Even though we’ve already received a sneak preview of summer weather (seriously, some of June felt hotter than Lee Nelson’s debut as an L.L. Bean model), the season officially arrived Sunday night. This means it’s also the start of our other favorite season, beer season! OK, just kidding on that one, obviously, EVERY season is beer season. We recommend celebrating the summer/beer season by grabbing a couple of cold ones to enjoy on the closest patio, deck, backyard or boat.
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
This week’s upcoming releases include beers featuring blackberries, cranberries, and even maple syrup, yum. There’s also a wide range of IPAs, from a Session all the way up to Gopher It, a Triple IPA that had its original release date pushed until this Friday, June 25. We sat it’s time to “tee up” some new beer for your fridge!
Thursday, June 24
Bath Brewing Company
141 Front St., Bath
Maine Blackberry, Sour (4%)
What do Bath Brewing and their new Maine Blackberry Sour have in common? The University of Maine! The brewery is proud of their UMaine alumni and brewed Maine Blackberry to honor both the school and its graduates. This delicious, tart, and violet-colored Sour is light yet sharp, which complements the blackberry notes. It was brewed with 2 Row, Blue Ox Malthouse Whole Wheat, Acidulated malt, and German Perle hops.
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Tiny Room, IPA (6.2%)
Tiny Room is brewed with a generous amount of Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops as well as wheat, oats, and Munich to provide a nice soft mouthfeel and light malt backbone. Tiny Room smells and tastes like orange juice and ripe melon.
Foulmouthed Brewing
15 Ocean St., South Portland
Grawlix, IPA (6.4%); Middle Groove, Session IPA (5.6%); & Fraktur, Kolsch (4.8%)
Grawlix is a West Coast IPA brewed exclusively with Maine-grown hops.
Middle Groove is heavily dry hopped with Cashmere and Idaho-7 hops to be bold, but with a nice, easy-drinking light body and mild ABV.
Fraktur is a classic German-style Ale. It’s bright and crisp, yet has a soft and well-rounded European hop profile that makes it the perfect accompaniment for nearly any cuisine or mood.
Friday, June 25
Baxter Brewing Co.
120 Mill St., Lewiston
Gopher It, Triple IPA (8.8%)
Due to an unforeseen disruption in their packaging line, Baxter’s release of Gopher It was delayed. Initially slated to come out last Friday, instead, you can plan on scooping some up THIS Friday. We’re pretty confident it will be worth the wait.
Corner Point Brewing Company
1 Rochester St., Berwick
Cranberry Meadow, Golden Ale (3.8%)
This Golden Ale is named after Cranberry Meadow Road in Berwick and is brewed with copious amounts of cranberry puree. The result is a slightly tart, very refreshing beer.
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
35, Session Ale (3.5%)
This fruited variant of Definitive’s 3.5% house session IPA, this batch of 35 is conditioned with heaps of peaches and raspberries. A radically refreshing summer beer that tastes like raspberry cloud cake, a peach Arnold Palmer, and sunsets over Casco Bay. Available Friday in Portland, Saturday in Kittery.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Spiffy, Double IPA (8%)
It’s the first ever summertime release of Spiffy! Spiffy is a triple dry-hopped Double Maine IPA made with the same malt bill and hop varieties as Epiphany, featuring even more hoppy goodness courtesy of a triple dry hop of Mosaic and Citra. Foundation usually only releases Spiffy during the winter holidays, but this year they decided there’s no time like the present to celebrate the good things in life. We couldn’t agree more.
Maine Beer Company
525 US-1, Freeport
Dinner, Double IPA (8.2%)
Dinner is Maine Beer Company’s original Double India Pale Ale with 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. It’s also time for the monthly visit from Maine Beer’s friends at the Center for Wildlife, including their animal ambassadors.
Saturday, June 26
Norway Brewing Company
237 Main St., Norway
Short Stack, Farmhouse Dubbel (7.8%)
This cousin of Triple Stack, Short Stack is brewed with Blue Ox Malthouse Dark Wheat, Dark Munich, and Dark Caramel malt as well as Maine Grains flaked wheat for a malty, yet spritzy and bright Farmhouse version of a Belgian Dubbel. Just like Triple Stack, this beer incorporates maple syrup from Pietree Orchard in the secondary fermentation as well as right in the can.
Sunday, June 27
Oxbow Brewing Company
274 Jones Woods Rd., Newcastle
Kelp! I Need Some Honey, Farmhouse Ale (7%)
Kelp! I Need Some Honey is a new collaboration beer by Oxbow Brewing and Dogfish Head. This barrel-aged Farmhouse Ale will be on draft and available in 500ml bottles. Heron Island Oysters and Glidden Point Oyster Farms will be shucking oysters onsite in the afternoon.
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New Releases
It’s a study in contrast with some of this week’s latest beer offerings, ranging from Summer of Love from Atlantic Brewing to Upper Hell Gate from Bath Brewing. Side note, who hurt you, Bath Brewing? We’re also intrigued by Scupper, Fogtown Brewing’s new Seaweed Saison. While we’re not fans of seaweed even grazing a toe when we’re in the water, we’re curious how it pairs with beer.
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Atlantic Brewing Company
52 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
Summer Of Love, Kölsch (4.8%)
A traditional Kölsch-style Ale, Summer Of Love is cold-conditioned for a light biscuity, earthy profile.
Bath Brewing Company
141 Front St., Bath
Upper Hell Gate, IPA (8.4%)
Upper Hell Gate is full of hops and comes in at 8.4% ABV and 66 IBUs. This hazy, hoppy delight is perfect for these hot summer days.
Bissell Brothers Brewing
38 Resurgam Place, Portland
Nothing Gold, Double IPA (8.2%)
Nothing Gold was brewed as a reminder to cherish and celebrate what is, before it inevitably becomes what was. Mindfully hopped with Citra, Amarillo, Sultana, and Ekuanot.
Flight Deck Brewing
11 Atlantic Ave., Brunswick
Remove Before Flight, Red Ale (5.6%)
Remove Before Flight has landed in the tasting room after getting a refurb. The new labels are shiny and bold but stay true to the “Remove Before Flight” tags seen on planes that are used as safety warnings on removable aircraft components. This brew has notes of caramel and toffee with malt-forward sweetness and low bitterness. An iconic Flight Deck brew to pair with the iconic aviation tag.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth and 33 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
Scupper, Seaweed Saison (5.8%)
Scupper was created in collaboration with Maine Coast Sea Vegetables using their kelp, dulse, and Irish sea moss — all harvested locally off the coast of Downeast Maine. Scupper was brewed with organic Maine spelt, wheat, and barley, then fermented with French Saison yeast and stainless aged with house-mixed Brett strains. Tart and dry with a subtle umami brininess, this Seaweed Saison is perfect to enjoy after a day spent boating, hiking, or working on our beautiful coastline.
Kennebec River Brewery
1771 US-201, West Forks
Big A, IPA (7.25%)
A New England style IPA, Big A is brewed with flaked wheat and oats for a creamier mouthfeel, dry-hopped in the fermenter with Citra and Mosaic hops. It’s strong in hop aroma, juicy, and hazy.
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
Herbie, Dry Hopped Session Ale (4.3%)
A crisp, hop-forward Ale, Herbie is named in honor of a historic American Elm tree that stood on East Main Street in Yarmouth until 2010.
Maine Mead Works
51 Washington Ave., Portland
Blackberry Lemon Mint Mead
Blackberry Lemon Mint Mead is a crisp and refreshing beverage perfect for hot summer days, picnics, or the beach. A portion of the proceeds from every glass pour and 4-pack sold will be donated to Black Owned Maine, a local organization working to promote and support Black-owned businesses in the State of Maine.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
Rooftops, Kölsch-style Ale (5.2%)
A beer to watch the sun go down with as the day draws to a close and refreshment is on your mind. Rooftops takes its inspiration from the German Kölsch tradition, which encourages a leisurely paced, casual drinking experience that can take up the better part of a warm evening. This beer was brewed to be an easy drinker, to invite your next sip but not insist on it thanks to a delicate balance of crispness and character.
Moderation Brewing Company
103 Maine St., Brunswick
1856, Lager (4.5%)
1856 is a pre-Prohibition flaked corn Lager brewed with Maine malts. Wildly crushable and named for the end of the “Maine Law” prohibition on alcohol from 1851-1856 enacted by Portland Mayor Neil Dow, or as we think of him here at Beer This Week, enemy of wet whistles, fun, and joy.
Sebago Brewing Co.
616 Main St., Gorham
Hefeweizen (4.5%) & Mosarillo by Morning, New England IPA (7%)
Hefeweizen, one of Sebago’s most refreshing beers, uses classic German Hefeweizen yeast. This summer their brewers played with the Hefeweizen recipe to give the traditional Bavarian beer a twist. It has the same classic Bavarian yeast strain and similar wheat and barley as Hefeweizen, but with more hops.
Mosarillo by Morning is a New England IPA filled with stone fruit aromas, bold overripe orange flavors, and just the right amount of dank herbal notes. The new beer features an abundance of Mosaic and Amarillo hops, a combo decidedly selected for their bold tropical citrus features and their greener pungent qualities.
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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.
Banded Brewing Co.
32 Main St., Bldg. 13-W, Suite 102, Biddeford
- Bacchanalia, Maibock (8.4%)
- Charms & Hexes, Fruited Sour Ale (5.2%)
- Petite Bière, French-style Table Saison (3.5%)
- Veridian, IPA (6%)
- Greenwarden, Spruce Tip Pale Ale (5.6%)
- Zealot, New England IPA (7.5%)
Cushnoc Brewing
40 Front St., Augusta
- Immortal Golden Eagle, IPA (8.5%)
- Gigantic Dad Pants, IPA (7.5%)
- Darth Helmet, Schwarzbier (5%)
- Luppolo, Pilsner (5%)
- Golden Fiddle, Belgian Strong Golden Ale (9.4%)
- Purple Rain, Belgian Tripel (9.5%)
Rising Tide Brewing Company
103 Fox St., Portland
- Ishmael, American Copper Ale (4.9%)
- Pisces, Gose (3.6%)
- Back Cove, Pilsner (5.1%)
- Zephyr, West Coast India Pale Ale (6.5%)
- Maine Island Trail Ale, Session IPA (4.3%)
- Cheers To Love, Rosé Inspired Ale (6.7%)
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Maine Beer in the News
It’s the dog days of summer already in terms of new brews news, but we were FASCINATED to learn about this Maine scientist who spends her days analyzing beer. If we’d known there was actually a job out there where you spent your time analyzing beer we would have paid more attention in Mr. Morgan’s honors chemistry class senior year, sigh.
The Maine Scientist Who Analyzes Your Beer
In Luci Benedict’s quality-control lab at University of Southern Maine, beer is put to the test.
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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