Ah, fall. It’s that magical time of year when you can rock either short sleeves or long and be comfortable. It’s also perfect for leaf peeping, hiking, and filling your home with bushels of gourds to prove that your decorating choices are seasonal AF. Do you know what one thing pairs well with all those activities? 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.
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
This week, we’re spotlighting a pair of brewery performances, the return of one of our favorite roasty brown ales, and the release of an IPA with the best can art featuring aquatic marine mammals that we’ve personally ever seen.
Featured Event
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth
Chris Ross Live in the Beer Garden
Maine singer-songwriter Chris Ross returns to Fogtown Brewing Co. on Saturday, September 26. Show starts at 4:30 p.m. in the beer garden. Tickets must be purchased in advance and by table versus an individual seat. You check out more details here.
Thursday, Sept. 24
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Blazing Love, Sour (7%)
Blazing Love (Peach), is Blaze Brewing’s second collaboration with Branch and Blade Brewing. This pastry sour was conditioned on peach, vanilla, cinnamon, and marshmallows, and it smells and tastes like peach streusel. This beer will be available at all their other locations Friday and will be distributed throughout Maine. Also on the horizon is Bailey Boy (6.5%), a Brown Ale brewed with Acadia Coffee Company coffee.
Blaze Brewing is also now offering two pizzas for $30 on Sundays, takeout or dine in, AND they are starting up a cornhole league that begins on Monday, September 28. Contact [email protected] for more info and to sign up.
Foulmouthed Brewing
15 Ocean St., South Portland
Intensive Porpoises, IPA (6%)
This double dry hopped IPA is hopped with Idaho 7 hops for a tropical hop aroma at an easygoing 6% ABV. It will be available for pick up or delivery through CarHop. And check out the can art! It doesn’t get any better than porpoises sporting bowling hats and monocles. Fraktur, Foulmouthed Brewing’s cold-fermented Kolsch is also back. It’s crisp, refreshing and has a 5% ABV.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Burnside, Brown Ale (5.1%)
Layered with roasted notes of coffee, burnt sugar, and chocolate, but balanced by a touch of malty sweetness and rolled oats for body, this instant-classic beloved Brown Ale finishes smooth and easy. Burnside is back in the tasting room on Thursday for the first time since the spring, then heading out for distribution shortly after.
Friday, Sept. 25
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
The Entity, Triple IPA (10.1%)
This formidable beer checks in at a healthy 10.1% ABV and was brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Enigma, and Topaz hops. It tastes and smells like a tropical storm of guava, fruit salad, and fields of pineapple plants. This is Definitive Brewing’s first Triple IPA and it makes its return in cans and on draught this Friday in Portland and Saturday in Kittery!
Fore River Brewing Company
35 Park Ave., South Portland
Oktoberfest, Lager (5.9%)
Patiently lagering for 10 weeks, Oktoberfest is a Märzen-style beer boasting caramelized, malty and subtly fruity aromatics with a soft and sweet finish, and that trademark dark amber hue. And, for the first time in FRBC history, it’s available in cans so you can take all that deliciousness home with you!
Saturday, Sept. 26
Threshers Brewing Co.
22 Main St., Searsmont
Idlewild: A Celebration of The Allman Brothers Band
Threshers Brewing is welcoming back Idlewild: A Celebration of The Allman Brothers Band to the brewery. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $25.
Monday, Sept. 28
Gneiss Brewing Company
94 Patterson St., Limerick
Nord, Pilsner (5%)
This Northern German Pilsner with notes of lightly toasted bread, honey, and a clean bitterness that leaves your palate dry and wanting more will be available in cans.
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Nonesuch River Brewing
201 Gorham Rd., Scarborough
Harvest Pivot, IPA (5.9%)
Made with freshly harvested hops from The Hop Yard in Gorham this beer is smooth, hazy, and packed with hints of tropical fruit and peaches. Pairs perfectly with a sunny fall day.
Release Date TBD
Corner Point Brewing Company
1 Rochester St., Berwick
Keepin’ Up with the Joneses, Farmhouse Ale (5.9%)
We don’t have an exact date on this release, but are told it will be coming out next week, so keep your eyes peeled. And, while you’re there, congratulate Corner Point on their second anniversary, which they celebrated on September 22. Cheers! You can also pick up their beer to go in the following locations: Anthony’s Food Shop in York; JD’s in Waterboro; Carl’s Meat Market in Sanford; Nature’s Way in South Berwick; the Wells IGA; Hops & Vine in Gorham; The Brew Shoppe in Shapleigh; Madden Beverage in Saco; Old Port Spirits and Cigars in Portland; and Spruce Creek Provisions in Kittery.
NU Brewery
427 Lewiston Rd., New Gloucester
Also no dates on these ones, but our friends at NU Brewery tell us that a Saison style farmhouse ale finished with Maine maple syrup and a pilot brew of a Mexican lager are both coming out soon! They also host a trivia night on Wednesday nights and run a cornhole tournament on Thursday nights. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. for games and both events run from 6-7 p.m.
New Releases
New releases this week include an Imperial Stout brewed in collaboration with the Black is Beautiful brewing project, a bourbon barrel aged Belgian-Style Quadrupel, and a Pale Ale that wants to get you pumped to rock the vote. Here are some of the latest releases that hit taps and/or stores across the state this week.
Featured Beer Release
Fogtown Brewing Company
25 Pine St., Ellsworth
I Voted Today, American Pale Ale (5.6%)
Brewed in collaboration with Tired Hands Brewing Company, I Voted Today is a DDH American Pale Ale created in honor of National Voter Registration Day. Do your part by drinking this beer, registering to vote (or confirming that you’re registered), and then VOTING!
Allagash Brewing Co.
50 Industrial Way, Portland
Moselle, Lager (6%)
Is it a lager? Yes. Is it a saison? Also yes. Moselle is actually a balanced blend of lager and saison. To make it, Allagash brews two different beers, a lager and a saison, and then blend them together. Moselle leads with clean, classic lager flavor while the saison portion adds a tropical note to the beer’s dry profile.
Bangor Beer Company
330 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor
Hop Hauler, Pale Ale (4.5%)
This Pale Ale was brewed in collaboration with Maine Trailer, who won this unique experience at an auction at the Bangor Y Gala, which raised $5,000 for area children’s programs! Hop Hauler is brewed with Vic Secret and Cascade hops, a great blend of old and new age hops.
Bath Brewing Co.
141 Front St., Bath
Black Is Beautiful, Imperial Stout (8.2%)
A collaboration with the Black is Beautiful brewing project, Black Is Beautiful is a Russian Imperial Stout with notes of chocolate and cherry. Proceeds will be donated to the Michael James Jackson Foundation, a non-profit focused on supporting the career advancement of minorities in the brewing industry.
Battery Steele Brewing
1 Industrial Way Units 12 and 14, Portland
Vagabond Dreamer, IPA (7.2%)
Vagabond Dreamer is available now in cans at the brewery along with Ascent, a 6.7% IPA. These two unmistakably different IPAs both feature their own unique blend of American and Southern Hemisphere hops.
Bissell Brothers Brewing Company
Thompson’s Point, Portland
Lux, Mosaic Pale Ale (5.1%)
Nothing Gold, Double IPA (8.2%)
Give What you Have, Double Dry-Hopped IPA (7%)
i-Lucky, Ginger IPA (7%)
Four fresh batches of beer getting canned this week, all available for pick up and via home delivery in southern Maine.
Black Bear Brewing
19 Mill St., Orono
The Split & Stacked, Brown Ale (5.5%)
The Split & Stacked is a slightly hoppy, but smooth malty American style brown ale.
Blank Canvas Brewery
46 Betton St., Brewer
Hoppy Ginger
We didn’t get a lot of info on this beer, but we’re told it’s a prototype beer with a 4% ABV that has a bitterness-forward profile with plenty of ginger bite to things keep interesting. Color us intrigued!
Bunker Brewing Co.
17 Westfield St., Unit D, Portland
Terrarium, IPA (6%)
This IPA is brewed with Grüngeist and Cascade in the whirlpool and dry hopped with lots of Grüngeist and Citra!
Flight Deck Brewing
11 Atlantic Ave., Brunswick
BXM Brown, Brown Ale (5%)
A classic English-style ale named for the Brunswick Executive Airport (BXM) and brewed to go down easy with a smooth, nutty, malt-forward flavor. Enjoy BXM on tap at the brewery, or to-go in cans!
Footbridge Brewery
25 Granary Way, Boothbay Harbor
Leaky Barrel, Belgian Quadrupel (10.6%)
This bourbon barrel-aged Belgian Quadrupel has a strong whiskey aroma and a smooth, dry mouthfeel. Start your journey with this beer served at a cool 36 degrees, then gently sip until the optimum temperature of 52 degrees is reached and experience the delicate flavor with gentle notes of vanilla and cordial cherries. Footbridge is now also serving food and open for indoor service.
Geary Brewing Company
38 Evergreen Dr., Portland
Brown Ale, Brown Ale (5.5%)
Chocolate and caramel flavors with enough citrus hop flavor and bite to balance and compliment the malty base. This Brown Ale blends a traditional English style with an American flair. And if you really want to stock up, Geary’s is also having a keg sale!
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
All Is Illusion, Double IPA (7.8%)
This DIPA is brewed exclusively with Citra and Mosaic lupulin powder. Fruity and juicy and available in cans for your drinking pleasure. Also available in cans is Superlumière, a 6% ABV IPA brewed using malted oats with an aggressive amount of Galaxy hops and then a light dusting of Simcoe, Mosaic, and Idaho-7. Double dry hopped with Galaxy, Mosaic, and Idaho-7.
Mason’s Brewing Company
15 Hardy St., Brewer
Bavarian Hefeweizen, Hefeweizen (4%)
This is a true German wheat beer with hints of orange, banana, and clove. It was a recipe years in the making and it’s finally in cans! And the brewers tell us that they are in the midst of gearing up to can their Halloween beer, Ghost Reaper IPA, which is infused with Ghost and Reaper Peppers. Spooky, we mean, spicy!
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
All the Way Up, Sour Ale (4.7%)
All the Way Up is a Sour Ale brewed with raspberries, mangoes and lactose. It marries the enticing flavor of candied tropical fruit with the juicy sweetness and subtle tartness of raspberries. A complex smoothie-like combo, with a light refreshing body and an easygoing 4.8% ABV.
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St., Unit 3, York
SoMe Marzen, Lager (5.9%)
Marzen is back! This Oktoberfest lager is crisp and malty, perfect for a Fall afternoon. Swing by the tasting room for cans to go, with draft coming soon. We also got a hot tip that the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie is coming soon and we’re already salivating.
Stars & Stripes Brewing Company
8 Varney Rd., Freeport
Warriors Blueberry Wheat, Wheat Bear (5.5%)
This Wheat Beer lightly hopped with Warriors hops is back on tap in the tasting room. Forty-two pounds of Maine blueberries were added once fermentation was complete! Hmm, that means a pint counts as a serving of fruit, right?
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, Ste. 102, Biddeford
- Bacchanalia, Maibock (7.8%)
- Greenwarden, Spruce Tip Pale Ale (5.6%)
- Norweald, Classic Stout (6.5%)
- Oktoberfest, Märzenbier (5.4%)
- Thicket, Spruce Tip Barley Wine (10%)
- Wicked Bueno, Mexican-style Lager (4.3%)
Lone Pine Brewing
219 Anderson St., Portland
- Home Team, IPA (4%)
- Nelson Sauvin DDH Oh-J, Imperial IPA (8.1%)
- Chocolate Brittle, Imperial Stout (13%
- Raspberry Sparkler, Sour (4.8%
- Brightside IPA, IPA (7.1%)
Sebago Brewing Company, Tasting Room at the Brewery
616 Main St., Gorham
- Saddleback Ale, Light Ale (3.8%)
- Mode De Peche, Fruited Farmhouse Ale (5.7%)
- Hefeweizen, Bavarian Style Wheat Ale (4.5%)
- Chinook Pale, Single Hopped Pale Ale (5.5%)
- Summer Brown, Brown Ale (4.8%)
- Mixed Emotions, Dry Hopped Mixed Fermentation (7%)
Maine Beer in the News
This week we look at how hard-hit many Maine bars have been by the pandemic, a lawsuit against one of Portland’s flagship breweries, and a rundown of some of the tastiest ways you can get buzzed off apples this fall.
Closing time drags on indefinitely for many Maine bars
Bars with kitchens are operating and have been able to survive by spilling into outside space adjacent to their businesses. The coming cold weather may limit that option.
To lift all ships — Maine’s Rising Tide the latest battleground in beer industry’s fight over labor unions
A former employee of Rising Tide Brewing Company has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the business alleging that his pro-union position led to his firing.
Bar Guide: Have your apple a day, and drink it too
Enjoy the fruit of fall in liquid form.
We hope you enjoyed this edition of 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.
