PORTLAND, Maine — Maine has quickly established itself as one of the premiere brewing hubs in the country.
On Wednesday, it played host to some of the region's best beer brains.
Portland was chosen to host the eighth annual New England Craft Brew Summit. A total of 450 attendees representing 80 brands across five states met at the Holiday Inn for a day full of networking, business lessons, and sips over conversation.
Jenn Lever, president of the Maine Brewers Guild, explained how collaboration across borders is not only in line with her members' way of life, but these days, Maine brewing has an exceptional amount of value to offer.
"They see value in making the travel time and expense to come up and see what we’re doing here in Maine," Lever said of the out-of-state visitors.
What we're doing here in Maine is impressive. Lever represents 167 Maine breweries. Before 2007, there were just 14. The guild and the University of Maine estimate Maine's brewers generate $260 million in annual economic impact.
"It’s not all just in Portland," Kai Adams of Sebago Brewing said. "Some of the bigger breweries are there, but what makes some of the breweries so successful in Maine is the fact that they’re pillars in their community."
"I feel like the rural breweries have a really strong, local, loyal customer base," Anna Frost said. She's the tasting room manager of Pour Farm Brewing in Union, which calls itself a nanobrewery.
In the country or the city, if you can make it in Maine brewing, you can make it anywhere.
Belleflower is a perfect example of making it.
Three years old this month, Nick Bonadies and his co-owners opened the brewery in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood. Home to A-lister breweries Lone Pine, Goodfire, Rising Tide, and Austin Street, the neighborhood is a murder's row of malt.
Belleflower has done more than hold its own.
"We just got named the best brewery of 2023 by Hop Culture Magazine, which was, like, insane," Bonadies beamed. "For a little, tiny brewery with literally four people working in the back of house, to get that kind of recognition, it means a lot."
It hasn't all been roses in the industry. Lever said the COVID-19 pandemic caused many brewery leaders to reevaluate and get creative to stay afloat. Since then, there have been some business closures and contractions of breweries with multiple locations.
Still, Maine's craft brew network has rocketed into one of the most recognizable and sought-after brands in the United States. So, how many breweries are too many?
"Who knows?" Lever posed. "I mean, maybe we’ll be at 220; but maybe we’ll be at 150 and there’s a lot of really healthy breweries that are happy to be in the scene, and continuing to be creative and dynamic."
Creative, dynamic, and tasty. We’ll be the judge of that.