It’s the most wonderful time of the year…right? That’s what we keep telling ourselves while keeping one eye on the latest covid news, and the other eye on the latest beer news. Luckily, we remembered that this newsletter is dedicated to BEER, so take a breath and a break from the covid scaries, and dive into all the beery goodness awaiting you this week.
Here’s this week’s guide to upcoming brewery events, the latest beer releases, and a roundup of Maine beer news.
Sponsored by: Tigpro Stainless Fabrication
Upcoming Releases & Events
Things are really Shining at Blaze Brewing, Definitive has a real Jewel of a beer for us, everything is just Spiffy over at Foundation, and it’s a real big Whoop over at SoMe.
Thursday, December 9
Allagash Brewing Company
50 Industrial Way, Portland, ME 04103
From Maine, With Love #12, Dark Farmhouse-Style Ale Aged in Rum Barrels
Savor an unexpected taste of the tropics with this rum barrel-aged dark farmhouse ale, inspired by nightfall in Puerto Rico. From Maine, With Love #12 features undertones of fig and toffee, all enveloped by an unmistakable cloak of rum, all clocking in at a pleasantly warming 7.7% ABV. This beer will only be available in Allagash’s tasting room in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans starting Thursday.
Blaze Brewing Company
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Shining Light, Sour (7%) & Blinded By The Colors, Double IPA (8%)
Shining Light is a holiday sour brewed with cherries, marshmallow, lactose, and vanilla. Dedicated to the star on top of Mt. Battie in Camden, Shining Light is a tribute to the holiday season throughout Maine. It smells and tastes like cherries jubilee, getting together with old friends, and freshly baked holiday goodies.
Blinded By The Colors is a Double IPA with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. At Blaze they normally try to be balanced and mindful with their hoppy beers to try and provide drinkability with a gentle and soft hop punch. Well, they threw the rule book out of the window on this one and turned it into a full-on juice bomb. Blinded By The Colors smells and tastes like orange juice, mango juice, and passionfruit juice.
Friday, December 10
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Jewel, Double IPA (8.3%) & Brave Noise, Pale Ale (5.8%)
Jewel is a gem of an addition to Definitive’s DIPA line up. This new brew is jam-packed with a fruit-forward blend of Australian and Pacific North Western hop varieties. Jewel boasts big notes of freshly squeezed guava, stone-ground peach, and ripe red currant.
Brave Noise is a collaboration with Brave Noise Beer and every like-minded brewery that has proven themselves to be a staunch supporter of women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and BIPOC rights. The beer industry as a whole wouldn’t be where it is today without the great contributions from so many people from so many different backgrounds and life experiences. Every drop of this beer will spread awareness for the victims of harassment, racism and gender discrimination.
Brave Noise is an easy-drinking 5.8% pale ale. Definitive dialed back their normal dry hop portfolio and focused more on the precision of the grain bill and cellaring schedule. Sabro and Mosaic are the headliners in this brew. It tastes and smells like tropical coconut cocktails, tangerine sorbet, and melted creamsicles.
Both beers are available Friday in Portland, Saturday in Kittery.
Fore River Brewing Co.
45 Huntress Ave., South Portland
Sibilance, Doppelbock (8.4%)
Brewed in the style of a traditional German Doppelbock, Sibilance offers rich maltiness and a smooth mouthfeel accompanied by notes of dark cherry and stone fruit. Drinking at 8.4% ABV with slight alcohol warmth, Sibilance boasts a deep and clear true amber color and pairs perfectly with cold winter nights and warm, feel-good food shared with friends and family.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Spiffy, Double IPA (8%)
Spiffy is a triple dry-hopped Double IPA. Foundation uses the same grain and hop bills as they do when making Epiphany, and then crank up the hoppiness even further with that triple dry hop. Spiffy is like Epiphany’s badass cousin, waltzing into town for the holidays to shake things up and have some good times!
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St., #3, York
Little Persuasion, Double Pale Ale (5%)
Brewed to celebrate SoMe’s roots in a garage in the Adirondacks, Little Persuasion is the original all-crystal-hops pale ale that pre-dates SoMe’s beloved Crystal Persuasion Double Pale Ale.
Saturday, December 11
Banded Brewing Co.
32 Main St., Ste. 102, Biddeford and 82 Hanover St., Ste. 6, Portland
2020 Mountain, Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout (12%)
Clocking in at a potent 12%, 2020 Mountain is sure to warm your bones! This beer boasts full, rich oak on the nose. Once sipped, torched vanilla leads to mocha and coconut. Hints of maple syrup and pecan are balanced by a tart blackberry. A limited quantity of Mountain will be available on draft and in cans to go starting this Saturday at Banded’s Year 8 – Banded Anniversary Bash.
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St., #3, York
2021 Big Whoop, Imperial Stout & 2021 Peanut Butter Big Whoop, Imperial Stout
The past two years have been a bit of an experiment when it comes to formats for SoMe’s bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, but they figured technology be damned, Big Whoop belongs in bottles. ⠀
Big Whoop is an imperial whoopie pie stout aged in bourbon barrels, with Peanut Butter Big Whoop being the first-ever variant. 2021 Big Whoop will be available on draft and exclusively in 22 oz. bottles.
New Releases
Bangor may be a bit of a drive from Portland, but we may have to hop in the car for a certain Sasquatch sighting we’re hearing about. There’s also a new Bock in town at Foundation and Lone Pine is up to Twosies now.
Bangor Beer Co.
330 Bangor Mall Blvd., Bangor
Disco Sasquatch, New England Double IPA (8.1%)
Loaded with El Dorado, Cashmere, Topaz, and Mosaic hops, this beer tastes and smells like over-ripe mango, passion fruit, watermelon jolly ranchers, and an ocean sunset.
Battery Steele Brewing
1 Industrial Way, Units 12 & 14, Portland
Flume Cubed, Triple IPA
To celebrate their new taproom, Battery Steele is releasing the beer that inspired it…Flume Cubed! Hopped with an excessive amount of Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic, this is the perfect beer to kick off the new space.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Let There Be Bock, Lager (6.5%)
Let There Be Bock pours a bright, mahogany color, with aromas of New England brown bread followed by flavors of cherry and caramelized pie crust. Malty and balanced with an easy, clean finish, Let There Be Bock is a beer that’s easy to rock out to over the winter months.
Geary Brewing Co.
38 Evergreen Dr., Portland
Barrel-Aged Hampshire Special Ale, English Strong Ale (8.7%)
Hampshire Special Ale is a captivatingly unique barrel-aged special ale. Notes of toasted malt, rich vanilla, and sweet stone fruit accent the signature smokiness of bourbon barrels. An assertive hop character, mahogany character, and memorable warmth gives this Maine classic its celebrated complexity.
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
NSFW, Triple IPA (10%)
NSFW is a quadruple dry-hopped Triple IPA. This latest batch features Cashmere, Mosaic, Citra, Southern Cross, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops.
Lone Pine Brewing Company
219 Anderson St., Portland and 48 Sanford Dr., Gorham
Twosie Double IPA (8%) & Pinch Pilsner (4.2%)
After years of showcasing the flavor and aroma impact of single hop varieties in their Onesie IPA series, Twosie Double IPA dials it up to a whole new level. Focusing on well-known pairings, the Twosie series will display the complimentary power of hops within a bigger Double IPA. Featuring the sure-fire combo of Citra and Mosaic, Twosie Double IPA pours a deep hazy gold with a creamy off-white head. It has big, bright, resinous aroma of orange peel, lychee, ripe pineapple, and green melon, and a mellow bitterness that finishes with toasted citrus peel on the tongue.
Pinch Pilsner is brewed with authentic German ingredients and lagered to crispy perfection. With just a “pinch” of bitterness and German noble hop character, Pinch Pilsner is well-balanced with a light toast and discreet honey backbone, accompanied by the perfect amount of dryness to keep you chasing sips.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook and 200 Lower Main St., Freeport
Enga Ikizere, Brown Ale
Enga Ikizere is a showcase for the brown ale style the gang at Mast Landing loves, and it hinges on the incredible locally roasted coffee that they get from their friends at Rwanda Bean. Meaning “brewing hope” in Kinyarwanda, the return of this collaboration is highly welcome on these long, dark days.
Maine Beer in the News
Learn more about brewing legend Todd Mott, and Batson River Brewing & Distilling is having a moment.
For nearly three decades, Todd Mott has been making one of the most sought-after beers in the world.
This Restaurant Is a Rare Triple Threat, and It’s Bringing the Holiday Spirit to Maine
New England has countless breweries and a good number of distilleries, but it’s not often you find a place that does both — Batson River Brewing & Distilling in Kennebunk does, and food as well.
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Maine Beer This Week! If you own a brewery or other beer business and would like to be featured in upcoming issues, please email or call us to learn more at beerthisweek@gmail.com (207) 209-2094
