Maine Brewers Guild Summer Session did not disapoint

The Maine Brewers Guild had a tough task in front of them this summer,

one hot ticket

one hot ticket

throwing down a brewfest one year after the Sierra Nevada Brewfest Across America came to town, in the same venue without all the hoopla that came along with that festival. I had confidence though, and in January I marked July 25, 2015 on my calendar, called and booked a hotel room and waited patiently for the day to come. I was not disappointed, while I don’t think Summer Session topped the Sierra Nevada festival from last summer it came pretty damn close to equaling it, easily in the top 5 brewfests I’ve ever attended.

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Venue, facilities and food trucks

Thompsons Point is a killer venue for a brewfest, the event hall, which is basically a skeleton structure with a roof overhead, provides an open environment, allowing a breeze off the water and a protection from the sun or rain, it was comfortable and even at the busiest moments not overly crowded. Outside of the event hall there was a second tent that housed the Beer DNA exhibit and the beer school classes. Food trucks were lined up, lots of options there. A stage for live acts and near the entrance/exit was a huge bank of porta-potties, a key component to any brewfest, there were so many that there was never a chance for a line to form and locating them near the exit is just smart, it’s the last place you hit before you leave and not having to fight the flow out of the festival to get there made everything easier.

A sample of Laser Kitten Session IPA from Medusa Brewing Company

A sample of Laser Kitten Session IPA from Medusa Brewing Company

The list of breweries attending was stellar, the beers they brought along were next level. I find it difficult to attend a brewfest in Maine that has mostly Maine breweries and find new beers I’ve never had before, not a problem at this festival. Then there were the breweries “from away” as they say, which bumped up the excitement level of this fest for me. Lord Hobo Brewing who will be distributing in Maine soon, Treehouse and Jacks Abby are great, I wish I could get their beer more often, I’d never had Medusa Brewing before, they rocked. I could just keep going but I think you get it.

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Looking in on a Beer School class

 

The Maine Brewers Guild Summer Session was a fantastic brewfest, congrats to everyone involved for putting on a well run brewfest. If you missed this festival it’s worth keeping an eye on the Maine Brewers Guild facebook page and website for announcements about next years festival.

Cheers,

Chaddah

Plenty of space for lawn chairs and blankets to sit out and watch the bands play

Plenty of space for lawn chairs and blankets to sit out and watch the bands play

Beer DNA exhibit

Beer DNA exhibit

Chad Lothian

About Chad Lothian

Chad Lothian lives in Old Town, Maine. He is a craft beer enthusiast and homebrewer. Chad has travelled to brewpubs, breweries and brewfests all over New England.