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!
by Luke on April 18, 2010
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!
In all of his “small town”, on-location speeches around the country, President Obama acknowledges a local businessperson who is thriving in that community. During his trip here to Portland last week, Obama gave a shout out to Bill “Bill the Beer Guy” Milliken, who owns Market House Coffee and Maine Beer & Beverage, both in Portland’s Public Market House. In exchange for plugging Milliken’s business during the speech, Obama told the crowd that he expected some good Maine beers in return.
And that’s precisely what he’s getting. It was announced today that Milliken, in conjunction with Southern Maine’s Nappi Distributors and the Maine Brewers Guild, are sending one GIANT beery care package to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In fact, the guild expects that all 17 of its members will contribute at least a beer to the presidential gift, leaving the white house in good beer supply for quite some time.
“It’s a great moment for Maine and it’s wonderful for Maine beer”,
Says Shipyard Brewing and Maine Brewers Guild spokeswoman Tami Kennedy. Enjoy the beer, Mr. President!
by Luke on March 26, 2010
Registration for the 2010 Trails To Ale 10k road race along the oceanfront here in beautiful Portland, Maine opens 
tomorrow, Saturday March 27th. The Portland Trails race, which is set to take place on Sunday, September 19, 2010, is a full 10k road race along the Eastern Prom trail and around Back Bay, ending at the Portland Company on outer Fore Street in the East End.
But what makes this event both fun and unique — more so than any old road race — is that the course ends at a warehouse full of Portland Pie pizza, Whole Foods Market snacks and lots and lots of Shipyard beer (hence the name, Trails to Ale). Not only have I recently begun to run a bit myself (and am participating in my first 5k this Sunday), but I really enjoy unique events like this one which make great use of beer-as-reward. Oh, and there will also be post-race massages provided AND the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad will provide free train rides from the finish line at East End Beach to the after-party at the Portland Company; pretty freakin’ cool.
Registration for the Portland Trails 2010 Trails to Ale 10k begins online tomorrow morning at 9:00am at active.com/running/portland-me/portland-trails-10k-trail-to-ale-2010, and the first 400 registrants receive a free technical fabric race teeshirt from Mizuno. However, last year the race had more than 1000 runners participate, so be sure and sign up early. All proceeds, I believe, go to help Portland Trails. See you on the race track!
Thanks to a ticket hookup from my friend Ally over at WhereMaineEats.com (under construction), I was able to attend the Maine Bartenders Bash this past Monday night (a helluva way to end a day which began with a 4am trip to Kate Day…). I’m not usually one for vodka but I must admit that nearly all of the cocktails served at the “bash” (more of a cocktail tasting than a bash, I have to admit. Still a very good time but “bash” implies flair, and there wasn’t any) were mighty tasty. One particular drink though really hit home for me, probably needless to say.
Photo by Michael Barriault of PortlandTown
“The Native” from Vignola was created by Scott Doherty and features the White and Black ales of Allagash Brewing Co, blended with a number of spices, boiled and mixed with Maine’s own Cold River Vodka. If you’re feeling adventurous enough to try making it yourself, the recipe is below. I told Scott at the time that I think “The Native” would be fantastic served hot on a cold New England evening. While it didn’t win the overall best cocktail of the evening, it was the best drink at The Bartenders Bash in my book.
The Native:
~1 1/2 oz Cold River Vodka
~6 oz Four Spice Black & White Agave syrup:
Agave Syrup:
1 pint Allagash White
1pint Allagash Black
8 oz water
8 oz Agave Nectar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp whole white peppercorns
1 star anise pod
1/2 tsp whole clove
1/4 piece of ginger
Bring water, cinnamon stick, whole white peppercorns, star anise pod, whole clove, and ginger to a boil. Then add agave nectar and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Cover and refrigerate over night, strain and cover. Bring 1 pint of Allagash White and 1 pint of Allagash Black to a boil. Add 3 tablespoons of agave syrup and 1/2 cup sugar. Return to a boil and reduce liquid by half. Pour agave syrup and vodka into a shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into pilsner glass. Enjoy!
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.