Interview with Heather Sanborn

| Posted in People

The Press Herald has published an interview Heather Sanborn, co-owner of Rising Tide Brewing.

Q: Since the business has grown, have you stepped back from the actual brewing?
A: As we’ve grown, I have been able to do less and less on the production side. Back when we had one employee, I would work on the bottling line and clean out the tanks and brew a pilot batch now and then, but now I can focus on other things I like. And I can say, “I want a beer that tastes like this,” and Nathan and the others can come up with the recipe and try that. The thing I enjoy doing the most is working on financial projects – how we can finance the next tank and making sure everyone gets paid and working on hiring plans. We’re a team of 11 right now and we hired our first full-time employee in 2012. So there’s an HR role and CFO role that falls to me as well.

Andrea Lee, 65

| Posted in People

Longtime Portland bartender Andrea Lee passed away last week at the age of 65.

Andrea Lee, a beloved bartender at Sangillo’s Tavern who offered comfort, laughter and “really good drinks” to its patrons for 37 years, died unexpectedly on Nov. 6. She was 65.

Ms. Lee worked Wednesday and Friday nights at the popular Portland neighborhood bar, which usually drew large crowds with Lee behind the bar.

For details on services see the obituary in today’s Press Herald.

Reviews: Maps Cafe and The Thirsty Pig

| Posted in Reviews

Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Maps Cafe,

The vibe is almost like 70’s basement home bar mixed with your neighborhood pub.  It’s comfortable and friendly.  The owners are always in house, serving up drinks or grilling sandwiches. They have a great selection of albums and are often playing them on the turntable.  Our favorite feature is the jukebox tucked in the corner.  It’s free to play any song on it and the owners rotate the selection so there is often a new song to rediscover.

and the Press Herald has reviewed The Thirsty Pig.

The Thirsty Pig in Portland’s Old Port neighborhood is serious about local craft beer, but not in an off-putting, pretentious way. The staff is friendly and talkative, and the atmosphere encourages a laid-back crowd. Owner Allison Stevens has made it her mission to offer great tasting craft beer and handmade sausages at an affordable price.

Thanksgiving Resource Guide

| Posted in Events

Portland area restaurants, bakeries, and kitchens are starting to announce their Thanksgiving dinners and related services. Here’s what I have so far. I’ll update the list as more info comes in.

Restaurants:

For those of you hosting your own gathering:

Community Dinners & Donations:

This Week’s Events: Dutch’s, Alton Brown, Bitters Workshop, Rosemont/Piccolo Class

| Posted in Events

altonbrownTuesday — it’s the opening day of Dutch’s located at 28 Preble Street.

Wednesday — Alton Brown will be at Merrill Auditorium, orchardist Waite Maclin will be giving a talk entitled The Seven Secrets to Fruitful Fruit Trees, there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont on Brighton, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Engineers Without Borders’ is holding Uncorked, their 3rd annual beer & wine tasting and silent auction.

Friday — there will be wine tastings at the Rosemonts on both Brighton Ave and Congress Street.

Saturday — Veena’s Fizz House is holding a bitters workshop, Dobra is offering a course on the 6 types of tea, Rosemont and Piccolo are collaborating on a cooking class, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Pocket Feast Game Dinner

| Posted in Events

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Pocket Brunch and Family Feast collaborated to produce a Maine game dinner last night in collaboration with the Maine Brewers Guild and Down East. 6 courses, or perhaps 8 depending on how you count, utilizing more than a dozen different game meats. The game bird ragu served with spelt/rye bucatini, the hare pie, and the panacotta with autumn olive sorbet were my favorites from the menu. There was a standing ovation at the end of the dinner for the kitchen crew.

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100 Best Beers: Mo, Substance, Dubbel

| Posted in Beer

Men’s Journal has included Bissell Brothers The Substance, MBC Mo and Allagash Dubbel in their list of the 100 Best Beers in the World.

To ensure you can actually find and enjoy these heavenly brews, we eliminated one-off batches and limited the list to beer sold in America and available on shelves and taps beyond the brewery. Our team also balanced entries from the stylistic families of beer — pilsners, wild ales, stouts, to name a few of the 23 official, judged styles — to ensure this wasn’t just a list of IPAs, America’s most popular craft brew. Consider this a to-drink list for year ahead.