see our friends and the weather can be a bit…grim, it gives us a lot of joy to see the fun (and tasty) innovations being created by our Maine brewers (and can artists). We hope that you enjoy this week’s rundown of beery goodness as much as we do!
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
Blaze Brewing is coming out, uh, beers blazing this week with four new releases today, including a DIPA and three iterations of their Imperial Stout. Both Definitive Brewing and Norway Brewing are dropping IPAs this week, Mast Landing is ready to “Wake” you up with their new Pale Ale, Allagash Brewing is getting “spicy,” and SoMe is bringing back their beloved Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Stout, as well as a Pilsner.
Thursday, January 28
Blaze Brewing Co.
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Blinded by The Colors (8%) is back! This Double IPA features Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
High Tide (8.2%), an Imperial Stout, is now available in cans for the first time.
King Tide (9.5%) started out as Imperial Stout High Tide, then was aged in select bourbon barrels for close to 10 months.
King Tide (Tahitian Vanilla) (9.5%) is Imperial Stout High Tide after it’s been aged in select bourbon barrels with Tahitian Vanilla for close to 10 months.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
Wake, Pale Ale (5.5%)
Are you ready to open your eyes to a rush of Citra and Amarillo? Wake is effortlessly drinkable, with the surging force of two colossally flavorful hops behind it. Balanced, bright, and refreshing.
Friday, January 29
Allagash Brewing Company
50 Industrial Way, Portland
Kurkuma, Saison (5.3%)
Turmeric, or “Kurkuma,” adds a hint of spice to this tropically crisp, Saison-style Ale. Brewing with the whole root lends all of the subtle aspects of fresh turmeric — its earthy notes and color — to Kurkuma’s dry and refreshing profile.
Barreled Souls Brewing Company
11 Mill Brook Road, Saco
Super Secret Handshake, IPA (6.2%)
This strawberry lemonade IPA was brewed with the fine folks at Vacationland Distributors. Guaranteed to give you summer vibes, even in the middle of winter.
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Bass Reflex, IPA (7%) & Distant Gardens, DIPA (8%)
Who’s ready for a bass drop? Bass Reflex, a DDH IPA with Citra, Cascade, and El Dorado hops, is coming back this weekend! This IPA is classic New England-style haze-boy, with hoppy flavors of grapefruit zest, tropical flora, and sweet watermelon.
Distant Gardens is also arriving back in taprooms this not-so-distant weekend! This DDH DIPA is hopped exclusively with Southern Hemisphere hop varieties Kohatu, Motu, and Topaz. Distant Gardens smells and tastes like purple globe grapes, orange juice with extra pulp, and melted melon sorbet. Both beers are available on Friday in Portland and Saturday in Kittery.
Saturday, January 30
Norway Brewing Company
237 Main St., Norway
Scandi Land, IPA (7%)
Norway Brewing’s bestselling collaboration with Graff Brygghus is back! Originally brewed in Tromsø, Norway, this IPA with Swedish fish, peach rings, and Citra and Mosaic hops is a tropical fruit bomb bursting with super-peachy candy aromas.
Release Date TBD
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St. #3, York
Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Stout (6.3%) & Sit Still Pils, Pilsner (5%)
Whoopie pies and peanut butter go together like flannel and Bean boots. So, when you already make a Whoopie Pie Stout, why not add a peanut butter twist? When it’s your wife’s idea, you don’t even question it! Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Stout is brewed with lactose, aged on cocoa, vanilla, and natural peanut butter flavoring to pay homage to the decadent treat that we all know and love. This was packaged on Monday and should be available soon.
Sit Still Pils is a light, delicate pilsner balanced by a mild bready sweetness and spicy, floral hop notes. It will likely be available on tap today, Thursday.
___________________________________________________________________________________
New Releases
It’s really gone to the dogs. And cats. And birds this week. We’ve got can art graced with chickadees, kiwis, a fancy feline, and some pooches enjoying pizza and beer. And if that’s not enough, there’s some skeletons shaking their groove thang.
____________________________________________________________________________
130 Mill St., Lewiston
DDH Stowaway, Double Dry Hopped IPA (6.9%)
To celebrate their Tenth Anniversary milestone, they decided to take their beloved flagship beer, Stowaway, and amp it up to… well, ten! That included doubling the hops in our original recipe. With 10 hop varieties, DDH Stowaway gives you all the grapefruit and pine you expect from this Maine classic, while the second dry hop presents lots of pineapple and melon with floral notes. The result is a bold, in-your-face experience of 10 years in the making! Available now for a limited time, exclusively at The Pub by Baxter.
Bunker Brewing Company
17 Westfield St D, Portland
Chick-a-Dee, Strong Bitter (4.3%)
Bunker Brewing just re-released their popular Nitro English-Style Bitter Chick-a-Dee, brewed with floor-malted two-row barley and English noble hops. Shake the can to achieve a nice creamy head, smooth drinking with honey-like sweetness and just enough spice from the East Kent Goldings hops.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth
Fancy Francine, Brett Saison (6.7%)
Fancy Francine is a Brett Saison conditioned with sauvignon blanc grapes; aged on French oak. Pictured on the can is the beer’s namesake, Francine herself. While she seems slightly unhappy that her doppelganger is sporting a regal crown, the Fogtown team knows Francine’s the real queen.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Flightless Wonder, IPA (6.1%)
Our dear, flightless friend the kiwi is back as Foundation Brewing releases their second batch of Flightless Wonder into the world! This New England IPA is dry-hopped exclusively with New Zealand hops, brewed to highlight their unique and delightful character. Nelson Sauvin and Motueka hops bring big flavors of limeade, white grape, and apricot, making this IPA a true refresher.
Island Dog Brewing
125 John Roberts Rd., Unit 15, South Portland
Salted Caramel, Amber Ale (5%)
Salted Caramel is back in cans for a very limited time. It has caramel and pretzel flavors with a hint of salt and a smooth malty finish.
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
Cash Money, IPA (6.3%)
The new Cash Money has more dry hops, a softer palate, and a new yeast strain. It features bright tropical fruit, peaches, and melon with a soft bready finish. Cashmere hops are front and center with a supporting cast featuring Citra and Azacca.
Lone Pine Brewing Company
219 Anderson Street, Portland & 48 Sanford Drive, Bldg. B, Gorham
Sapphire Unicorn, DIPA (7.8%)
Sapphire Unicorn is an American Double IPA. A direct descendent of Diamond Unicorn, Sapphire Unicorn has joined the Sparkle Series with a supernatural array of sweet tropical flavors followed up by a splash of grapefruit. It’s hard to resist this DIPA’s unique aromas of coconut rum cocktail and papaya, making it a worthy addition to Lone Pine’s most enchanting beer series.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
Shake Up Your Bones, Double IPA (8%) & Out Here, IPA (6.5%)
Sometimes you gotta “shake” things up. The luscious combination of Nelson, Simcoe, and Citra hops in Shake Up Your Bones, a hazy double IPA is a rush. It features big citrus notes and balanced juiciness that could wake up a skeleton.
Crafted to match whatever landscape you’re exploring, Out Here is a medium-bodied New England style IPA brewed with Citra, Simcoe, and Rakau hops. It has big notes of fresh citrus over a tropical foundation.
Rising Tide Brewing Company
103 Fox St., Portland
Cow Island, Milk Stout (6%)
A fresh batch of Cow Island Milk Stout rolled off the line this week. Only released a couple of times a year, proceeds help support Rippleffect’s mission of developing youth leadership through outdoor adventure.
Shipyard Brewing Company
86 Newbury St, Portland
Bayley’s Brown Ale (5.4%)
The Original Shipyard brew dog, Bayley, was a chocolate lab full of life and love for the sea. This is a classic English style brown ale with a medium body and rich notes of caramel, toasted nuts, and hints of chocolate. It’s wonderfully smooth with a sweet finish, a perfect winter brew for those who need a break from big hoppy IPAs. It’s brewed for the love of dogs and that feeling that someone loves you back unconditionally.
1100 Minot Ave., Auburn
Closed Valve, West Coast IPA (7.1%)
Brewed with Idaho 7 and El Dorado hops, this IPA has strong tropical fruit and citrus aroma, refreshing bitterness, and balanced by a dry maltiness. Available on tap in half and full pours and in growlers to go.
van der Brew
30 Summer St., Winthrop
Maine Brewers’ Guild Collaboration Beer 2020, IPA (6.5%)
This beer represents a collaborative effort amongst brewers, hop vendors, and maltsters from one of the best beer communities in the world: Maine. While each participating brewery followed the same recipe to brew this IPA, each beer is unique. Available now for growler fills.
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.
Austin Street Brewery
1 Industrial Way, #8, Portland
- Patina, Pale Ale (5.3%)
- Six Grain, Milk Stout (6.4%)
- Kon Tiki, IPA (7.3%)
- Neverender, DIPA (8.0%)
- Pallino, Italian Pilsner (5.9%)
Baxter Brewing Co.
120 Mill St., Lewiston
- Project 9OH9, Pale Ale (5.3%)
- Coffee Dunkel, Lager (6%)
- Pink Fruits for Pink Boots, IPA (6.9%)
- O’McBaxter’s Irish Stout (4.9%)
- Muddy Boots Brown Ale (7%)
Norway Brewing Company
237 Main St., Norway
- Left Turn, Pale Ale (5.3%)
- Maine State of Mind, Pilsner (4.5%)
- Impersonator, Pilsner (5.9%)
- Munich Man Bun, Schwarzbier (6%)
- Inglorious Bastard, Farmhouse Ale (6%)
Maine Beer in the News
Maine breweries are looking forward to 2021 with a renewed sense of optimism, the Maine Brew Bus is teaming up with the Craft Beer Cellar for a virtual event, and Maine Beer Company and Allagash Brewing Company both received accolades.
Maine craft brew can-do: It was a bitter year, but they canned more, tweaked taprooms, and hung on
After a decade of stout growth in Maine, “the world came to a crashing halt,” as one Auburn craft brewer put it, for the craft brew industry and everyone else in the pandemic. Now many brewers are feeling better about 2021.
Things to Do: Beer, art, theater, and Zappa
Ride a virtual brew bus, see the latest exhibit at MECA’s ICA, catch Portland Stage’s new show and stream a Frank Zappa documentary.
Brewbound Announces 2020 Award Winners
Craft Brewery of the Year: Allagash Brewing Company
Maine Beer Company’s named a 2021 Good Food Foundation winner
Prince Percy Pilsner was the only Maine beer to make the list.
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.
Know someone who loves beer? Do your friend a solid and share this newsletter with them!
Want more beer? Follow us on the socials to stay in-the-know on all the latest beer-y goodness.
