For their new episode Great Beer Adventure interviewed Vena’s co-owner Steve Corman on his personal journey to be becoming a bartender and about beer cocktails.
As we explore beer cocktails, we learn (yet again) that we should be willing to take more risks in our beer drinking. Steve Corman of Vena’s Fizz House joins us to teach us a thing or two about adding booze to our beer. (Really it’s all about the bitters.)
Bissell Brothers is releasing a new beer call Nothing Gold this Saturday at noon. It’s made with Amarillo, Citra and Equinox hops. There are 300 cases in total in the production run.
The Press Herald has published a report on Foundation Brewing’s expansion.
The Portland brewery, located at One Industrial Way in a cluster of craft breweries, is taking over three spaces formerly occupied by Bissell Brothers Brewing. The project will bring Foundation’s total square footage to 7,500 and is paving the way for further expansion in 2017, according to a release from the company.
Two Maine breweries 2016 World Beer Cup award winners:
The May issue of The Bollard includes a breakfast review of Crooners and Cocktails,
I ordered the Chef’s Special Panini of the Day ($14), a warm sandwich of speck (a smoked, cured Italian ham), gruyere cheese, tomato, arugula and raw onion, the bread pressed to deliver a satisfying crunch. The flavors were excellent, though I would have liked something sweet (like a fig jam or fruit purée) as a counterpoint to the salty meat and bitter greens.
a dinner review of Chez Okapi,
Kabata’s Congolese cuisine is minimalist fare, seasoned with restraint. The bone-in, bite-sized pieces of chicken and goat were rubbed with cayenne and other spices, then grilled. Being Americans raised on BBQ, we missed having some sort of dipping sauce, but the meats didn’t really need it. Their innate flavors shone through.
and an article on the growing trend of using fruit as a beer brewing ingredient.
The obsession with hops that accompanied the IPA craze has made it possible for guys to order a pineapple-flavored beer at a crowded bar without a hint of embarrassment. And brewers of the best varieties now eschew fake flavorings in favor of fresh fruits or purées that give their beers a bright character. The improvement in taste has been dramatic.
Portland resident Jack Van Paepeghem is one of just six people in the world to have earned the Advanced Cicerone Certification. The day long exam for the advanced level includes six hours of written questions, four taste panels, and two oral exams.
“It is incredibly exciting to be named as one of the country’s very first Advanced Cicerones,” said Van Paepeghem. I am proud to represent not just Oxbow and The Maine Brew Bus, but Maine’s beer community as a whole.”
The Press Herald has published an article on Lone Pine Brewing,
While Madden was honing his brewing chops, Paul was working in the music industry in Boston, and after college, he accepted a job in the industry in L.A. When Paul visited Maine, he and Madden would meet up for a beer and dream about starting a brewery.
After a few of these meetings, the two friends reached a crossroads; it was time to make this dream a reality or move on with their lives.
The article reports that Lone Pine will be opening their tasting room this Saturday, noon to 8pm.
Great Beer Adventure has posted an interview with Verrill Dana’s Colin Hay about his work as lawyer for breweries,
Law and beer are complicated and goes back to the start of our country. The need for an alcohol lawyer due to the specialized legal needs this highly regulated industry which includes breweries, distilleries, and wineries. Some of the areas regulated include employment, shipping,environmental, as well as federal and state statutes. Colin and his coworkers identify potential problems before they become problems and navigate the 3 Tier System.
For their latest episode the Great Beer Adventure has interviewed the wives of brewers from Fore River, Dirigo and Mast Landing.
Here in Maine the Brewer’s Wife has a lot in common with the Sea Captain’s Wife: many nights are spent home alone or with the kids while the men work late into the night and they provide moral and financial support while the new business blooms into something we beer drinkers take for granted. Surprisingly, there is more to being a brewer’s wife than you think. Listen in to learn what is is like to find all your missing sweaters and scarves wrapped around a fermentor in the bathroom sink and how one woman turned her Coors only drinking husband into a craft brewer.
The City Council voted last night to approve a $500 fee for breweries operating a tasting room in Portland, according to a report in today’s Press Herald.
In a unanimous vote, the council approved the new license requirement as a way to level the regulatory playing field with traditional bars, which pay thousands of dollars in licensing fees to serve a variety of alcohol and food.