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V O L . X X V I I N O. X I X S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 1 24 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P She'll source one of beer's key ingre- dients — malt from Blue Ox Malthouse, located just down the road in Lisbon Falls, and hops from Woodside Hop House in Brunswick. Still others carving out a market Another small central Maine town will soon see its own brewery. Sidereal Farm Brewery plans to open by early winter in Vassalboro. e farmhouse style brewery, located on co-owner David D'Angelo's farm, will focus on wild fermented beers, wine, cider and mead, also headed by yeast-expert Justin Amaral, who owns Maniacal Yeast, a yeast bank that houses about 3,600 strains of yeast and bacteria and works with over 1,000 breweries around the world, including about half of Maine's brewers. e Bangor-based yeast bank will move onsite along with rotating food trucks that will source sea- sonal ingredients from the farm. Hi-Fidelity will join the East Bayside crew by late September, according to brewer and co-owner Dante Maderal, formerly of Atlantic Brewing. e new brewery will capitalize on a growing trend toward beers with less alcohol and will offer low- to moderate-alcohol beers in a variety of classic styles. In addition to beers, Maderal, who is partnering with Portland musician P.D. Wappler, said he's focused on "cultivat- ing a comfortable space with a focus on live music and original artists. We are excited to be opening in such a cool neighborhood alongside other breweries and art galleries like Zero Station." Sales of low- and even no-alcohol beer rose by 30% in the U.S. last year, according to Craft Brewing Business, an online trade journal. While Woodland Farms Brewery was the first in Maine to jump on the non- alcoholic beer bandwagon, with its Pointer nonalcoholic IPA, Maine will soon have its own exclusively nonal- coholic brewery. KITna Brewing announced its launch last month. Founded by Will Fisher, cofounder and head of operations at Austin Street Brewery, and Rob Barrett, owner and presi- dent of Barrett Made Architecture + Construction, the brewery will be located in Portland's West Bayside neighborhood. e partners are planning for a national direct-mail distribution, since NA beers don't have the shipping restrictions of their alcoholic cousins, along with availability in local stores and restaurants by the end of the year. A small on-site tasting room may also be in the works for 2022. More than suds Some Maine craft brewers have been broadening their horizons beyond beer. Breweries have begun dabbling in other alcoholic beverages, with a couple new ones going all-in on hard seltzer, cider and kombucha. Apres, a craft seltzer and cider focused brewery and taproom, opened in Portland's East Bayside in July. ere are currently hard and soft seltzer offer- ings, while the hard cider continues to age. With a focus on fresh and local, Apres recently started canning, with a raw-ginger-and-lemon hard seltzer first in production, followed by three others, including a gin-and-tonic inspired selt- zer, with more rotating flavors on tap. Maine Booch Brewing opened its doors in July, brewing up organic hard kombucha. e brewery and cash-only tasting room is located in the former Van Lloyd's Bistro building in down- town Damariscotta. Owner Chauncey Erskine, who also manages Mexicali Blues in Freeport, serves up different flavors of the kombucha, a fermented tea, typi- cally non-alcoholic, that he ferments a second time in bourbon barrels from Split Rock Distilling to increase the alcohol content. Catie Joyce-Bulay, a freelance writer, can be reached at editorial @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Farmington, Maine | 800.698.4801 | www.franklinprinting.com Offset • Digital • Mail House • Wide Format • Folding Cartons • For over 50 years, we have partnered with Maine's startups and entrepreneurs to build their brands through print. Farmington, Maine | 800.698.4801 | www.franklinprinting.com Offset • Digital • Mail House • Wide Format • Folding Cartons • For over 50 years, we have partnered with Maine's startups and entrepreneurs to build their brands through print. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY In trying to fill the niche of what's missing in Maine, it is going to naturally appeal to a large cross section of women who are making the switch from wine to beer but who don't care for hoppy styles. — Christy Cain Olive Pit Christy Cain, who recently earned a diploma in brewing science, plans an October opening for her Olive Pit brewery in Lisbon, named after her pit bull Olive Roo. F O C U S

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