We don’t mean to be a buzzkill, but cases of COVID-19 are getting a bit out of control in our fair state. While nothing beats the conviviality of gathering to share a beer with friends (or even strangers), it’s just not something we should be doing right now.
Instead, please consider visiting a brewery with only your nearest and dearest to enjoy a few brews outdoors, and socially distanced. Or, stock up on some of the many, many new releases hitting tasting rooms and shelves this week to enjoy from the safety of your own home. Cheers, and please, be safe. We care about you!
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
We’ve been spoiled with a truly spectacular fall, with plenty of warm days and lots of sunshine. But cooler temps are here, and you know what that means … it’s Stout Season! Both Allagash Brewing and Foundation Brewing are dropping Imperial Stouts this week, including one offering a twist on a seasonal classic, gingerbread! We’ve also got a trio of sours, all brewed with cranberries. We don’t know about you, but we’re already planning which beers will be making an appearance on our Thanksgiving table…
Thursday, November 12
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Ready, Set, Bake! Gingerbread Jubilee, Imperial Milk Stout (11%)
This Imperial Milk Stout is an intersection of beer and baking, inspired by the team at Foundation Brewing’s collective obsession with baking shows. It’s an 11% ABV twist on classic gingerbread, brewed with lactose and aged on ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. Ready, Set, Bake! Gingerbread Jubilee is a sweet treat you’ll want to share!
Friday, November 13
Allagash Brewing Company
50 Industrial Way, Portland
Black Is Beautiful, Imperial Stout (10%)
This imperial stout and communal brewing movement was created by Weathered Souls Brewing of San Antonio, Texas. Allagash Brewing will be donating 100% of the profits from their version of this beer to local organizations working toward racial justice and equity.
Barreled Souls Brewing Company
743 Portland Rd., Saco
Buffalo Trace Bourbon Bombs Over Barley, Barleywine (14.8%); 2020: A Spice Odyssey, Gose (6.3%); & Pogs & Slammers, Gose (8.5%)
Buffalo Trace Bourbon Bombs Over Barley is a Barleywine barrel aged for a little over a year. The fresh bourbon taste harmonizes with the sweet caramel and toasted nut base from the Maris Otter used in the grain bill.
2020: A Spice Odyssey is a Fruited Gose with cranberries and Cara Cara oranges, delightfully spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise in an attempt to replicate the sense of sipping a mulled wine — in beer form.
Pogs & Slammers is made with passion fruit, orange, and guava, and as any ‘90s kids can tell you, the game this flavor combo brings will be sure to win you all the Pogs.
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Blueberry Vanilla Dome, DIPA (8%)
Mimicking the creamy mouthfeel of a classic milkshake, this tasty DIPA was brewed with vanilla beans and lactose, then conditioned on mountains of blueberries. It tastes like blueberry muffins, sweet cream ice cream, and having dessert for dinner! Stop by Portland on Friday and Kittery on Saturday for the release of this delicious treat.
Lubec Brewing Company
41 Water St., Lubec
Squaison, Saison (4.8%)
Squaison is a Saison brewed with roasted Delicata squash. Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 19
Pours and the Outdoors
Thompson’s Point Rd, Portland
In partnership with Bissell Brothers and Maine Outdoor Brands, Thompson’s Point presents Pours and the Outdoors, a weekly outdoor experience this November and December.
Each event will feature presentations and inspiration from outdoor brands and experts, gear giveaways, demos, fire pits, and a Bissell Brothers tap takeover. The proceeds from each night will be donated to a nonprofit working to improve outdoor recreation access in Maine.
The first week kicks things off with Fat Bike Night, with Allspeed Cyclery & Snow, Threlkeld Outdoors, and Greater Portland NEMBA outlining what it takes to start or hone fat biking in Maine this winter. 5-8 p.m. at the Brick South Beer Garden.
Release Date TBD
Foulmouthed Brewing
15 Ocean St., South Portland
Liquid Leftovers, Sour
This Sour Brown Ale is aged in Port wine barrels on cranberries.
Mason’s Brewing Company
15 Hardy St., Brewer
Cranthrax, Sour (5%)
This cranberry kettle sour is brewed with pink sea salt and cranberries.
Sebago Brewing Company
616 Main St., Gorham
Bog So Hard, Sour (7.5%)
This barrel-aged cranberry sour ale is finally available in cans for your drinking pleasure!
New Releases
This week’s latest releases lean heavily towards IPAs, DIPAs, and even a TRIPLE IPA, so if hoppy beer is your jam, you’re going to want to make some space in your fridge. We also have two breweries releasing their version of the Maine Brewers’ Guild Collaboration Beer, proceeds of which will benefit the Guild. Finally, there are three ciders we’re going to hype for those of you (like us) who like to tell yourself that a can of cider equals one serving of fruit. That’s a real thing, right?
Airline Brewing Company
173 Main St., Ellsworth
Brown Porter (4.9%)
Airline Brewing’s take on the Brown Porter is back on cask and in cans. It has a subdued toffee, chocolate, and coffee malt backbone with English malts to balance, a medium body, and dry finish. Cheers to traditional handcrafted ales!
Atlantic Brewing Company
52 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
Maine Brewers’ Guild Collaboration Beer, IPA (6.7%)
With no festivals or travel this summer, the folks at Atlantic Brewing are missing collaborating with their fellow Maine breweries. This virtually created recipe, shared with brewers around the state, highlights what Maine brewers love most about the beer industry and all those that play a part in it! With materials donated from maltsters and hop vendors, the proceeds of this IPA will go to The Maine Brewers’ Guild.
Austin Street Brewery
115 Fox St., Portland
Narrative 1, IPA (6%)
Narrative 1 is the first in an indefinite series of new products coming out of Fox Street. This 6% IPA features an experimental cryo hop blend. With each new release, you’ll see slight variations in label art, but side by side, their unity will be obvious and deliberate.
Battery Steele Brewing
1 Industrial Way Units 12 and 14, Portland
Flume, DIPA (8%) & Vagabond Dreamer, IPA (7.2%)
Flume is the classic Citra/Mosaic pairing giving notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and pine. Vagabond Dreamercombines Citra/Vic Secret lending flavors of melon, stone fruit, berries with a resinous, dank citrus finish.
Fore River Brewing Co.
45 Huntress Ave., South Portland
John Henry, Milk Stout (5.2%)
John Henry is a moderately sweet, mouthwatering, dark milk stout. Brewed with English malts and milk sugar, it’s chock full of chocolate, caramel, coffee, and slightly nutty aromas, with an incredibly smooth finish, and a sweet linger. All the best parts of cold weather, wrapped up into one silky smooth stout.
If you’re planning on visiting the Huntress Avenue tasting room this weekend, be sure to hit up the Smokey & Brines food truck, which will be there on Sunday. And if you’re looking to start your Christmas shopping (shopping for yourself also counts in our opinion), Fore River Brewing has crewneck sweatshirts, tees, trucker hats, ball caps, and winter hats for sale.
Goodfire Brewing
219 Anderson St., Portland
Waves, IPA (7.2%)
A fan favorite returns to the lineup, chock full of Vic Secret and tasting très fantastique.
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
NSFW (Not Safe for Work) Triple IPA (10%)
NSFW is back! The latest batch features Cashmere, Mosaic, Citra, Southern Cross, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops.
Maine Beer Company
525 US-1, Freeport
Black Barn Program No. 16 Veteran’s Blend, IPA
Every year, Maine Beer Company’s hop provider, Yakima Chief, offers a number of featured hop blends, each supporting nonprofit organizations. Their partner this year is the Gary Sinise Foundation, which provides outreach and mental health support services to veterans and their families. Black Barn Program No. 16 features this blend, and even more importantly, is being brewed and packaged by members of Maine Beer Company’s team who served in the Armed Forces. The hop blend includes Idaho 7, Talus, Sabro, Mosaic, and HBC 630, and incorporates malts from Blue Ox Malt House and Maine Malt House.
Mason’s Brewing Company
15 Hardy St., Brewer
Alice, DIPA (8%)
Alice is a follow up to Mason’s Brewing Hempshire Cat. This DIPA rolls in at 8% and is super juicy with huge mango, melon, and tangerine notes, and is their second beer to incorporate hemp seeds.
Mast Landing Brewing Co.
920 Main St., Westbrook
Sunspotting, Lager (4.7%)
Sunspotting is burst of brightness — a shine that radiates through the dark. It’s also a dry hopped lager that is being re-released after a successful debut earlier this year.
Moderation Brewing Company
103 Maine St., Brunswick
Maine Brewers’ Guild Collaboration Beer, IPA (6.5%)
Brewed along with 40 other Maine breweries (including Atlantic Brewing Company, in case you skipped ahead), Moderation Brewing Company fermented this hazy IPA with their house Norwegian Kveik yeast. It contains Simcoe, Amarillo, Idaho 7, Azacca, and Ekuanot, and is wicked crushable, as always!
Ricker Hill
295 Buckfield Rd., Turner
Mainiac Mac, Gold, and Gold Cranberry Ciders
Mac is a juicy treat that packs big McIntosh aromas, fresh-off-the-tree flavor, and a refreshing effervescence. On the Ricker family farm, they still pick apples by hand, ferment in small batches, and blend every batch to taste.
Gold is a modern American cider made from a golden blend of dessert and bittersweet cider apples that grow on their farm. Each bin of apples is carefully picked, pressed, fermented, blended, and packaged on the farm to yield a fruitful, balanced, and refreshing cider.
Gold Cranberry is made from a crisp mix of Ricker Hill’s favorite apple varieties, tart cranberries, and a splash of apple syrup. Sweet with a snap, this sparkling beverage has been crafted to tantalize your taste buds and accompany any occasion.
Rising Tide Brewing Co.
103 Fox St., Portland
Mosaic, IPA (6%), Welcome Home, Ale (7.1%)
Mosaic IPA returns to kick off the winter season. This India Pale Ale was brewed featuring the Mosaic hop in celebration of the winter season, can art features photos from our team’s winter adventures.
Welcome Home, a Winter Warmer brewed with apples hand-picked by our team members at Thompson’s Orchards and apple pie spices. Sweet and spicy with a dry finish. Notes of cardamom, allspice, and cinnamon.
Trinken Brewing Co.
144 State St., West Bath
Tango Mike, New England IPA (6%)
Tango Mike — military radio jargon for “Thanks Much” — is a German-inspired NEIPA and an ode to veterans. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Green Beret Foundation. Trinken is a veteran-owned brewery, and it’s important for owner Tyler to pay homage to his fellow brothers and sisters with a special release and to support a foundation close to his heart.
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
Growler Pours to Go
- Interlude, American Wild Ale (10.6%)
- Dubbel, Belgian Dubbel (6.8%)
- Little Sal, Sour (6%)
- De Nouveau Rouge, Sour (5.3%)
- Swiftly, Wild Ale (3.4%)
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
- Burnside, Brown Ale (5.1%)
- Dee Dee Dee, IPA (6%)
- Gobble Gobble, IPA (6.5%)
- Triple Berry Jam, Tart Ale (5%)
- Vroom Vroom, DIPA (8%)
Island Dog Brewing
125 John Roberts Rd., Unit 15, South Portland
- 3 Buoy Brown, Brown Ale (5.2%)
- Winter Red, Spiced Red Ale (7%)
- Pineapple Habanero, Spiced Saison (6%)
- Blueberry Sour, Sour Ale (4.8%)
- Captain Tucker, Cream Ale (4.3%)
Maine Beer in the News
Maine Beer Company tipped us off that the company has been named a Good Food Awards Finalist for two of their beers, Prince Percy Pilsner and Wolfe’s Neck IPA. The beers were recognized not only for Maine Beer Company’s use of local sustainable ingredients, but also for their practices as a company and the organizations that these two beers support (Center for Wildlife & Wolfe’s Neck Center). Allagash Brewing Company was also named a Finalist for their beer Fine Acre. Congrats to both breweries!
Here is some more Maine beer news you need to know.
Brewery looks to honor veterans
Flight Deck in Brunswick makes Honor Flight beer ahead of Veteran’s Day.
Tasting room owners in central Maine say they can open safely indoors amid pandemic
Central Maine tasting rooms figuring out what’s next, including a commitment to outdoor service during winter months.
Funky Bow Brewery Adding Skating Rink to Their ‘Farm’ This Winter
After the success Thompson’s Point has had in recent winters with their rink and beer yurt, Funky Bow Brewery in Lyman has decided to try their hand at combining the two interests.
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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