The Brew Babe writes about the recent history of brewery tasting rooms and her top 5 reasons for visiting them.
2. Information straight from the source: Do you think an employee at Hannaford is going to crack open a beer and give me a taste to see if I like it before I bring home a six pack? Do you think that guy at the sketchy 7-11 (you know the one I’m talking about) knows what kinds of hops are in a beer?
USA Today has had their “panel of beer experts picked 20 of the nation’s best cities for beer-centric travel” for their Best Beer Town readership survey.
Portland made the list and you can help Portland ride high in the polls by casting your vote for our city. The rules allow for one voter per day until the winners are chosen on October 13.
As part of this year’s Portland Beer Week, Novare Res is collaborating with a set of Maine breweries to create Bill Murray inspired beers. Novare has launched a social media campaign (hash tag #billmurraybeerweekME) to persuade Murray to come to Portland and try them out.
BDN beer blog If My Coaster Could Talk reports, “The list of brewers and Bill Murray inspired beers isn’t official yet but the participant list so far is pretty impressive, keep an eye out for updates and expect some fun brews for this event.”
Portland Beer Week will take place November 1-7.
Update: The Press Herald has published an article about this initiative which includes details on the participating brewers.
The Knack Factory has posted a short video on last week’s Sierra Nevada Beer Camp.
A new information service called Beer This Week (website, twitter) launched last Wednesday. The weekly email newsletter includes details on beer events, bottle releases, tap takeovers, and a complete list of beers on tap at local breweries.
If the first issue is anything to go by this is something local hop heads will definitely want to sign-up for.
NPR has aired a report on Marshall Wharf’s brewing of Sea Belt, a beer that uses Maine sugar kelp as one of its key ingredients.
At Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. on the Belfast, Maine, waterfront, new beers begin their journey into draft lines and pint glasses inside two large tanks. Marshall Wharf has a reputation for making some unconventional beers — a stout with locally sourced oysters, for example, and a wheat-infused kolsch with jalapeno and habanero peppers. A few years ago, David Carlson, the brewing company’s owner, discovered a beer from Scotland, called Kelpie, made with seaweed.
“If there’s seaweed in Maine and it’s a good product,” he says, “why not try putting it in the beer?”
Piccolo will be holding a beer dinner on July 21st in collaboration with Oxbow and Italian brewer Birrificio Del Ducato. The 6-course dinner will feature beers from both brewers including a set of limited releases from Oxbow.
Del Ducato’s brewer, Giovanni Campari, will be attending the dinner. He’s visiting Maine to work with Oxbow on a collaboration beer.
The dinner is $100 per person, call Piccolo at 207-747-5307 for reservations.
Epicurious has published an interview with Foundation Brewing.
“The biggest change,” he says, “is that something that was only a goal a short time ago is now a reality. You make plans, and when you really get into it, there’s a big difference.”
“How so?” I ask.
“We knew this intellectually,” John says, “but we really learned that when you are brewing, or doing some other task around the brewery, that you can’t leave until it’s done. So if it’s eight or nine at night, and you’re still in the middle of some process, you know you are staying late.”
Draft magazine has paid a visit to Portland to explore our city’s rapidly evolving beer scene.
Bars like The Great Lost Bear and Novare Res have championed beer for years, and now there’s even more to root for: 13 [Maine] breweries launched in 2013 and a staggering 16 more will fling open their doors this year. Sense the excitement and convivial vibe in the city’s tasting rooms, and strike at the chance to taste East Coast Portland’s beer bounty.
The article highlights: Mama’s Crowbar, Rising Tide, Allagash, Bissell Brothers, Austin Street, Foundation Brewing, Salvage BBQ, Maine Beer Company, Pai Men Miyake, In’finiti, the Bier Cellar, Urban Farm Fermentory, and Central Provisions.
The article isn’t yet online but you should be able to find the July/August issue on newsstands soon.
Updated: the article is now online.
Boston Magazine has published their list of the 50 Best New England Breweries. 15 of the 50 are in Maine.