Just a quick update for all you Maine readers out there: while you’re all patiently waiting for the arrival of Baxter Brewing Co. beers this fall, you’ll have some new out-of-state beery arrivals to help tide you over. Three breweries from across the country have started to distribute their beers in the state of Maine this month and their arrivals are absolutely welcome ones!
First, a the first of May heralded the long-awaited arrival of Southern Tier Brewing Co. Southern Tier (out of Lakewood, NY) began distributing four of their beers, I believe, across southern Maine a few weeks ago, including their Unearthly Double IPA – a personal favorite beer of mine. I just hope that if these four are successful, they’ll ship their Jah*va Coffee and Imperial Oatmeal stouts as well. Southern Tier is being distributed by Central Distributors in Lewiston.
Next, on May 10th, Morrisville, VT’s Rock Art Brewing Co. announced via their Facebook Fan Page that they were about to begin shipping beer to Maine via Portland-based distributor Mariner Beverage. I’m not sure how many Rock Art varieties have arrived, but according to one Facebook comment, at least the Vermonster and a Belvidere Big IPA are now available at RSVP in here in Portland. You may remember the Rock Art name from the little legal battle they had with beverage giant Monster Energy Drinks in October of 2009.
Lastly, I just discovered this one this morning: New Orleans’ Abita Brewing Co. (which is actually located in Abita Springs, Louisiana, 30 miles north of New Orleans) have sneaked their way into the state. While I haven’t yet seen their beer on any store shelves and Maine isn’t listed on the “beer finder” page of their website yet, according to the below screenshot of an official Abita Tweet, it certainly looks like their beers should be in state by now.
This is all very exciting news as Maine finally begins to catch up with the rest of the country as far as beer availability and diversity. The summer beer drinking is definitely looking up!
A few BlogAboutBeer.com readers probably already know the news I’m about the share but I’m pretty sure that most do not. What I am about to write has been a non-stop, full-time eleven months in the making (and many years in a dream): I am opening my own brewery.
Baxter Brewing Co. will be the first brewery north of Connecticut to can its entire line of beer. Located in the historic Bates Mill in Lewiston, Maine, Baxter beers will be distributed throughout the state of Maine beginning in September 2010 and across northern New England in 2011.
What’s With the Flying Moose?
The creature in our logo is Pamola, an Abenaki and Penobscot legend of a spirit which is said to be the god of Thunder, the cause of cold weather and protector of Mt Katahdin, the tallest peak in the state of Maine. The Indians described him as having the head of a moose, the body of a man and the wings and talons of an eagle. Pamola was both feared and respected by the tribes who believed in him.
Personally, I will be handling the marketing, sales and administration side of the company and have hired local Brewmaster Michael LaCharite – who founded Casco Bay Brewing Co. in the mid 1990s – to run the brewing side of the business. You can expect to see cans of our flagship Stowaway IPA across the state of Maine beginning around Labor Day. Our brewery itself will feature a nearly-new, state-of-the-art 30 barrel brewing system, manufactured by Newlands Systems Inc (NSI) and an automatic canning line capable of filling thirty cans a minute from Cask Brewing Systems Inc.
What Happens to BlogAboutBeer.com?
What does this mean for the future of BlogAboutBeer.com? Well, undoubtedly I won’t have the time any more necessary to devote to the blog (clearly, since it’s been nearly a week since my last update and posts are getting much less frequent as my schedule gets busier). And it would be unfair to all of you if I were to either turn this blog into an entirely Baxter-centric blog (I will have one of those I’m sure, but it will run as part of BaxterBrewing.com), or abandon it all together (the last thing I want to happen). I do plan to list the site for sale on Flippa and would hope for it to get what it’s worth, but more importantly, I hope that whatever hands it ends up in continue to develop the site, its content and its culture in the same vein I have been doing for the past 2+ years. So if you have an idea for the site, or are interested in purchasing it or taking it over, please get in touch with me.
So in Conclusion…
As for Baxter, I’m sure there will be questions from the crowd, so I’ll leave it at that. But please fire away (maybe they will require a couple of follow-up posts). And check out www.baxterbrewing.com and follow us on Twitter @BaxterBrewing.
Most importantly, I want to thank you all so much for all of the support you have shown BlogAboutBeer.com since its inception in August of 2007. Thousands and thousands of people have visited the site, have commented on posts, emailed me, introduced themselves, written guest posts, sent me beer and schwag, invited me into their events and into their homes and bars and without the site and without all of you, I certainly wouldn’t love craft beer nearly as much as I do and I damn sure wouldn’t be starting a brewery. So I thank you all from the bottom of my heart (and my glass) and please keep reading and keep in touch! Cheers!
Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the beer which had for a couple of weeks been the most alcoholic beer in the world — before German brewer Schorschbrau released a 40% ABV beer called Schorschbock and BrewDog fired back with their Sink the Bismarck!, which checks in at 41% ABV and a highly-alcoholic and somewhat pointless cock fight ensued — is now making its away across the pond for limited release across the U.S.ofA (Mainers, I know that Central Distributors in Lewiston got a few cases but I don’t know where they’ll end up). A move which only makes sense in the eyes of the folks at BrewDog, since about half of the bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin which have been sold or traded online (through either the BrewDog website or eBay) have gone to the United States.
Because of the painstaking process involved with producing such a strong drink, an 11.2-oz. bottle of Sink the Bismarck! costs some $60, minus shipping. [While] Tactical Nuclear Penguin costs about $53 a bottle, and can also be ordered online.
For those concerned that the high levels of Alcohol in T.N.P. will lead to chugging and binge drinking (despite the bottle’s ungodly price tag), a warning label on the Tactical Nuclear Penguin bottle does state, “This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whiskey, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.”
For more on Tactical Nuclear Penguin, including an explanation of the (admittedly very cool) way in which the beer was made, check out this promotional video from BrewDog (warning! The video does include simulated penguin sex and a naked Scot… you’ve been warned):
Tickets went on sale yesterday for the 3rd annual American Craft Beer Festival. Sponsored by BeerAdvocate and Harpoon Brewery, the American Craft Beer Fest features over 325 craft beers from over 80 American brewers. The festival is held at the Seaport World Trader Center on the waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The ACBF is the largest annual craft beer festival on the east coast.
This year’s event will take place over two days, June 18th and 19th; tickets are $40 a piece (plus service charges) and unlike many beer festivals — including all those here in Maine — include unlimited 2 ounce pours (no drink tickets required). Be sure and get your tickets early, however, as all sessions of the ACBF will undoubtedly sell out. For more information, visit beeradvocate.com/acbf/
That’s the question. Apparently there’s a big hullabaloo about it in Twins Nation (thanks to Beernews.org for bringing it to my attention). Target Field, the will-be new home of the Minnesota Twins organization will be selling cans of Surly Brewing Co. beers at games for a whopping $10 a pop. I guess the high price point (which I assume is decided upon by the Twins organization and not necessarily Surly themselves) is causing some major drama among the Surly faithful. There’s even a poll (with lengthly follow-up comments) on the Surly Facebook Fan Page. But is it too much?
You sort of have to put it into context. While I’m not familiar with Twins games, I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Fenway Park in Boston where a cup of Coors Light is $8. If I was willing to spend that much to drink crappy beer at a ballgame — I’m not — I would happily fork over an additional $2 to drink something better. However, I have to wonder how many craft beer fans really go to major league games. And of them, are there enough willing to spend $10 to make selling Surly cans worth the Twins’ while?
I do know that the Portland Sea Dogs (the AA affiliate of the Red Sox who play their home games here in Portland) feature a “microbrew tent” at every game with many of the local craft brews, including Shipyard, Gritty’s, etc. The cups of those beers go for a reasonable $6 (I believe); only a dollar more than Bud. And the line for the “Microbrew Tent” is always 20 people deep at every game. I would venture to bet that the Sea Dogs sell more $6 Shipyards at a home game (note that there are not more than 7,000ish people at every game, max. Most of whom are under 21) than the Twins will sell $10 Surly cans.
The problem with offering beer at a venue like a ballpark is that the venue can get away with price gouging which, in turn, can hurt the brand.
By the looks of the comments on the Facebook page, Surly fans are pretty, well, surly over the price point. What do you think? Would you pay $10 for a good (and believe me, if you haven’t had anything from Surly, it’s pretty damn good) beer at a ballgame? Worth it? And how much is too much?
German brewer Schorschbrau released a 40% ABV beer called Schorschbock and BrewDog fired back with their Sink the Bismarck!, which checks in at 41% ABV and a highly-alcoholic and somewhat pointless cock fight ensued — is now making its away across the pond for limited release across the U.S.ofA (Mainers, I know that Central Distributors in Lewiston got a few cases but I don’t know where they’ll end up). A move which only makes sense in the eyes of the folks at BrewDog, since about half of the bottles of Tactical Nuclear Penguin which have been sold or traded online (through either the BrewDog website or eBay) have gone to the United States.
Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic.