Category: Beer

A new brewery producing nonalcoholic beer is under construction in West Bayside. KitNA Brewing (website, instagram) will be Maine’s first brewery dedicated to making nonalcoholic beer. KitNA is a collaboration between Rob Barrett, the owner Barrett Made, and Will Fisher, the cofounder of Austin Street Brewing.

According the press release,

[Barrett and Fisher] aim to provide a premium, high-quality alternative to alcoholic beer, with the goal to master a product that satisfies the discerning palate of beer drinkers and beyond. The duo brought on local experienced brewers, Adrian Beck-Oliver and Simon Burhoe to join KITna as Co-Head Brewers. The two have been working day in and day out to create the brewery’s core beer lineup while simultaneously launching the production side of the brewery. Headquartered in an old workshop-turned-brewery in Barrett’s West Bayside building, KITna will announce the name of its first beer in the coming weeks. All of their offerings will deliver on the founding intent to bring the quality, consistency, and integrity of craft beer without the alcohol.

Their first beers are expected to be available later this year.

Mast Landing (website, facebook, instagram) has announced they’ll be partnering with Nighthawk’s Kitchen (instagram) in the launch of their new 11,000 sq ft brewery and tasting room in Freeport. While the kitchen is being built out Nighthawk’s will initially open as a food truck and then expand into a brick and mortar restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating.

According to the press release, the menu will feature “original and approachable menus of American and international comfort foods utilizing the freshest locally sourced ingredients” including options for vegans and a children’s menu.

Nighthawk’s Kitchen is the creation of Christian “Nighthawk” Noe who moved to Yarmouth from NYC in 2020 where in addition to operating Nighthawk’s Kitchen at LIC Flea and Food and Rockaway Brewing Company in Long Island City he also founded a catering company called Film Eats.

Mast Landing anticipates opening their new Freeport location in July where they will be “showcasing small-batch recipes made and offered exclusively at the Freeport location, as well as its lineup of flagship beers”.

Westbrook-based Mast Landing Brewing will be opening an 11,000 square foot brewery and tasting room in Freeport later this year at Freeport Crossing.

Mast Landing’s two-story home at Freeport Crossing will serve as a year-round destination that showcases small-batch recipes made and offered exclusively at the Freeport location, as well as some of the brewery’s flagship beers. The venue will feature Freeport Crossing’s signature all-glass curtain wall, allowing for tremendous natural light, as well as a spacious outdoor area accessible from a garage door style entrance. The tasting room will prioritize a warm, family-friendly atmosphere, and will accommodate guests with high top tables, comfortable lounge seating, and bar service. 

Brickyard Hollow Brewing (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has leased the former Arabica coffee shop at 9 Commercial Street where they plan to open a 60+ seat pizzeria and brew pub with a menu similar to what they offer at their location in Freeport. The room will feature a long bar along the right side of the room, a banquet along the left wall and table seating throughout the rest of the dining room. The 3,000 sq ft space will soon be under renovation and the owners hope to open by mid-summer.

Brickyard plans to keep their main brewing facility in Yarmouth but will likely be producing small batch specialty beers on Commercial Street.

Brickyard Hollow Brewing launched in Yarmouth in 2018 and opened their Freeport location in 2019. This new outpost follows a pattern of other Maine breweries (e.g. Oxbow, Banded Brewing and Batson River) that have opened second locations in the city after founding their business elsewhere in the state.

A new brewery specializing in gluten-free beer is under construction in Biddeford. Lucky Pigeon Brewing (facebook, instagram) will be located in the Pepperell Mill complex in the same building as Banded Brewing. Lucky Pigeon will be the first brewery in Maine exclusively producing gluten-free beer, and will be brewing with millett, buckwheat and rice.

Head brewer Scott Nebel got his start in the beer industry at Sebago, and most recently was part of the team at Maine Beer Company. He’s been brewing test batches of IPAs, brown ales, Kolsch-style blonde, and porters. Lucky Pigeon plans to produce a range of styles along with seasonal and special batch beers.

Owners Kathleen Pigeon, Bev Pigeon, Nic Bramer and Lesley Bramer hope to launch Lucky Pigeon this spring. They have set-up an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising $20k to pay for a high capacity canning machine. You can read more about Lucky Pigeon and contribute to the campaign on indiegogo.com.

A new brewery called Belleflower Brewing (website, facebook, instagram) has taken over the former Brewery Extrava space in East Bayside. Owners Zach Page, Melissa Page, Nick Bonadies and Katie Bonadies plan on launching later this year producing a line-up of hoppy beers and stouts to start.

As reported by Don Littlefield, Zach Page is the former head brewer at Lone Pine Brewing, and Nick Bonadies is a former VP at Trillium. Prior to joining Lone Pine, Page was the head of brewing operations at Trillium.

They’re currently in the process of going through licensing for Belleflower and will share more details about when they plan to open when they’re able. In the meantime follow them on instagram and keep your eyes on 66 Cove Street to keep apprised of their progress.