We know it’s only Thursday, but with Memorial Day on the horizon, we’re already having strong weekend feels. Yeah, the forecast isn’t looking great, but we’ll take some gloomy weather over a Monday at the office (even if that office is virtual). Hopefully, you’ll be able to get out, relax and enjoy this long weekend because goodness knows you’ve earned it. The past 15 months have been…a lot. We all deserve a break. And you know what goes great with extra days off? Beer!
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.
Upcoming Releases & Events
This week brings the release of two new hard seltzers from a pair of breweries to the north, a wheat beer duo from a brewery to the south, and a serving of Dinner from one of Freeport’s other flagship businesses.
Thursday, May 27
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Northbound, IPA (7%); Interchangeable #9, Pale Ale (5.5%) & Greenleaf, Pils (5%)
Northbound is brewed with a wheat-heavy grist and then dry-hopped excessively with Motueka. This beer is an ode to summer. Traffic can get pretty bad while you’re headed up and down our great state. Blaze Brewing wanted to make a beer that would be perfect to enjoy the second you got out of your car and are able to reunite with old friends. Northbound smells and tastes like fleshy limes, orange juice, and mixed citrus soda.
Interchangeable #9 was dry-hopped succinctly with an irresponsible amount of Zappa hops. It smells and tastes like passionfruit, fruity pebbles, and Sativa. Its drinkability is perfect for a leisurely Friday in the early summer sun.
Greenleaf is a dry-hopped Keller Pils. It was given ample time to lager and dry-hopped with just a touch of Amarillo. The result is a beautiful beer perfect for the coming summer months. Greenleaf smells and tastes like fresh bread, wildflower honey, and white tea. The perfect beer for summer.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth and 33 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
Fog Blue Hard Seltzer (5%)
This small-batch hard seltzer is brewed with organic cane sugar, lemon juice, blueberries, and Huëll Melon hops.
Orono Brewing Company
61 Margin St., Orono, and 26 State St., Bangor
Wild Maine Hard Seltzer
Wild Maine Hard Seltzer is made with carbonated filtered Maine water, six times distilled vodka, and natural flavors. Zero sugar, zero carbs, gluten-free, and 100 calories per serving. Mango Pineapple will hit distro throughout Maine starting today, with Blueberry coming next week and Lemonade soon after!
Friday, May 28
Flight Deck Brewing
11 Atlantic Ave., Brunswick
V-Formation, White Ale (4.7%)
This Belgian-style Witbier has notes of orange peel and coriander and rings in at 4.7% ABV. An easy-drinking summer brew.
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth and 33 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
High Hopes Cider (6.5%)
This New England semi-dry cider features locally sourced apples and is lightly sweetened with pear juice.
Federal Jack’s
8 Western Ave., Kennebunk
Sunfish Ale, Wheat Ale (4.6%) & Summer Wheat, Wheat Ale (5%)
Named in honor of the smallest boat in the fleet, Sunfish Ale is a light-bodied American Wheat Ale with lightly toasted malt and clean wheat character. Aromas of peach and citrus round out the dry, tart finish.
Summer Wheat is an American-style (filtered) Wheat Ale with a crisp malted wheat body and a soft, spicy hop note from the single-hop Saphir.
Maine Beer Company
525 US-1, Freeport
Dinner, Double IPA (8.2%)
Maine Beer is having a bottle release of Dinner, their original Double India Pale Ale, starting at 11 a.m. With notes of intense mango, passion fruit, and pineapple, undertones of garlic, onion, and pine, and sweet aromatics of malt and caramel, Dinner features Citra, Falconer’s Flight, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. Animal ambassadors from the Center for Wildlife will also be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Nonesuch River Brewing
201 Gorham Rd., Scarborough
Solstice, Wheat Beer (5.2%)
Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Nonesuch River Brewing will be releasing their limited summer seasonal, Solstice. This wheat beer is the perfect summertime, beach-sitting, pool-sipping wonder. Real lemon gives it a summertime feel and it is kissed with just the right amount of ginger.
Saturday, May 29
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Psychedelic Volcano, Triple IPA (10%) & Euphoric Mystery, Sour Ale (6.5%)
A collaboration with Burlington Beer Company, Psychedelic Volcano is a Triple IPA overflowing with Sabro, El Dorado, Cashmere, El Dorado Lupomax, and Cashmere Lupomax hops. Expect explosive and colorful flavors like tropical gummy worms, trees heavy with fruit, and coconut shell cocktails flowing from this heady beer.
A flavorful double-fruited collab with RAR Brewing, Euphoric Mystery is fruited twice with red raspberries and dosed with flavors of cotton candy for a unique and nostalgic treat. Both beers are available Friday in Portland, Saturday in Kittery.
New Beer Release and Barbecue
11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Farm 23, 102 Ocean Point Rd., Boothbay Harbor
Footbridge Brewery is teaming up with Action For Animals Maine and Farm 23 to raise money to help area pets. There will be burgers, hotdogs, pulled pork, and veggie burgers, and Footbridge will also be unveiling their latest beer, Companion.
Greeting you with welcoming notes of apricot and with a slightly bitter crisp finish, this juicy IPA is the perfect “Companion” and a portion of all proceeds will go to support Action For Animals Maine.
New Releases
Definitive Brewing is in a Sour mood and we’re here for it, and between Marsh Island’s Operation Recreation and Mast Landing’s Weekend Plans, we are ready for three glorious days of craft beer and chill for the holiday break.
Banded Brewing Co.
32 Main St., Bldg. 13-W, Suite 102, Biddeford and 82 Hanover St., Suite 6, Portland
Gro, Pale Ale
Gro is brewed with birch bark, twigs, and sap, giving it a honey-like, slightly citrusy taste with earthy and spiced notes. Cascade hops were used to give Gro a classic Pale Ale flavor that complements the birch’s natural flavors. The birch bark was toasted before being added to the brew, opening up some of the bark’s warming spice notes. Proceeds from Gro will go to support the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This project (and label illustration!) was inspired by Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s recent Guardians of the Seeds installation at the Botanical Gardens, an interactive exhibit with five GIANT trolls sculpted from reclaimed wood found right here in Maine.
Battery Steele Brewing
1 Industrial Way, Units 12 & 14, Portland
Flume Lite, Session IPA (4.8%)
It’s session IPA season now and Flume Lite is back on draft and in cans. It has all the flavor of its bigger brother with almost half of the ABV. A perfectly crushable IPA that’s made for the warmer months upon us.
Belleflower Brewing Company
66 Cove St., Portland
Lost Leaf Oak, Pale Lager (4.8%)
Lost Leaf Oak is back on tap! This is a barrel-forward Pale Lager. Lost Leaf Oak pours with a light chill haze and is loaded with white wine/chardonnay on the nose followed up with a silky full mouthfeel. The barrel imparts impressions of vanilla and oak, with light citrus flavors perfect for warmer days.
Bissell Brothers Brewing
38 Resurgam Place, Portland
Exponent, IPA (6.5%)
Exponent IPA is Bissell Brothers’ formal exercise in hop exploration through isolation. For this second round, they put a newish varietal from Yakima Chief hops under the microscope: Sabro. It’s bringing a surprising amount of restrained complexity to the party here, with notes of sorbet, lemongrass, and pastry crust. Pick some up today to see what else you can find beyond the coconut…
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
From the Sunn, Fruited Sour (6%) & Three Diamonds, Fruited Sour (7%)
From the Sunn is inspired by piña coladas and the vibe of being on island time all day! This tropical Sour features pineapple, mango, coconut, and lactose. We’re getting massive luau vibes off this creamy treat. When poured, the room fills with waves of grilled pineapple and whipped marshmallow with tasting notes similar to smooth tropical cocktails that will keep you “sunn” bathing all day.
Three Diamonds is brewed with all the summer berries Definitive Brewing could fit in, and then some! Chock full of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, and plum, Three Diamonds tastes like strawberry jam, Cap’n Crunch™️ Berries, raspberry fro-yo, and summertime!
Maine Mead Works
51 Washington Ave., Portland
HoneyMaker Strawberry Mead, (12.5%)
HoneyMaker Strawberry Mead is a HoneyMaker Summer seasonal made from wildflower honey and fresh strawberries. Light and refreshing — reminiscent of a rosé to enjoy on a beautiful summer evening in Maine.
Marsh Island Brewing
2 Main St., Orono
Operation Recreation, IPA (5.8%)
This beer was brewed in collaboration with and to support Maine Veterans Project’s new program, MVP Rec. Maine Veterans Project is an organization that assists veterans and helps prevent veteran suicide. Operation Recreation is a New England-style IPA and features Idaho-7 and Veterans blend hops from Yakima.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
Weekend Plans, IPA (6%)
The perfect IPA to pair with your relaxing Saturday afternoons. Flavorful and balanced, a juicy blend of classic American hops. You have plans, Mast Landing has the beer for them.
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.
Baxter Brewing Co.
120 Mill St., Lewiston
- Logger Road, Lager (3.9%)
- Stowaway IPA (6.9%)
- Couple More Miles, IPA (5.9%)
- Chimney Pond Hard Seltzer (5.5%)
- Out of Range, Blueberry Ale (4.5%)
- Hal-Apeno, IPA (6.5%)
Cushnoc Brewing
40 Front St., Augusta
- Kresge, Kölsch (4.8%)
- Cargo Shorts, Session IPA (5%)
- Lawyer Up!, Porter (7.2%)
- Jankyass Amp, Red Ale (4.9%)
- Golden Fiddle, Belgian Strong Golden Ale (9.4%)
- Ay, Chihuahua!, Farmhouse Ale (5%)
Hidden Cove Brewing
73 Mile Rd., Wells
- Thunder Clap, Double IPA (8.8%)
- Mile Road Pale, Pale Ale (4.4%)
- Beachfront Blueberry Lager (5.1%)
- Shades of Darkness, Imperial Stout (7.3%)
- Booty Raspberry Golden Ale, Belgian Blond (5.5%)
- Mile Road Pale, Pale Ale (4.4%)
Maine Beer in the News
An Augusta brewery is the latest alcohol purveyor to entice people to roll up their sleeves and get the vaccine in exchange for free booze and Sebago Lake gets a shout-out for providing such delicious, pure water that sometimes gets to be transformed into delicious, delicious beer.
Augusta brewery to offer a beer with a COVID-19 shot
Cushnoc Brewing Co. is partnering with Waldo County General Hospital for a pop-up COVID-19 clinic on June 4 at the brewery’s Annex on North Belfast Avenue.
Maine beer makers love Sebago Lake’s clean water in the brewing process
Sebago Lake provides water to 1 in 6 Mainers, as well as more than 20 breweries in Greater Portland that use its water to make beer. Those breweries are giving back.
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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