Wowza, scorching hot last week and summer thunder this week… just perfect for all of Maine’s great summer ales! Which is your favorite? I'm partial to cask-conditioned ales, so it was a summertime treat to have a fresh Gritty's Vacationland Ale from the cask at the bar in Portland last week. The Gritty's team is also hard at work to make this weekend’s Up North Music and Art Festival a raging success… beer, oysters, camping, music… book your ticket now!
Summertime is lobster time, so I've recently snagged a couple of Belfast Bay’s Lobster Ales. Imagine my surprise when I found Lobster Ale in Exeter, New Hampshire, on draft at the Tavern at River’s Edge! Pat Mullen and his team from Lincolnville are doing a great job of brewing and of marketing, as their distinctive lobster claw tap was looking right at home between the Newcastle and Bass taps. Pat reports fast sales for kegs of Lobster Ale in Maine and in more and more other states.

Beer geeks and fans of the Maine brewing industry should check out the updates on our website about the Friday Night Dinner With the Brewers event at Portland’s Clarion Hotel, featuring a great discussion between expert brewmasters from Allagash, Shipyard, Atlantic, and Gritty's. Live music, a dinner menu chosen by the brewers, a brewer at each table, a cool mug, and Beer Wisdom will all be yours if you Learn Your Beer at this great first-time ever event… buy your tickets now, or upgrade to include this event if you already bought the traditional Festival-only Saturday ticket!

Hot weather makes for hot ticket sales, and we’re off to a roaring start! We’re only selling tickets and tee shirts from this website right now, and we’ve already sold more than normal for midsummer. For the hundreds of you who already guaranteed your fun, we say “Thanks, and cheers!” If you or your friends have not ordered yet, buy your tickets now, or go to Gritty's or RSVP starting Friday, August 15th.

Our new website’s blog will keep you informed, educated, and entertained – all about your favorite Maine Brewers – as we move closer to the festival date of Saturday, November 1, 2008. Tickets and our beautiful new tee shirts will go on sale on Thursday, July 24, right here on this website, www.MaineBrew.com . (As always, you'll be able to buy tix at Gritty's and RSVP beginning in August… more on that next week!)

Learn Your Beer! Buy the premium VIP dinner package and you’ll spend the Friday eve before the Festival learning about beer directly from some of Maine’s top micro-brewers. These Master Brewers will present and describe their best products, and you'll have a chance to ask questions and learn more about how their brewing techniques make a special brew. Then you'll dine with the brewers, enjoy some good Beer Geek chatter, collect a full-color/full-sized Maine Brewers Festival mug and some other good schwag, all before Saturday’s Festival.

Right now there are lots of great brewers signed up – more than last year – including some of those hard-to-find Maine brewers whose brews you may not have tasted before!

C’mon back to www.MaineBrew.com on July 24th to buy your tickets and tees… remember the Festival sells out every year!