Spring 2015 Maine Brew Guide

Spring is here and that means warmer weather and lighter beers. By no means do I mean beer-lite. In fact, I mean lighter in ABV (alcohol by volume), different yet lighter in flavor, and lighter in color. As the weather gets warmer, breweries stop making their seasonal stouts and porters and start making their summer-centric brews. Watch out for beer styles like saisons, session ales, and alternatively flavored beers this spring and summer. What’s even better is, most of the beers below come in cans which means they are extra portable for your summer activities.

The Maine Brewers’ Guild is also continuing a series of events called Beer School throughout the summer. The Guild itself exists to help the beer industry in Maine to grow through events, The Maine Beer Trail, and behind-the-scenes support. Beer School events are hosted by the member breweries of the Guild to help engage and educate craft beer drinkers of Maine. Go to mainebrewersguild.org to learn more about the Guild, Beer Trail, and Beer School!

Sebago Brewing Company added a new seasonal beer to their spring & summer roster called Simmer Down Summer Session Ale. It’s rated at 4.9% ABV, so it’s very light and delicious. This is a beer you can enjoy on the beach or while going camping. In fact, Sebago Brewing Company just switched from bottles to beautiful looking cans which means you can bring them wherever you go. Simmer Down can be found in any of Sebago’s 4 brewpub locations in Scarborough, Gorham, Portland, and Kennebunk as well as 6 packs of 12 ounce bottles and tap throughout New England. Sebago is also hosting a Beer School event on April 26th at their Scarborough and Portland locations. The event is a never before tried pilot beer and food pairing.

Baxter Brewing Company is Maine’s first can-only brewing company that brews fantastic west-coast style hoppy beers. Their Summer Swelter ale weighs in at a low 4.7% ABV and comes in 12 ounce cans. Summer Swelter is another perfect beer to pair with your outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and sailing. Summer Swelter can be found in 6-packs of 12 ounce cans and on tap throughout New England. Baxter is also doing their own Beer School event where they hike up Streaked Mountain on May 16th. Following the hike participants are invited back to the brewery for an educational beer experience.

Atlantic Brewing Company brews beers that are perfect for summer with loads of flavor that you won’t expect. Of course they make their blueberry ale (5.1% ABV) year-round but did you know they also make a ginger flavored beer called Island Ginger (5.7% ABV)? Ginger is a great alternative to your standard summer ale. It provides a nice light flavor with that slight ginger bite. In fact, Atlantic Brewing Company makes lighter beers like Summer Ale (4.3% ABV) and their Lager Lager (5.7% ABV) as well. That’s a total of 4 different beers from Atlantic that are killer warm weather beer solutions. All of Atlantic Brewing’s beer can be found in bottles and taps throughout New England. To help celebrate 25 years of brewing, Atlantic Brewing Company is also doing a Beer School event on May 10th. They are hosting a multi-course beer sampling dinner at the tasting room called SCUOLA DI BIRRA.

Rising Tide Brewing Company brews an awesome session ale called MITAle (4.3% ABV)  that stands for Maine Island Trail Ale. They come in the big 16 ounce cans and can be found in stores and on tap throughout New England. MITAle just won the Maine madness beer tournament last month for a second year running. A portion of the sales of MITAle goes to the Maine Island Trail Association.

Most of these beers come in cans, that are low in ABV, and are incredibly refreshing. Now that the weather is warming up in Maine, go and seek these delicious beers out that are made right here in the state of Maine.

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