The Great Lost Bear and Novare Res along with Ebeneezer’s in Lovell Maine have once again made it on to Draft magazine’s annual list of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars.
Category: Beer
Food Republic Top 25 Beers
Food Republic has included Allagash FV13 and Oxbow Farmhouse Ale in their list of the Top 25 Beers of 2013.
Completing Novare’s Chalice List
Active Beer Geek has published an article about his conquest of the Uprising, the Novare Res 230 beer mug club list.
It’s a genius system of privilege that Eric, owner of Novare Res, has concocted. Your mission – if you choose to accept it – is to finish a 3-row, double sided, multi-styled beer list of 230 brews. The reward? A ginormous pimp cup, known as a chalice, that allows you 25% more beer for every pour in that vessel in your lifetime. Also, on the day of your chalice acquisition you drink for free. It’s like a right of passage or ritual of manhood for beer geeks. But wait, there’s more…
Maine Craft Brewing & Annual Food Calendar
The new issue of Portland Magazine reports on the growth of Maine’s beer industry that features 3 new breweries: Bissell Brothers, Foundation Brewing and Banded Horn.
Also in the new issue is the magazine’s annual Maine food calendar. The article includes an interview with chef Cara Stadler about the new dumpling restaurant she has under development on Spring Street in the building that’s been the longtime home of the West End Deli.
And what becomes of West End Deli and its tasty takeout sandwiches? “Look for us to open in the former Gleason Fine Art Gallery at 545 Congress by the end of January,” says owner Nancy Arnold. “It’s a great spot. We’ll have more room for specialty foods–cheese, meats, pastries.”
SoMe Brewing, Reviews of Mathew’s & The Bridgeway
Today’s Press Herald includes a bar review of Mathew’s,
Mathew’s Pub, advertised as “the oldest pub in Portland,” is as gritty as they come, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pay nearly nothing for beer and even less for a pool table, and Mathew’s is not just the oldest bar in Portland but perhaps the cheapest. If it’s your first time venturing into Mathew’s, bring a friend or two.
The Brideway isn’t hip, it doesn’t offer any kind of funky fusion fare, and some could argue it could use some updating. But you know what? It’s also a respectable spot that is honest about what is has to offer. This wasn’t lost on me or my lunch date, and for that reason I’m glad it’s there and I am glad that it surely has a legion of longtime diners who keep the historic place in business.
and an article about SoMe Brewing.
Crystal Persuasion is in imperial pale ale made with 100 percent Crystal hops. Rowland said the recipe came about because his hop supplier offered him the hops, and he created first a regular pale ale – which will come on the menu at some point – and then the imperial version, which is 8 percent ABV. This was a nicely malty beer, with just enough hops bite to make it interesting.
Gritty’s 25th Anniversary
Today’s Press Herald includes a front page article about Gritty’s 25 years in business and the impact they’ve had on Maine’s craft beer industry.
“Yeah, I’d say [Dave] Geary and those guys ([Gritty’s co-founders] Stebbins and Pfeffer) were sort of the godfathers of Maine brewing, and today the scene is just so filled with talented people, very small outfits finding a niche for themselves,” said Houghton, who also runs The Liberal Cup brew pub in Hallowell. “The main reason I’m in Maine is because of Gritty McDuff’s.”
Bangor Daily News and publisher of The Bollard has also written about Gritty’s 25 anniversary in his weekly column.
Together with David Geary, Dave Evans of The Great Lost Bear, and Alan Eames of Three Dollar Dewey’s, Gritty’s founders Richard Pfeffer and Ed Stebbins deserve a significant amount of credit for the scores of breweries, thousands of jobs and millions of dollars the microbrew movement has brought to Maine since the 1980s. For that alone, Pfeffer and Stebbins deserve the key to the city and a big bear hug from Gov. Paul LePage…
Gritty’s 25th Anniversary Party is taking place at 4pm today at their Portland location.
Allagash: Tiarna Release on Friday
Allagash Brewing will be releasing Tiarna this Friday (4 bottles per person limit) at the brewery store on Industrial Way.
Tiarna is a “a blend of two beers, one aged in oak and fermented with 100% brettanomyces and the other fermented in stainless with a blend of two Belgian yeast strains.”
Bissell Brothers Now on Tap
The Beer Babe reports that Bissell Brothers first beer, The Substance, debuted last week “at The Thirsty Pig to eager drinkers. The hoppy concoction hit a lot of good notes, and has the potential to stand out in the Maine IPA landscape,” and that it’s now on tap at Novare Res.
Karen Kay Geary, 68 (Updated)
The Beer Babe has posted an article about the passing of Karen Kay Geary, co-founder of D.L. Geary Brewing.
Notably, Karen was the first female brewery owner in Maine, and among the first in New England and the U.S., after prohibition. Author and beer historian Tom Acitelli commented that, “To be a woman involved in craft beer in the early/mid-1980s was to be in rare company; it was, like the larger brewing industry, very much a man’s world on both the consumer and business sides.” I, for one, would like to thank her for being a pioneer in the early days and paving the way for those that came after her in craft beer. I hope you will join me in raising a toast in Karen’s honor.
Update: For more information see the article in Wednesday’s Press Herald.
Under Construction: Bissell Brothers, Austin Street & Foundation Brewing
Three Portland breweries under construction on Industrial Way are making good progress:
- Austin Street Brewing (facebook, twitter) has their “brewhouse and fermenters up and running” and explains that “If everything goes well with government approvals and other paperwork we should be able to legally brew and sell beer within 2 months.”
- Bissell Brothers (facebook, twitter) is all set up and has brewed their first batch.
- Foundation Brewing (facebook, twitter) continues to have equipment delivered and is in the process of setting it up.
For some additional details on Austin Street and Bissell see the What Ales You column in today’s paper.