Across the Great Divide
Austin Street Brewing expanded to Fox Street in Portland’s Bayside area over the winter, joining a handful of local craft breweries that have branched out to this part of the peninsula. The original tasting room remains on Riverside, holding down all the original charm of Austin’s roots, while the new location serves as the main brewing operation in a thriving atmosphere with plans for a large outdoor, dog friendly patio. Austin Street brews on a 10-barrel system and now has 160 barrels of fermentation space. With the expansion, a number of new beers are available including Walcutt, an English-style brown ale with smoked malt, and Short Story Long (9.2%), an imperial stout brewed with cacao and vanilla beans. Succinct, a black lager schwarzbier, will be the first beer to go into the brewery’s new lager tank.
Built for Snowy Weather
When Geary Brewing introduced Hampshire Special Ale (7.0%) back in 1989, the beer was well ahead of its time. The full-bodied beer, brewed with English barley malt, domestic hops and Ringwood yeast, was available only seasonally with the top of the bottle wrapped in gold foil. It was one of the most flavorful beers in the local market, with an unusually high in ABV for its time. Thankfully, this beer paved the way for many others, and these days Hampshire Special Ale HSA is available year round, but best enjoyed in these mid-winter days.
While Geary’s stays true to its roots and its traditional English ales, it never stops surprising and innovating with new beers such as Windhold IPA (6.8%, introduced in the lineup at the beginning of winter), a dry-hopped IPA hopped with Cascade, Bravo, Mosaic and Centennial hops.
Breakfast of Champions
The Anderson Street location of Lone Pine Brewing now has upwards of 14 draft lines. The lineup changes often and is known to include Single Hop Series beers such as Citra Onesie (6.5%), and one-offs like Stereogram, a low alcohol, sessionable IPA brewed with oats and 100% post-boil hops.
Samara Brown (7.5%), was also recently released, made with organic and locally roasted coffee and Maine-made maple syrup. The fourth Sunday in March, marks the return of Maple Sunday. This beer is released once a year to celebrate Maine Maple Sunday and is created to emulate pancake breakfasts and a revere of breakfast beer.
If It’s Not Scottish, It’s …
Divorce Dollar Porter (6.5%), Amber Pale Ale, All Maine Ale and Wee Heavy Scottish Ale (7.0%) are the seasonal beers GFB Scottish Pub serves in Old Orchard Beach. Cherry Wheat Ale is a new beer that joins the list, released in February.
Gov’t Shutdown
Starting days before Christmas, the partial government shutdown dragged on and on, suspending operations at the federally run Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Not only were breweries forced to delay the release of new beers, new licensing paperwork was also held up. Case in point, York’s SoMe Brewing anticipated second location slated for Short Sands Beach took a back seat, and sister brewery York Beach Beer Co.’s opening was further delayed. Looking on the bright side, York Beach Beer will be up and running for summer, and the delay allows for Dave Rowland to keep efforts fully focused on SoMe.
In February, a tribute beer was brewed with The Black Ale Project, an initiative championed by Dave Pappas, raising funds for U.S. Veterans. 3 Days and a Wake Up is an oatmeal milk stout with bourbon barrel-aged coffee beans.
This isn’t the first time Dave Rowland Sr. and David Rowland Jr. were impacted by a government dispute; the 16 day shutdown delayed the opening of SoMe back in 2013.
GIBCMSC Winner
Congratulations go out to Bethel’s Sunday River Brewing. Rapid River Wheat took first place in the American Wheat Ale category at the Great International Beer, Cider, Mead & Sake Competition in Connecticut. Over 700 beers, ciders, meads and sakes in over 50 different categories were entered into the competition.
Holding Down its Second Year
Touching the Canadian border in northern Maine town Fort Kent, First Mile Brewing announced the addition of new head brewer Ezra Duplisse-Cyr.
“We’re very excited to have our new brewer on board, and he’s doing quite well adjusting to his new brewing role,” said co-owner Travis Guy.
During the winter months, First Mile re-releases its annual Big Tap Maple Ale, made with local maple syrup from one of its co-owners’ maple syrup business, which coincides with Maine’s annual Maple season.
“It was very sought after last year,” Travis said, “and we look forward to bringing it back for 2019.”
Can Too
Atlantic Brewing saw to its first ever can release. Applewood-smoked Something Dark Stout and double-dry-hopped Mountain Hopper IPA, hopped with Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic hops, rolled off the canning line at the end of 2018. Both were never before released beers whose recipes were formulated at pilot brewery and taproom, Atlantic Brewing Midtown.
Grumpalicious
Norway Brewing steeps over ten pounds of Coffee by Design coffee for Grumpalumpagas (9.5%), an imperial oatmeal stout brewed with Blue Ox pale malt and Maine Grains flaked oats before aging in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels for six months. Some 750-ml bottles typically stick around throughout the winter.
Small Batch Beers
Gritty McDuff’s Portland’s pub seasonal small batch beers include Holy Donut Chocolate Porter, made with ten pounds of chocolate donuts from Holy Donuts, and Fat Slice DIPA (8.0%), a top-fermented, wheat-free and vegan beer.
In Auburn, and in honor of the city’s 150th anniversary, Gritty brews Auburn 1869, an American pale ale with locally sourced malts from Blue Ox Malt House in Lisbon Falls, and hops grown at Aroostook Hops Farm up in Aroostook County.
Now Serving
As Yarmouth’s Brickyard Hollow continues to search for a new head brewer, brewing operations have continued thanks to some help from Sebago Brewing’s brewing team. Aside from the usual IPA suspects — IPA 1 (8.0%), IPA 2 (8.2%) and IPA 3 (6.8%) — which are available in cans throughout southern Maine, beers Black Ale (6.7%) and Bière de Garde (6.7%) are available at the brewery.