Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X V I I I f you want to know the movers and shakers behind Maine's booming beer industry, getting to know Heather Sanborn would be a good first step. And that's not just because she's the director of business operations for Rising Tide Brewing Co., the Portland brewery she co-owns with her hus- band, Nathan, the company's head brewer. Her unique career path — starting out as a high school teacher and then studying law to become an attorney — has led Sanborn to become one of the Maine beer industry's leading advocates. Now serving as president of the Maine Brewers' Guild, Sanborn works with the nonprofit's executive direc- tor to promote and protect the state's more than 60 breweries and brewpubs — which, combined with retailers and wholesalers, led the beer industry to have a nearly $1.3 billion economic impact in Maine last year, according to the Beer Institute. "is is a really unique industry that we get to be a part of," Sanborn says on a recent morning on the patio outside Rising Tide's facility. "As a result, I think we can have a really strong organization because we can sit in a room and talk about how we wish the world were and often get on the same page, even though we have breweries that are mak- ing 100 barrels a year and breweries that are making 150,000 barrels a year within the state." Brewing success B y D y l a n M a r t i n P H O T O / W I L L I A M T R E VA S K I S F O O D A N D B E V E R AG E Heather Sanborn Director of business operations Rising Tide Brewing Rising Tide Brewing Co. 103 Fox St., Portland Founded: 2010 Product: Beer Employees: 14 full-time, 2 part-time Revenue: Would not disclose Contact: 370-2337 www.risingtidebrewing.com Heather Sanborn, director of business operations at Rising Tide Brewing Co. in Portland, uses her legal skills to help not only her company but also Maine's booming beer industry. A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5 24

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