While craft beer was an “urban hipster thing” until around 2015, Sullivan notes that it has since spread to rural areas, opening craft “to a whole new audience.” That includes older customers and visitors from away, as more brewers offer overnight accommodations and other add-ons to attract more customers.
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D.L. Geary Brewing Co. was incorporated in Portland in October 1983 and poured its first beer in 1986, the first brewer to open east of the Mississippi since Prohibition. Setting out to make “world-class products on a small scale for local and regional consumption,” it specialized in British ales and sold the first pints of Geary’s Pale Ale on Dec. 10, 1986.
The brewery, which changed hands in 2017, still makes Geary’s Pale Ale and a number of other brands. More experimental ones include Chocolate Stout, a caffeinated Cold Brew Coffee Porter and Shaboozie IPA, described as a citrusy-hops blend aged on pineapple for an extra zing.
Today, Maine boasts 144 craft breweries in an industry that in 2017 added $260 million to its economy and employed 1,910 people.
Maine’s largest brewers, both Portland-based, are Shipyard Brewing Co., founded in 1994 by Fred Forsley, and Allagash Brewing Co., founded in 1995 by Rob Tod. Both rank among the country’s top 50 craft brewers by 2018 sales volume in a list by the Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit trade group that puts Shipyard at No. 29 and Allagash at No. 30.
Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s chief economist, sees their inclusion as evidence of Maine punching above its weight “in most things beer.” “There’s a long history of great beer and breweries in Maine, and the two on this list have a lot to do with building that scene and community,” he says.
While Maine was long associated with British ales, a turning point came in 2011 when brewers were allowed to open tasting rooms, meaning they could sell beer where it was made. That prompted experimentation and a new growth spurt, according to Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers’ Guild.
“It gave a lot more people the opportunity to learn about brewing and beer making,” he said. “That allowed brewers to find new niches.”
While craft beer was an “urban hipster thing” until around 2015, Sullivan notes that it has since spread to rural areas, opening craft “to a whole new audience.” That includes older customers and visitors from away, as more brewers offer overnight accommodations and other add-ons to attract more customers.
Examples include Oxbow Brewing Co.’s rentable farmhouse in Newcastle and Shipyard’s planned beer hotel, or “brewtel,” in Portland’s East End. New brewers are popping up all the time as others scale up. They include Lone Pine Brewing Co. and Mast Landing Brewing Co., which rank among the country’s fastest-growing.
And what about would-be entrepreneurs still wanting to get into the game? Noting that only 20% of beer consumed in Maine is made in state, Sullivan sees plenty of room for further growth and new market entrants.
“Maine beers have been taking market share from out-of-state beers for a while,” he says, “but still have plenty of market share to take.”