{"id":16206,"date":"2019-05-02T09:51:18","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T13:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=16206"},"modified":"2020-05-01T11:17:40","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T15:17:40","slug":"summer-suds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/summer-suds\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Suds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"issuuembed\" style=\"width: 525px; height: 341px;\" data-configid=\"37604829\/69532817\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/e.issuu.com\/embed.js\" async=\"true\"><\/script><br \/>\nMay 2019 | view full story as a .pdf<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Brand new <b>brews<\/b>, <b>tasting rooms<\/b>, and returns\u2026<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><b>What\u2019s on tap<\/b> for Maine\u2019s <b>favorite season<\/b>?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>By Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16188\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16188\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16188\" src=\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/After-Dark-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Lone Pine drafts are pouring at their new Gorham tasting room.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/After-Dark-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/After-Dark-200x134.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/After-Dark.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16188\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lone Pine drafts are pouring at their new Gorham tasting room.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you\u2019re like me, you follow craft beer as closely as you follow <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>. It\u2019s fun to see dragons, but as soon as someone brings up So-and-so Stark you\u2019re tapped out. But if you\u2019re the only person still bringing up Robb at the barbecue when everyone\u2019s talking Sansa, well\u2026you get the idea. (Spoiler: Robb Stark\u2019s dead.) <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The same goes for Maine\u2019s game of beers. To prep for the season, I put down the stout and stopped by a few breweries to get a taste of what\u2019s new. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Paved With Hops<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Portland\u2019s Industrial Way is in high gear preparing for the influx of thirsty seekers making their summer pilgrimage to the beer mecca. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The first stop is <a href=\"http:\/\/foundationbrew.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Foundation Brewing<\/strong><\/a>, where John Bonney and his team\u2013wife Tina and partners Joel and Christie Mahaffey\u2013have concocted two brand new summer quenchers: <strong>The Weekender<\/strong> and <strong>Mango\u2019s My Jam<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cMango\u2019s My Jam is the newest of our fruit beers\u2014we\u2019ve done raspberry, peach, and, guava\u2014mango\u2019s just been released,\u201d Bonney says as he carries out the samples, each varying in opacity. The first sip shocks with a lip pucker, but I easily find the mango and smile. \u201cThat\u2019s a bit sour, huh?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"> \u201cWe\u2019ll actually pre-sour the beer before we ferment it. We use lactobacillus, which is in yogurt, and that gives it a crisp, bright, almost lemony tartness. Then we ferment it out, and you can add fruit at different points. We typically add fruit during fermentation, and in this case, it was a bunch of mango.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">A<\/span><span class=\"s1\">s it\u2019s just 5.3% ABV, I wouldn\u2019t hesitate to have a second on a July afternoon. While some sour beers can land heavily in my stomach, this one feels light, and Bonney promises variations through the summer. \u201cWe\u2019re actually going to do a fruit-punch version, so think of Hi-C. It\u2019s going to be a blend of cherries, cranberries, peaches, and tangerine. It\u2019ll come out in May.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Steps away, at 100 Industrial Way, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allagash.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Allagash Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a> is launching their newest farmhouse ale, <strong>Darling Ruby<\/strong>. Taking me to the VIP tasting room, Brett Willis, marketing specialist, steps behind a small bar and cracks open a refrigerator. \u201cThis is a fun one when you\u2019re talking about personal flavor, and it\u2019s one of our new beers that just came off the pilot system,\u201d Willis says. It\u2019s the brainchild of industry specialist Lindsay Bohanske. \u201cIt\u2019s a farmhouse-style ale with grapefruit juice and zest. The biggest task was juicing and getting the zest from two thousand pounds of grapefruit. Totally manual. You\u2019re not gonna get a huge, \u2018Woah! That\u2019s grapefruit juice!\u2019 It\u2019s fruity, but it\u2019s not necessarily grapefruit. Basically, we add the grapefruit before fermentation. It\u2019s food for the yeast.\u201d \u201cI love how light and citrusy grisettes are, while still having a ton of flavor,\u201d Bohanske says. \u201cI felt like the grapefruit juice and zest would be perfect to tie in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s nice, it\u2019s easy to drink, but Willis is right\u2014it\u2019s not shocking me with a grapefruit flavor. \u201cCould you actually taste the difference in the beers when you first started?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">He laughs. \u201cI think there was an element of \u2018similar-tastingness.\u2019 We do Belgian-style beers, so there are definitely similarities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Launched in 1995, Allagash is a chief in the Maine brewing world. Founder Rob Tod is looked at by many greener brewers as something of a King of the North, a guide for the industry. \u201cOur grain comes out of Wisconsin, but we do a lot of local grain,\u201d Willis says. \u201cRob just made it an initiative in 2017. He said, \u2018We\u2019re going to buy a million pounds of local grain per year by 2021.\u2019 We were up to 18,000 pounds per year of local grain in 2017. I think we used like 235,000 last year, and we\u2019re set to use 600,000 this year.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">At <a href=\"https:\/\/batsonriver.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Batson River Brewing and Distilling<\/strong><\/a>, they have local covered. The Kennebunk brewery grows its own hops just down the road on a Kennebunkport farm. The team aims to \u201ccapture the joy of sweet New England summers\u201d with its brews, so on the edge of their first summer in business, head distiller Matt Dyer and head brewer Wade Ritchey chat with me over an Estate Pale at their tasting room overlooking Western Avenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIt\u2019s made with 100-percent Maine-grown ingredients. We work with Maine Malt House and Buck Farms for our base malt in this beer. Then we used the hops that Matt started around four years ago and add a little Maine honey,\u201d Ritchey says. \u201cIt\u2019s a good summer drinking beer. It\u2019s a lower ABV; it\u2019s soft and refreshing. It\u2019s floral but not overwhelming. That\u2019s generally how I want our beers to drink.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Good Time Guys<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p2\">You may not see a new summer brew from <a href=\"http:\/\/lonepinebrewery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Lone Pine<\/strong><\/a> this season, but their brand-new tasting room in Gorham makes up for it. When you\u2019ve just opened your second location and have been named the fifth fastest-growing brewery in the country by the Brewers Association, you might be a little preoccupied. In between an inspection and electrical fixes, owners John Paul and Tom Madden sit down to talk shop and hops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">With the crisp crack of a can, I find myself drinking \u201cprobably the freshest <strong>Oh-J <\/strong>anyone\u2019s had\u201d\u2014pulled off the line that day. \u201cThis is a double IPA,\u201d Madden, head brewer, says. \u201cThere were a lot of ingredients we had that, through experiments, tasted like orange juice\u2014coming from the yeast we\u2019re using and the esters. We wanted to recreate a mimosa. Vic secret and citrus hops give you that orange pith sensation, and the yeast we use gives you that creaminess.\u201d Big reveal (for me, anyhow): \u201cNo fruit is used. There\u2019s no orange in it at all. It\u2019s all through water, hops, and yeast. It\u2019s made to mimic orange flavor. That was the challenge. Can we use the natural brewing ingredients to create that impression?\u201d Success! <\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Farm To Washington<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">A<\/span><span class=\"s1\">t <a href=\"https:\/\/oxbowbeer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Oxbow Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a>, brewer Mike Fava says their Grizacca \u201chas a low enough ABV and is light enough, dry enough\u201d for more than one round. \u201cIt has a slight limey flavor to it, so its bright notes go well with summer. Not to get into calorie stuff, but it\u2019s swimming around 100 calories per serving. I like to drink beer. I like to have a few, and this is one you can have a few and still be active.\u201d This is the first summer that it\u2019s being offered in cans, making it perfect for your first beach visit this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThis is a 5% ABV. Grisettes are traditionally a wheat farmhouse ale,\u201d says Rebecca Thomas, events manager. \u201cWith this beer, in particular, we use Belgian wheat but then also Maine-grown spelt, which is a wheat varietal\u2014an ancient grain. We brew this beer with that wheat and the spelt that comes from Aroostook County. The hops we use are called Azacca hops, which come from the Pacific Northwest. So the name \u201cGrizacca\u201d comes from the grisette and the Azacca together.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Hot Child In The City<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">At just two years old, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodfirebrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Goodfire Brewing<\/strong><\/a> is a brew baby among giants like Shipyard, Allagash, and Geary\u2019s. As the team says, \u201cAll of our beers are pretty new,\u201d but their provocative \u201cTheir, There, They\u2019re,\u201d a pilsner, will be canned for the first time this month. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cTheir, There, They\u2019re is a four-percent pilsner,\u201d says head brewer Gordon Jones before he goes into details. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">I sip my beer. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThat\u2019s pretty low for a pilsner. It\u2019s a style, and it\u2019s also brewed with spelt, so it\u2019s a dinklepils.\u201d Dinklepils? \u201cPretty much is what it sounds like.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Still lost. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Jones, 27, was brought onboard by Goodfire\u2019s owner David Redding. It\u2019s clear he\u2019s a team asset, but getting the specifics of a beer can send him on quite the tangent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got a grammar lesson in that branding, a graphic design lesson in \u2018CMYK,\u2019 and a math lesson in \u2018Prime and Super Prime,\u2019 says Dylan Ettlinger, distribution manager. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Mom, I drank my homework.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe\u2019re a little nerdy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Beer geeks they are, but they\u2019re the cool kids on Anderson Street this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p3\">What&#8217;s On Tap in Breweries Across Maine?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allagash.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Allagash Brewing Company:<\/a><\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Darling Ruby<\/em>, Farmhouse-style Ale, Saison, 4.5% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>River Trip<\/em>, Belgian-style Session Ale, 4.8% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinstreetbrewery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Austin Street Brewery:<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s1\"><em>Pactolian Pils<\/em>, German Pilsner, 5.0% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.batterysteele.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Battery Steele:<\/a><\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Endless Ride<\/em> (rotating series), blueberry\/lemon Kettle Sour, 3.9% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baxterbrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Baxter Brewing Co.:<\/a><\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Gopher It <\/em>(June), Triple IPA, 8.8% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Prost Secco<\/em>, Kettle Sour brewed with Champagne, peaches, and pears,<br \/>\n5.3% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Summer Swelter<\/em>, Citrus Ale, 4.7% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/foundationbrew.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Foundation:<\/a><\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Mango\u2019s My Jam<\/em>, sour fruit beer, 5.3% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>The Weekender<\/em>, sessionable IPA, 3.8% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.funkybowbeercompany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Funky Bow Brewery:<\/a><\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Cover Charge<\/em>, IPA, 7.5%, Mid-May<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>High on the Hog<\/em> (collaboration with Buck\u2019s Naked BBQ, available at both locations), Pale Ale, Mosaic and Citra hops, 5.5% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Percussion Mango<\/em> (available in June), IPA, Galaxy hops, 7% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>OTTOTune<\/em> (available in June at OTTO locations and select stores), Kolsch, 6% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodfirebrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Goodfire:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Their, There, They\u2019re<\/em>, Pilsner, 4.2% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grittys.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gritty\u2019s:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Meddybemps Blueberry Ale<\/em>, small batch brew, 5% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Vacationland<\/em>, Golden Ale, 4.8% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.northernoutdoors.com\/kennebec-river-brewery\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kennebec River Brewery:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Northern Light<\/em><i>,<\/i> Blonde Ale, 4.5% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/oxbowbeer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Oxbow:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Grizzacca<\/em> (now available in cans), dry-hopped Farmhouse Ale, 5% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/lonepinebrewery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lone Pine:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Oh-J<\/em>, Double IPA, 8.2% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Raspberry Sparkler<\/em>, American Sour Ale, 4.8% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/liquidriot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Liquid Riot:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Vinlandic<\/em>, Norwegian-inspired Barrel-Aged Ale, 8% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Herbie<\/em> (May 21), Dry-Hopped Session Ale,<br \/>\n4.3% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Nama<\/em> (May 28), Japanese-inspired Lager, 5.3% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainebeercompany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Maine Beer Company:<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s1\"><em>Post Ride Snack<\/em>, Session IPA,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>4.9%<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/mastlandingbrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mast Landing:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Little Choppy<\/em> (end of May), Hoppy Session Ale, 4.3% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/risingtidebrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rising Tide:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Maine Island Trail Ale<\/em> (MITA), Hoppy Session Ale, Pale Ale, 4.3% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sebagobrewing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sebago Brewing Co.:<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Hop Swap IPA<\/em>, ever-changing hop varieties, 7.2% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Bog So Hard <\/em>(June), Sour Ale aged in Pinot Noir, and gin barrels on Maine cranberries, 7.1% ABV<br \/>\n<\/span><span class=\"s1\"><em>Yellow On Friday<\/em>, classic Pilsner, 5.4% ABV<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s on tap for Maine\u2019s favorite season?<br \/>\nBy Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[324,371,282,141,370,127,142,369,323,322],"class_list":["post-16206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-after-dark","tag-beer","tag-breweries","tag-brewery","tag-craft-beer","tag-maine","tag-maine-beer","tag-night-life","tag-portland-magazine","tag-portland-monthly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16206"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18588,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206\/revisions\/18588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}