Yankee Brew News Archive

What's Brewing: Maine/New Hampshire

Originally Published: 06/96

By: Mark E. Hall

Living in Maine, and in Portland, I have a choice of six breweries/brewpubs to fill my time in the quest for good tasting beers. In addition to my locals, there are many other state beers on tap at the various bars in town. Originally from Keene, New Hampshire, I go home a lot and now find myself spending time visiting the various breweries on the way to my final destination of Keene, home to the recently opened Elm City Brewpub.

Depending on my time frame and route I decide to take, I have the opportunity to stop and visit no less than 14 breweries/brewpubs. Two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to visit a fraction of these as they didn't exist. In the "olden" days, I used to have to drive a couple of hours to find a certain brewpub or particular product. Now I have the ability to knock off a greater amount in a shorter period of time. If this keeps up, it will take me a week to get home!

There are more breweries popping up in Maine & New Hampshire all the time bringing with it more competition for the consumer dollar. Although this is a fact of life, many breweries are continuously expanding. With the addition of bottling, new brewing equipment, and new products, I'm sure the big boys are really starting to feel the heat.

Maine

The winds of change continue in Maine with the addition of new breweries on a seemingly monthly basis. Beginning with the opening of Sea Dog's second brewpub in Bangor in March of 1995, there has been a 33% increase in the number of breweries since last March. It may be more as I'm still waiting to hear the latest plans of Hedgehog (Portland/Skowhegan?), Berwick Brewing (Berwick), and Narrow Gauge Brewing (Farmington).

Additionally, many brewers are beginning to expand to meet an ever increasing demand. Not only with more equipment, but with the addition of bottles to their various distribution channels. In addition to having their beers available at bars via keg, you can now find many Maine bottled beers at supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the state.

Beginning in Portland, now home to six breweries, there's always plenty of news. Recently, I had the chance to speak with Rob Tod, owner/brewer of the Allagash Brewery. He told me he'd just purchased a "little" bottling line and is planning on bottling both his Allagash White and Double in 12 ounce bottles. His capacity will be about 200-300 cases per day. By the time you read this, his bottled beer should be available throughout the state.

Across the street from Allagash, Casco Bay Brewing is expanding and has upped their capacity by two-thirds from 6,000 to 10,000 barrels yearly, and will be adding a fifth year round product in June. In addition to their Katahdin Gold, Red, Stout, and Spiced beers, Katahdin will now be brewing Katahdin Pale Ale. According to co-owner and head brewer Mike LaCharite, the pale ale will be a hoppy "West Coast style" beer in the mold of Sierra Nevada. Through the use of his own yeast, closed fermentation, and Cascade hops, it will have a "clean and hoppy" taste. Look for the blue label on 12 ounce six-packs, 22 ounce singles, and on draft. Katahdin beers are currently available in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and four Midwest states.

"Down the road"(all three are within a five minute walk), D.L. Geary Brewing is in the middle of a big expansion. They are in the finishing stages of adding a 6500 square foot handling warehouse due to be completed in May. All non-essential brewing equipment will be stored in the warehouse, making room available for more brewing equipment. David Geary said he will be adding three 120 barrel bottling tanks and three 120 barrel conditioning tanks to the now available cellar space, plus three 120 barrel fermenters to the fermenting room. Look for some big news from Geary in the next issue.

More bottling news as Gritty's McDuff's head brewer/co-owner Ed Stebbins said his Summer Wheat will soon be available in 22 ounce bottles. In addition to their bottle-conditioned Black Fly Stout (22 ounce), Christmas Ale (22 ounce), Best Bitter and Best Brown (both 12 ounce), Gritty's will now have five of their beers available in bottle.

Gritty's "Brewtique," originally located downstairs next to the brewery, has moved to larger quarters and is now next door to the brew pub on Fore Street in Portland. In addition to their own products, the brewtique will now be selling other Maine brewers' beer and apparel. You can also pick up raw products(malt and hops) and other homebrewing equipment. Gritty's beers are currently sold in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. They are looking forward to adding Connecticut and New Hampshire by the end of the year.

Alan Pugsley of Shipyard Brewing Company notified me they are in the middle of a $2 million expansion. With the addition of a new brewhouse and conditioning tanks, Shipyard's new 100 barrel system will increase their yearly output in Portland twofold from 54,000 to 100,000 barrels. Additionally, their new kegging line should be in operation by June and a new bottling line should be ready to go by August 1st. This will triple their current bottled output.

In other Shipyard news, they will soon be announcing a new addition (the 11th) to their product line, as Shipyard Sirius Summer Wheat is expected to debut in July. Keeping with their nautical theme, the new Summer Wheat entry was named after the guiding star Sirius. It will be available in both 12 ounce bottles and kegs. This comes directly on the heels of Longfellow Ale, which hit the draft market in late March.

About 35 miles North in Naples, Owner Michael Bray of Bray's Brewpub has added a third beer to his list of unfiltered beers. His "English Style" Pleasant Mountain Porter checks in at 5.5% ABV and is composed of a myriad of malts. In addition to 2-row malt, there is approximately 15% dark malt, 5% chocolate malt, plus caramel malt, black patent malt, and a "wee bit" of wheat malt. He finishes with Centennial and Cascade hops.

In addition to the Porter, you can also sample Brandy Pond Blond, and Old Church Pale Ale. The Pale Ale is named after the Old Church Tavern which occupied the same site from 1780-1820. After that, the site was rumored to be a temperance hotel. Mike said business is good at the brewpub/restaurant which opened last August 21st. He began serving his own beers on December 22nd of last year.

Just outside the state capital, Stephan Gorrill of Sheepscot Valley Brewing in Whitefield is keeping busy with his laundry list of beers. His latest offering, Lucifer's Hammer, is a 9% ABV Belgian special ale. Currently on draft at The Great Lost Bear and Three Dollar Dewey's in Portland, Gorrill uses two different types of yeast to produce a strong brew with a banana-like aroma from the yeast. Beginning at 1.085 O.G., the first yeast is a Belgian yeast that brings the gravity down to 1.030. After adding a white beer yeast, the gravity is brought down further to a more "manageable" 1.012.

In addition to Lucifer's Hammer, his creations include Mad Goose Belgian Ale, White Rabbit Wheat, Headhunter Belgian Special, Grandma's Magic Potion Belgian Strong Ale, Moondance Bavarian Weiss, Royal Scot Scotch Wee Heavy, and Highlander Scottish Ale, which is projected to be his 1996 winter beer. He's also produced three specials for the Morganfield's blues restaurant/club of Portland: Delta Dark Lager (Munich style), Beal Street Porter (named after a street in Memphis known for its blues clubs), and Muddy Waters I.P.A. He plans to make his Mad Goose and White Rabbit Wheat available in mini-kegs beginning this summer.

Working my way up the coast, Andy Hazen of Andrew's Brewing in Lincolnville is adding an additional six barrel fermenter, bringing his total to four. He said that due to demand he could have added more, but would rather go slow to ensure the quality of his beer. He is looking to bottle in the near future and is currently raising the capital needed for the bottling line.

In Bar Harbor, owner Roger Normand of Atlantic Brewing is recovering nicely from open heart surgery and reported the brewery has added three new conditioning tanks as well as two new seven-barrel fermenters. Additionally, their Blueberry Ale which was originally available in 22 ounce bottles is now available in both 22 ounce and 12 ounce bottles. They are using the same bottling line that produced their Bar Harbor Real Ale.

Sea Dog Brewing and Pete Camplin, Sr. continue to add to their trophy case, as they garnered two Silver medals for their Old East Coast India Pale Ale and Old Gollywobbler Brown at the recent World Beer Championships in Chicago.

Additionally, their long awaited Hazelnut Porter will soon make its way via keg to the Portland market. It should be available in bottles sometime this fall.

On the expansion front, they have recently increased their capacity at Bangor by 50%, going from an output of 20,000 to 30,000 barrels per year. They've also put in a proposal to the city of Bangor to acquire the historical Waterworks Building. This would be a substantial move as this would be turned into a full production brewery.

In addition to New England, Sea Dog beers are now available in twenty states stretching from the Midwest down the eastern seaboard.

In black bear country, Bear Brewing of Orono now has seven house beers available on tap. Owner Milos Blagojevic has been pouring Peach Blonde and Raspberry Blonde (both wheat beers) in addition to his other standards, which include Winter Porter, Midnight Stout, I'll Be Darned Amber, Great Works Blonde, and last but not least, Honey Bear Brown. Milos said head brewer Shane McCarthy uses 30 pounds of real Maine honey per batch.

New Hampshire

The big story in New Hampshire is news of two more brewpubs.

The town of New London, located in New Hampshire's Lake Sunapee region, will be home to The Flying Goose Brewpub at the Four Corners Bar & Grill. The name of the brewpub comes from the word "Sunapee" which is Indian for flying goose. The proposed seven-barrel brewpub is hoping to be open in early July. Brewer Scott Brown from Ipswich Brewing in Massachusetts is consulting on all brewing aspects.

Castle Springs Brewing Company, located on the site of Castle Springs Bottled Water Company in Moultonborough (Route. 25, about 25 miles northeast off Route 93 North) is slated to open sometime in late spring/early summer. The present bottled water company is located at "Castle in the Clouds," which is a mansion on top of a hill that has horseback riding and other activities for visitors. Details are sketchy, but word has it that Richard Young will be the head brewer. I'll have more details in the next issue.

The Italian Oasis Restaurant and Brewery in Littleton is moving right along as they now have three of their own naturally carbonated/unfiltered beers on draft. The state's smallest brewery (with only a two-barrel system) offers Oasis Pale Ale, Cannon Amber, and Black Bear Stout. Head brewer/co-owner John Morello, who trained at the Cheval Blanc Brewery in Montreal, told me his Bee Sting Wheat will be available late this Spring. He is using 15 pounds of honey per batch and will "hop the heck out of it". Something worth trying!

Their full scale Italian restaurant will open a sixty seat patio this summer overlooking Main Street in "downtown" Littleton.

Brewer J.B. Smith of Stark Mill Brewery of Manchester have increased production by 80% and have upped capacity to 1,800 barrels. To meet the demand, they've added three 15-barrel fermenters and bright beer tanks. With the recent addition of a Little Prinz bottling system, their General Stark Dark, Tasha's Red Ale, and Mt. Uncanoonuk Light Cream Ale are now available in 22 ounce bottles. For those of you trying to figure out where Mt. Uncanoonuk came from, it is a mountain located west of Manchester with twin peaks, and means "maiden's breast". Interesting to say the least.

Stark Mill has five taps plus one seasonal on at all times and project their Joe English IPA as their late spring seasonal.

Recently opened Elm City Brewing Company (see review elsewhere in this issue) of Keene will now be making gallon growlers available at their brewpub. Head brewer and co-owner Tony Poanessa added they will have an outdoor patio ready in time for the summer. They are currently pouring six of their products on tap, but are finding it hard to keep up with demand.