While Maine bars and indoor taprooms remain closed until further notice during the pandemic, the Maine Brewers’ Guild is taking the state’s largest craft festival — and its biggest fundraiser — virtual this year.
The first-ever Maine Beer Night, scheduled for July 25, will replace the 2020 Summer Session and feature videos from brewers and other paid content. Tickets start at $5, while $55 buys a six-pack sampler of Maine beers as well as a limited-edition T-shirt and taster glasses.
Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers’ Guild and a 2016 Mainebiz Next list honoree, told Mainebiz the organization was inspired to put on the virtual event for a number of reasons after being forced to cancel its biggest fundraiser of the year.
“Our brewers are missing the crowds and the opportunity to share their passion and info with beer fans as the social distancing has really put a stop to brewery tours, events at breweries and bars, and so we all wanted to create a way to connect with beer fans,” he said. “We’ve talked to some of the brewers who have participated in other virtual events and heard from a lot of our fest attendees that they’re looking for content like this.
“If we all are going to continue to have to be socially distant,” he said, “we want to give people something to look forward to on a Saturday night that is fun, connects our community, and keeps everyone safe.”
Sullivan emphasized that the event won’t be a Zoom call with 1,000 small faces on the screen, but will feature curated content including hidden stories about the people not just brewing beer but others from hop growers to coopers.
“The format of Maine Beer Night,” he said, “will give people a chance to peek inside some of those buildings, meet the people behind the businesses, and showcase the fascinating industry that has sprung up all over Maine to support Maine brewers.”
Sullivan told Mainebiz that the Guild is expecting about 500 attendees and had sold about 100 beer packages already.
The event comes on the heels of new data released by the Maine Office of Tourism showing that 39% of overnight visitors to Maine visited a brewery or brew pub in 2019, up from about 20% in 2017.
It also comes after Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce’s at-home brewfest was such a big hit with craft fans, that it held a second round.
Varied program on tap
So what’s on tap for the big night? Among other things, the program includes a brewers’ round table with Tributary Brewing; a peek into the operations and story behind River Drive Cooperage in Buxton; a virtual hike on Mount Desert Island with Atlantic Brewing Co.; and a meet-up with the Portland web development team that created the Maine Beer Trial app.
All event proceeds will support the Maine Brewers’ Guild, the nonprofit trade organization for the Maine craft beer industry.
Get the full program and purchase tickets here.
