Review of Ernie’s & Gritty’s 25th

The Press Herald has reviewed Ernie’s Pool and Darts,

The bartenders are friends or family members of owner Ernie Rouleau, and if you’re a new face, they’ll welcome you with a warm smile and quick run-down of the menu. There’s no happy hour, but none of the drinks are more than $4 (Natural Light and Busch Light are always $1 on tap) and the bar food – like the steak ’n cheese and meatball sub – are all made to order (unless you grab a bag of chips or a candy bar for a $1). The kitchen space is small, but there might be some steak sizzling on the grill, a handmade personal pizza cooking in the oven and a soft pretzel plumping in the microwave.

and this week’s What Ales You Column reports on a collaboration between Gritty’s and Deschutes Brewing Company from Portland Oregon.

Getting back to the Bachelor Bitter. This is a clear but unfiltered bitter, a West Coast style but with English roots evident. It is hoppier than other Gritty beers, but not overpowering, and balanced, with a good amount of malt in the finish.

It is only 4.8 percent alcohol by volume, so it is a session beer, although a highly flavorful one.

Both Gritty’s and Deschutes were founded in 1988 and are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

Maine #4 in Beer Revenue

IMPACT_CAPITA_lrThe Brewers Association has released data that shows Maine’s beer industry have the 4th highest economic impact per capita in the nation at $324.36 per person. The economic impact is “derived from the total impact of beer brewed by craft brewers as it moves through the three-tier system (breweries, wholesalers and retailers), as well as all non-beer products that brewpub restaurants sell.”

Best and Worst Tips of 2013

Portland Daily Sun columnist Natalie Ladd share her Best and Worst Tips of 2013 in today’s paper,

4) I was delighted when a customer left me a $25 Visa gift card. I was not so delighted when I tried checking out at CVS with fun stuff I didn’t need, and was told the card had a zero balance on it. The line was long and I was embarrassed, so I paid cash.

Also in today’s Sun is an article about Steve & Renee’s Diner.

 

Wine Request List for 2014 & MOFGA Field Guide Poetry

libby_bookThe Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about a book of poetry by Russell Libby the deceased former director of MOFGA entitled What You Should Know: A Field Guide to Three Sisters Farm,

The poems are about the future of Libby’s land at Three Sisters Farm in Mount Vernon, and the role his family will play in taking care of that land. The underlying theme is mortality. The last in the collection, “Things You Should Know,” begins with the lines: “If I could, I would walk with you long enough that you, too, might find your way about without a map or guide, but I am certain it will take a while to share what I have learned these past three decades, and the time to start is now.”

and columnist Joe Appel shares a wish list for changes he’d like to see in wine consumers, servers and producers,

Drinkers, Again
Hold feet to fire. You ask your grocer where the broccoli came from; you ask your clothier the age of the Bangladeshi child who knit your socks. Wine is a consumable, and ought to be held to the same standards we apply to other aspects of our lives.

Maine Food Enterprises in Top Gun

Top Gun is an intensive 5-month training program that teaches small business owners the skills they need to grow and be successful. The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial runs the program and it’s a point of distinction just to be invited to participate.

Nine out the 21 organizations people in the Spring 2014 class are Maine food/agricultural businesses. From the Portland area are Nonesuch Oysters, Apiara (beekeeping technology), and Finest Kind Tea. Participants from further afield in Maine include Bixby Bar (a 2014 Good Food Award finalist), a distillery, a malt house and more.

You can learn more about Top Gun on the MCED website.