Craft beer rocks in Maine. This is definitely a great state live you if you enjoy beer. Actually, even if you don’t love beer, it’s still an awesome state!
Since today, April 7th, is National Beer Day, I figured I’d focus my post on (surprise) – beer! There are a lot of options for Made in Maine when it comes to craft beer. It also works out well as one of my bucket list items this year is to complete the Maine Beer Trail so I get to stamp another entry on my beer map too.
There are six breweries in Maine that start with F. I’ve already blogged about two of them. This post is going to be easy! (Reality check, it’s never “easy”.)
Federal Jack’s
Flight Deck Brewing
Fore River Brewing Company
Foundation Brewing Company
Foulmouthed Brewpub
Funky Bow Brewery
We decided to get a sneak peek of one of the newest breweries, Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick. The official opening was on Thursday, March 16th with a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration attended by Senator Angus King. But, they had a soft opening earlier so we were able to sneak in for a beer after hiking in the area early last month.
Flight Deck Brewing is located in the former Small Arms Range of the Brunswick Naval Air Station. The air station was closed in 2011 and the area has now begun a second life as Brunswick Landing. While there are many businesses that have moved into the area, Flight Deck Brewing is one of the first public facing ones.
They had to do a lot of renovation as the building, which was used for live ammunition target practice, was basically a concrete box. They had to cut out all the windows and doors. What was once a dark, enclosed space now has lots of light and openness. They recycled the removed concrete by using it to create their entry path and patio. They are working to tread lightly on the environment. Their blog gives more detail on the extremely efficient electric brewing system that they have installed. The system is powered by electricity from renewable resources including a biodigester which takes organic waste and turns it into energy.
We headed over to their tasting room on a Saturday afternoon. The tasting room was packed, and they were down to only three beers but fortunately one was a porter for my husband and I tried their Hibiscus Tea Beer which had a fun red color. Red must be the new cool craft beer color. I’ve been seeing it pop up more and more.
A local food truck Taco the Town had an area setup within the brewery and were serving food so we grabbed a couple of tacos to enjoy with our beer. Flight Deck Brewing has a rotating lineup of food vendors serving up food at the brewery. It’s nice when you can get food with your beer especially after a hike.
It’s always fun to stop into a new tasting room. We purchased a couple of souvenir glasses to take home, but sadly did not get any new stamps in our Maine Beer Trail map. Flight Deck Brewing is too new to be listed although I’m sure that will change soon.
Want to learn more about the craft beer scene in Maine? Here are a few resources to check out.
Active Beer Geek Website & Blog
The craft beer industry in Maine is vibrant. According to a recent article from Maine Public the industry has an annual impact of $225 million on Maine’s economy. I know my husband and I have contributed to that number. [Higgins, A.J. “Report: Craft Beer Industry Contributes $225 Million to Maine’s Economy.” Maine Public. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.]
Do you have a lot of local craft beer breweries where you are located? Do you have a favorite?
| things to know | |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Flight Deck Brewing |
| Location | 11 Atlantic Ave Brunswick, ME 04011 |
| info@flightdeckbrewing.com | |
| Website | Flight Deck Brewing |
| Favorite ♥ | Re-purposed Space |
Weekends in Maine 
We used to have a great spot near the beach in Wollongong called the Five Islands Brewing Company. The beer was made on the spot in big shiny vats. The owner sold the venue and is brewing elsewhere. Now it just sells food and beer. Not the same. I loved when they brought out a beer called Edna’s Bitter. There was a woman complaining about the location of the brewery whose name was Edna (or something like that) so they named a beer after her.
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That’s hysterical that they named a beer after a complaining customer. We are really luck here in Maine. There are so many great craft breweries so there’s usually one close by.
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Happy National Beer Day! How appropriate that we are celebrating my husband’s 40th tonight at one of his favourite pubs. I will be sure to mention this fun fact.
As for craft beers – I love the creative names they come up with – and the fact that (I think) this one is likely part of reinventing / revitalizing space previously used for other purposes is fun as well.
And agreed – even the blogs where I have a bunch of previously written “stuff” are never “easy” to write. Just a bit easier… 😉
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A lot of the craft breweries here have done a great job revitalizing / recreating spaces. They’re all so unique which adds to the fun.
Happy 40th to your husband. Have fun with the celebration!
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We have a few good ones here in Ottawa as well – and a pretty good annual beer festival where the craft and microbrew companies come and show us what they’ve got! It’s certainly a growing industry here too.
And thanks re: my husband. I know he will!
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I am not a fan of beer, although other members of my family are. My son’s friend has brewed some interesting ones (or so I hear). I am, however, a big fan of Maine. My family has been going to Ogunquit, Maine since way before I was born. My great uncle acted in some shows at the Playhouse back in the 40’s and 50’s. I often long for a walk on the Marginal Way.
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Ogunquit is a beautiful area. How wonderful that your family has been coming for years. The Playhouse is a great place for shows. It’s been awhile since I’ve been but I hope to catch a show in the near future.
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We’re not beer drinkers in my family, but we do have craft beer enthusiasts in our neck of the woods, for sure. There are enough craft breweries around that they’ve begun offering bus tours in a kind of mobile pub crawl!
*Visiting from A-Z*
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Mobile pub crawls are becoming popular. We have the Maine Brew Bus in the Portland area. They just bought their competitor and expanded their tours for the upcoming season.
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I am no longer a beer drinker after developing an allergy. It is interesting travelling in Europe in beer drinking countries when so much is focused on touring breweries and going to beer tastings. I even had trouble getting good pictures at the Rijksmuseum because the Heineken crew was filming a commercial in front of the museum.
@msdeniseh553
Denise at My Life in Retirement Flanders Fields
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Beer is having a resurgence too so it is the focus to a lot of tour activities, but there are many other things to do around here too. I can see where it would make traveling to beer focused countries interesting.
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As I’m currently living in central London, there’s a pub on every corner with more types of beer than I’ve evert seen before. Our local actually specialises in types of cider, so I’m making my way through the list of those. it’s a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make.
http://wendyoftherock.blogspot.com
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We visited London a few years back for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary. So much fun! Definitely plenty of pubs. I like cider too. There are some great cider makers in Maine as well.
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I only recently found out that “craft beer” was a thing (I’m not a big beer person). One of my classmates wrote a paper on them. It is a fascinating thing 🙂 And I’d like to taste some of them!
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
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It is amazing how it’s taken off. It wasn’t that long ago that the choices in beer were limited now there is something for everyone.
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I absolutely did not know that April 7th was National Beer Day nor that beer was a big deal in Maine. But then, I don’t know much about Maine, much as I’d like to visit some day. I’m hoping till then your blog will broaden my horizons! Thanks for sharing!
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Craft beer has really exploded in Maine. It’s amazing how many local brewers we have. I hope you do get to visit someday. It’s a fun place.
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Well, as I live in a state with a baseball team named after the people who make beer, I think it probably goes without saying that we have plenty of breweries around.
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Yes, you do! It’s fun to have so much variety.
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Lots of choice for beer lovers! I’m not really a beer drinker, but I could still happily get behind national beer day as long as they didn’t mind me drinking wine haha
Debbie
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I often drink wine when my husband is checking out the latest craft brews.
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It is interesting that craft beer is making a name in Maine I used to hear of draft beer being a liking of those who prefer them to the bottled ones!
Hank
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It really has exploded here. There are tons of choices weather you’re looking for draft, canned or bottled.
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I’ve tried a couple of Maine beers before, but I didn’t realize there were so many craft breweries. Yet another reason to visit Maine!
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There are so many great reasons to visit Maine and craft breweries is certainly one of them! I’ll be heading down your way again soon. Looking forward to exploring NYC more too.
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Very nice beer production. 🙂
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Yes, I thought it was great how they incorporated sustainable practices into their production.
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Interesting read. I love craft beer and would definitely check out Flight Deck Brewing if I’m ever in the states! Check out my recent post on my current favourite craft beer from right here in Western Australia. It’s called Hop Hog by Feral Breweries and is amazing! https://drinkeatwrite-etal.com/2017/04/28/craft-beer-feral-brewerys-hop-hog-favourite-beer/
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If you ever get to Maine, you’ll have to check out the craft beer trail. There are lots of great local breweries out this way.
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