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Updated: 12 hours ago

Kegs on the Kennebec: Brunswick brewer teams with Bath museum on seasonal venture

Flight Deck Brewing Photo / Courtesy of Flight Deck Brewing The Flight Deck Pizza & Beer Garden will open in June on the riverfront grounds of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.
By Renee Cordes

Flight Deck Brewing is getting ready to spread its wings beyond Brunswick Landing with a new summer pizza and beer garden on the grounds of the Maine Maritime Museum.

Nate Wildes headshot
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Nate Wildes

Set to open in June on the museum’s riverside campus, the Flight Deck Pizza & Beer Garden will feature a wooden pavilion, event tent, sun shades and a variety of seating to accommodate around 100 guests. The seasonal venue will be situated on the museum’s largest pier that extends out over the Kennebec River.

“I thought I had seen the best views our area had to offer, but sitting out there with a cold beer in hand has taken the cake,” Nate Wildes, managing partner of Flight Deck Brewing, told Mainebiz.

Wildes was a Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree in 2022.

Asked how the partnership came about, Wildes said the museum had reached out to Flight Deck with the concept of building out a more robust food and beverage offering for museum visitors.

“It quickly became evident that our two organizations shared a community-minded, customer experience-oriented ethos,” he said, “and what started as a relatively simple vision became a very robust and exciting partnership for us both.”

Chris Timm, executive director of the Maine Maritime Museum, said, "We want visitors and members to make the most of their time here, and that means having a place to relax, enjoy a great meal and take in the riverfront.

The new venue, scheduled to operate from June through September, will be open to museum visitors for lunch and to the general public free of charge on select evenings. It will serve craft beer, canned cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages as well as hand-made wood-fired pizza cooked on site. Sales, snacks and kid-friendly options will also be served.

Demand for 'third places'

Between both locations, Flight Deck expects to employ more than 30 people this summer, including new hires for the new venue.

“We’re adding folks in almost every area of the business — from the brewhouse to retail,” Wildes said.

He said that while the brewer’s home base in Brunswick is in a growing neighborhood, demand for “third places” to gather prompted the seasonal expansion.

“Now more than ever, we all need spaces to gather with friends and family that aren’t at home, and aren’t at work,” he said. “We’re trying to do our part to build those opportunities for greater Brunswick - and now, greater Bath.”

Elsewhere in Maine, Allagash Brewing Co. is getting ready to open a second taproom in Scarborough, at the Downs mixed-use neighborhood, in July.

"With the fleeting magic of a Maine summer on the horizon and building costs expected to rise, the craft beer community is moving quickly to adapt to the challenges of 2025 and seize the opportunities of peak season," Sarah Bryan, executive director of the Maine Brewers' Guild, told Mainebiz.

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