From their beginnings as home brew hobbyists to becoming one of the top rated breweries in the world, Maine Beer Company has spent the past 12 years honing their craft, growing responsibly, and unwavering from their mantra: “Do What’s Right.”
Founded in 2009 by David and Daniel Kleban, Maine Beer Company‘s original location – a one-barrel brewhouse, was set up across the street from Maine’s primary craft brewer at the time, Allagash Brewing. Getting to that point involved summers of home brewing on a 1/2 barrel gravity brewhouse they bought on Craigslist. They dialed in their process on Dave’s porch in the summer and through the winter in the garage, focusing their efforts on one beer, Spring Peeper Ale (now simply Peeper).
They quit their day jobs to brew full-time, pledging only to return to their former lives if the beer wasn’t embraced, which clearly didn’t happen. Within a two years they scaled up to a 15 bbl brewhouse and a 30 bbl fermenter, then quickly added a few more fermenters in short order. Before they knew it, they were out of space at their Industrial Way location in Portland, quickly planning their next move, this time into a custom built location. Opening in April of 2013, Maine Beer’s sole location today is in Freeport, about a 20 min drive up the coast from Portland, where they now operate both the previous 15 bbl brewhouse and a 60 bbl system.
Despite all this growth, the brothers Kleban – a two person board of directors now working with CEO Steve Mills (formerly of Boulevard Brewing and Uinta Brewing), have always stuck to their motto to Do What’s Right. Since the early years, the brewery has been a member of 1% For The Planet, donating upwards of $150,000 annually to non-profit organizations working in environmental conservation, wildlife preservation, and a wide variety of locally focused advocacy groups. They’ve also set a goal of powering their entire operation with solar energy by 2030, evidenced by the solar cells that cover their Freeport location.
This attention to quality has been most obvious in what they regularly brew – a surprisingly short list of deliciously dialed in offerings. According to Untappd, they’ve only 19 beers listed, further testament to their guiding principle of sticking to what works and making it as well as possible. As a result, Maine Beer Company has been listed on RateBeer’s Best Breweries in the World for quite a few years now.
We couldn’t be more excited to feature Maine Beer Company for their first distribution across Oregon! We’ve received 4 bottled and 4 draft options, which started arriving throughout Oregon on Wednesday and will continue to do so over the next week. Here’s a rundown of what’s available:
- Lunch ~ India Pale Ale ~ Our “East Coast” version of a West Coast-style IPA. Intense hop flavors and aromas of tropical and citrus fruits and pine dominate. A subtle malt sweetness brings the beer into balance, 7%. Available in bottles and on draft.
- MO ~ Pale Ale ~ Just after opening our brewery, working long nights, weekends, and still maintaining our day jobs, my brother Daniel (the brewer) had twins. Cheers to his courage and dedication to making better beer. Flavors of tangerine, apricot, and orange with notes of passionfruit, pine, and malt sweetness, 6%. Available on draft only.
- Peeper ~ Pale Ale ~ Our original hoppy American ale. Dry, clean, well-balanced with a generous dose of American hops, 5.5%. Available in bottles only.
- Spring ~ India Pale Ale ~ Spring is our take on an American IPA, tailored to days when we start looking forward to warmer weather. Utilizing Cascade, Amarillo, Simcoe, and Eukuanot hops, Spring has floral hop aromas amd notes of citrus, tropical fruit, and mixed berries, 6.5%. Available in bottles and on draft.
- Woods & Waters ~ India Pale Ale ~ We brewed this special IPA to commemorate the establishment of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. We incorporated Maine-grown barley and wheat, along with generous amounts of hops with flavors and aromas of pine and citrus, reminiscent of the outdoors. Cheers to Mother Nature and all she provides us! Flavors of melon, pineapple, and pink grapefruit. Underlying notes of onion and garlic with subtle pine and a faint malt grain sweetness, 6.2%. Available in bottles and on draft.
Content for this article sourced from Maine Beer Company, Good Beer Hunting, Forbes, Craft Beer and Brewing, and Maine Brewers Guild.
Day One Distribution 