Our August MBWG meeting featured some new members, a splendid brewery tour of the original Shipyard brewery, and some very tasty barley wine at Federal Jack’s in Kennebunkport. With one founder now out of state, another down with a stomach bug, and two members deciding to meet us at Fed Jack’s, four of us (and two DD’s, a.k.a. very patient wives) met at Great Lost Bear for a quick pint before heading down the Turnpike to Kennebunkport.
We arrived just before 7:00 PM on Wednesday to find the parking area jammed with cars. The rainy weather probably helped business, but the slow economy sure doesn’t seem to be hurting Kennebunkport’s tourism much. After Sean and Chris arrived, we shared a pint with brewer Mike Haley and then headed downstairs for a tour of the brewery where Alan Pugsley (and Fred Forsley) started Shipyard some 16 years ago.
We got a wonderful tour of what has to be the nicest 7 Bbl brewing system in the world. Brewers Mike Haley and Nick Marray run a fairly autonomous operation with minimal oversight from Portland. As something of a working museum to Shipyard and Pugsley’s widely-sold brewing system, there are numerous plexiglass windows showing the outside world what goes on inside. This, and Haley’s obsessive attention to detail, ensures that everything is clean and organized inside.
Without boring you with too many details, most of the beer brewed in Kennebunkport stays in Kennebunkport, having only to make the trip upstairs in one of the three lines that serve the main and deck bars. The draught beers are served straight from the finishing tanks, and cask ales come out of firkins stored in the cold room as well. In all there are five 7 Bbl fermenting vats and two 14 Bbl conditioning tanks (which makes for some interesting scheduling problems, I’m sure). One of the cool details was the system for keeping foam out of the lines, shown below. Designed by Haley, this system of fobs closes the lines when the source pressure drops too much and is now in place in several bars throughout the region and helps ensure consistent product with minimal waste.
The two memorable beers for me with the barley wine, which is a little young but shows great promise (definitely Worth Trying right now and very well might mature into Don’t Miss This One status) and the Taint Town Pale Ale on cask. It’s been a while since I’ve had its brother the Chamberlain Pale Ale, but the Taint Town was quite nicely balanced and had a pleasant finish without too much of that “love it or hate it” Ringwood yeast character to it. This one rates a Worth Trying as well.
Aside from the beer and the impressive brewery tour, the Guild discussed upcoming plans, including where to meet in September, a planned trip to NERAX North, and our involvement with the Maine Brewers’ Festival. Arriving back in Portland around 10:30 after a very pleasant evening, I’d have to say that the trip down to Federal Jack’s was every bit worth the drive. Good food, good beer, a great tour, and a lovely view of the port…what more can you ask for? A big thanks to Mike and to Tami Kennedy for arranging our visit.