For the 6th episode of the Maine Culinary Podcast, host Dan Bodoff interviewed Jay Villani, owner of Sonny’s/Local 188, and Dan Kleban, co-owner of Maine Beer Company. They discuss plans for the upcoming Maine Beer Week and the experience of scaling up from a home brew set to a commercial operation.
Additionally, Villani lets the cat out of the bag on Bunker Brewing, a new brewery being set up by Villani in Bayside which will initially be sold at Local 188 and Sonny’s.
Mainebiz has published an article about Bull Jagger, Portland’s newest brewery.
A new beer will soon join Portland’s growing batch of homegrown brews, but this one is a bit different.
Tom Bull and Alan Jagger have launched Bull Jagger Brewing Co. in a 1,500-square-foot facility in Portland’s Riverside Industrial Park to make lagers, which they say is rare among microbrews.
“Tom and I love lagers,” Jagger says. “And we saw a void. Most of the microbrews are making ales, and we thought Maine could use a new lager.”
For additional reporting see the Press Herald.
The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald reports on Rising Tide Brewing’s new black ale called Atlantis.
“This differs quite a bit from the black IPAs that are coming out,” said owner and head brewer Nathan Sanborn. “There is quite a bit of hops, but it’s not that bitter. We added a little bit of cherry wood-smoked malt, but it’s not a strongly smoked beer. It just adds a little bit of character with it.”
The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald talks about seasonal Fall beers.
Sebago’s Local Harvest Ale, one of my favorite beers from last year, came out last Friday, and I stopped by Sebago’s Portland brew pub after work to try it out.
This beer is brewed with two-row barley grown in Aroostook County and with hops grown at Irish Hill Farms in Monroe and at various local gardens.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a report on the Portland Brew Festival.
They were among more than 500 people who filled the Portland Co. Complex for the first of three brew festival sessions this weekend. Situated on the waterfront, the old foundry seemed to be the perfect venue for the festival that continues from noon to 3:30 p.m. today.
The Press Herald has published an interview with Mark Sprague, the organizer of this weekend’s Portland Brew Festival.
Sprague is putting his own stamp on the festival. First, the brews will be coming from all over New England, not just Maine. Second, the brews will include cider, mead and even kombucha, a kind of fizzy fermented tea, in addition to beer. Third, attendees will be able to watch people brew beer and make cider. And fourth, Sprague is not planning to bring in live bands as entertainment.
Brews and Books blogger Josh Christie has posted an interview on Hop Press with Mark Sprague, the organizer of the Portland Brew Festival.
Nationally and locally, beer festivals are becoming more popular every year. How is the Portland Brew Festival different than the other Maine beer fests?
Maine has some awesome beers and nearly every festival in the state focuses on just these great in-state brewers, but I made the conscious decision to invite brewers from across the region–there are so many up-and-coming brewers and unknowns who should be known… I want the people who come to this festival to leave with an “aha” moment about a brewer or beer or cider they discovered here. I’m also coming at this from a homebrewer background. I’ve been to a number of festivals, but never one where they are brewing live at the event.
Ruski’s received 4 stars from the Eat & Run review in today’s Press Herald.
The other marvelous thing about Ruski’s is the brunch menu, which is available all day. From eggs and hash to waffles and omelets, they’ve got the bases covered. With a friendly staff, the Red Sox game on mute and some good old-fashioned staples, I dare say I may soon become a Ruski’s regular.
Today’s paper also includes an article about the low levels of red tide in Maine this year,
Maine and the rest of New England have had a second straight year of mild red tide outbreaks, bringing relief to the clamming industry after two consecutive years of widespread clam flat closures because of red tide.
and the latest installment of the What Ales You column.
Fool’s Gold is Sebago’s version of a California common ale, the most common of which is Anchor Steam Beer out of San Francisco. Although it’s made with lager yeast, it’s fermented at room temperature instead of the cooler temperatures usually used for a lager.
The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald writes about the mug clubs at several Portland area bars.
The idea behind mug clubs is that members pay a fee upfront, and for the rest of the year get a number of benefits, which vary from club to club. Members get a mug — larger than the typical pint glass — to hang on the wall, and they use that when they come to the pub. Often members get T-shirts and food discounts on certain nights, as well.
The Press Herald has published a review of the buffet at Jan Mee.
I filled my plate twice, so clearly something made me happy. The only thing that held me back from visiting a third time was the thought of my trainer, calculating the number of planks, deep-knee thrusts and burpees I would have to do to work off another steaming plate of lo mein.
Today’s paper also includes a What Ales You column on the charitable donation programs set-up by local breweries, and an article about this weekend’s Taste of Nation fundraiser to fight hunger in Maine.