So, the world is kind of on fire (or leaking oil) all around us, but for some reason, we’re in a strangely optimistic mood this week. It could be the drop in Covid cases or the beautiful fall weather. But, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s probably the anticipation of picking up some of the latest Maine beers hitting tasting rooms, bars, and store shelves this week.
Here’s this week’s guide to the latest beer releases, upcoming brewery events, and a roundup of Maine beer news.
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Upcoming Releases & Events
Allagash is continuing to give us Love, it’s a nice (Bay)view from Blaze, Definitive’s Milkshake IPA is bringing all the boys (and girls!) to the yard (er, taproom), and Ambition thinks you’ve got Moxie, kid. Swish!
Thursday, October 7
Allagash Brewing Co.
50 Industrial Way, Portland
From Maine, With Love #09, Wheat Beer & Bring Your Own Adventure, Multiple Styles
From Maine, With Love #09 is a tart wheat beer aged on cherries and blackberries. Ideas for these innovative beers can come from any employee at Allagash and they’re only available at the brewery. Sorry, folks from away!
Bring Your Own Adventure is a 12-can variety pack that includes 12oz. cans of Allagash White, River Trip, Fine Acre, and Great Woods, the latter of which is a brand-new dark wheat ale that is exclusive to this variety pack.
Ambition Brewing
295 Main St., Wilton
Moxie Porter
A dark, malt-forward beer modeled after the much-loved (or, hated, depending on how much of a Maineah you really are) Moxie soda, Moxie Porter will be available starting today as a Nitro pour.
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Bayview, IPA (6.7%) & Broad Bill, Hefeweizen (5%)
Bayview is brewed with a simple grist and then dry-hopped excessively with El Dorado and Mosaic hops. This combination along with a multi-step dry-hopping process has yielded an incredibly juicy and soft beer. Bayview smells and tastes like blueberry frozen yogurt, ruby red grapefruit, and Hawaiian Punch
Brewed with 60% wheat and lightly hopped with Mittlefruh, Broadbill was made for long summer days (but we hear it also tastes excellent in fall). This hefeweizen was built to refresh and help you relax after a long day.
Corner Point Brewing Company
1 Sullivan St., Berwick
Sullivan Square Pale Ale, Pale Ale (6.6%)
This wet hop pale ale is brewed with Maine-grown Cascade and Comet hops.
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
Nama, Lager (5.3%)
Japanese for “fresh,” Nama is a light, clean lager inspired by the 100% malt Japanese lagers.
Friday, October 8
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Vanilla Dome Straight Vanilla, Milkshake IPA (8%); Float, Double IPA (8%); & Portals (2 VERSIONS!), Sour (6.3%)
For Vanilla Dome Straight Vanilla, Definitive increased their vanilla rate by over 100% and the vanilla character is unbelievable! This beer smells and tastes like freshly baked sugar cookies, orange creamsicles, and vanilla ice cream.
What even is fall without Float? Returning just in time for the weekend, this full-bodied double IPA is dry-hopped with Citra and a blend of Simcoe and Loral cryo pellets. Plush on the tongue, this beer tastes and smells like lemon-citrus raindrops, tropical hibiscus petals, and a day floating down the river.
The Blueberry, Raspberry, & Vanilla version of Portals is packed with REAL wild blueberries. This tart purple treat tastes and smells like blueberry ice cream, freshly whipped cream, and blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers.
The Peach & Vanilla Portals variation is bursting with ripe peach pureé and Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans. It tastes and smells like sliced jumbo peaches with hand-whipped cream, and vanilla gelato.
All beers are available Friday in Portland, Saturday in Kittery.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
The Bull, Porter (7.6%)
Foundation’s collaboration brew with Tom Bull is maybe not-so-shockingly called…The Bull. Tom’s a Maine legend when it comes to brewing lagers, and he helped advise the staff with tips and tricks he developed over years brewing his popular Baltic porter. The Bull is a dark and delicious porter with rich, roasted notes of baking chocolate and coffee that harmonize with a touch of malty sweetness, all finishing super clean and balanced at 7.6%.
Saturday, October 9
Bissell Brothers Brewing
38 Resurgam Place, Portland
Swish, Double IPA (8%)
The realization of the brothers Bissell’s wildest dreams from the brewery’s infancy, Swish uses a Golden Promise malt base smothered with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops.
Sunday, October 10
SoMe Brewing Co.
1 York St #3, York, ME 03909
4th Annual SoMetoberfest
Head over to SoMe from 12-6 p.m. for their 4th Annual SoMetoberfest! There will be food, live music, and games. SoMe will have their full draft available list inside, as well as an outside bar featuring their Helles and Marzen lagers. This is a non-ticketed, free event. Kids and dogs are also welcome (although we’re assuming will not be eligible to participate in any alcohol quaffing). Bavarian costumes not required, but highly encouraged.
New Releases
Where do we even start this week? We’ve got a pair of Whoopie Pie stouts, a pumpkin milk stout, a sour named after one of the most ferocious types of cats alive (other than the one that relentlessly claws our leg for attention while we compose this newsletter for you every week, dear reader), a stout that is here to help us face, nay, CONSUME the Darkness, and a pumpkin beer that celebrates the greatest of all seasons, decorative gourd season.
Bangor Beer Co.
330 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor
Pumpkin Spice Derailed, Blonde Iced Coffee Milk Stout (4.9%)
The mad brewer/scientists took Derailed, their blonde iced coffee milk stout, and added flavorful seasonal spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The result of this little experiment? Pumpkin Spice Derailed! We think it’s perfect for apple picking, sitting around a fire, or snuggling up during sweater weather.
Barreled Souls Brewing
743 Portland Rd., Saco
Le Tigre, Sour (6%)
Le Tigre is back! Barreled Souls brewed this 6% sour, made with raspberries and lime, in collaboration with their friends at Dancing Gnome a year ago, and decided they liked it so much they needed to make it again.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Josef, Pilsner (5.1%)
Josef is named for Josef Groll, the originator of the Czech-style pilsner. Foundation’s vision of the original is brewed with floor-malted Czech barley and Saaz hops. This easy-drinking delight has a nose of honey, orange blossom, and thyme, followed by crisp cereal notes on the palate.
Lone Pine Brewing Company
219 Anderson St., Portland and 48 Sanford Dr., Gorham
Bourbon Method, Stout (13%)
This massive maple and vanilla imperial stout clocks in at 13% ABV after spending eight months in the barrel. Sick and smooth.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook and 200 Lower Main St., Freeport
Sanctuary, IPA (7%)
This bold and accessible beer features Citra, Strata, El Dorado, and Rakau hops. Cans and draft pours are available at both tasting rooms.
Nonesuch River Brewing
201 Gorham Rd., Scarborough
Chug The Darkness, Stout (5.8%)
A blend of roasted malts dyes pale beer black. Without darkness, would we see stars? A multitude of malted oats are folded in like the distant suns in a faraway galaxy. Warrior and Northern Brewer bring balance to this malty universe. An aroma of Cascade guides you beyond the light. Chug the Darkness!
Side By Each Brewing
1110 Minot Ave., Auburn
It’s MF Gourd Season, Demanda!, Pumpkin Beer (5%)
Pumpkin and spices round out a German wheat beer and its fruity notes. The folks at Side By Each say they named this beer for a regular who’s been asking for a pumpkin beer for quite a while. We hope it’s all that customers dreamed of…and MORE!
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St. #3, York
Whoopie Pie Stout (6.3%) & Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Stout (6.3%)
It’s Maine’s favorite dessert in liquid form! The Whoopie Pie Stout is aged on cocoa and vanilla, and checks all of the right boxes.
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? 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.
Maine Beer in the News
OK, this first article is kind of a no-brainer for us Mainers, but maybe share it with your cousin in New Hampshire who doesn’t quite “get” what the big deal is about Allagash White. Also, tag along to get an inside look at what it’s like to gather hops at a hop yard, and learn about the only conference we personally want to attend in the new year.
Allagash White: What It Is, and Why It’s So Popular
For over a quarter of a century, Allagash has been bringing wheat beer to the forefront of the American beer palate.
Tap Lines: Don’t delay in picking up these local fresh-hop beers
Austin Street, Mast Landing and Orono are among dozens of breweries that converged on The Hop Yard in Gorham to pick right from the bines.
Craft Maltsters Guild Debuts 2022 Advanced Class in Craft Malt Production
The Craft Maltsters Guild will offer a four-day intensive workshop in the days leading up to the 2022 Craft Malt Conference in Portland, Maine (CMC 2022).
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 or call us to learn more at [email protected] (207) 209-2094
