Casco Bay Brewing Company - Casco Bay Brown Ale

On the pour, expect a deep reddish brown color capped by a moderately sized tan head. The aroma profile is dominated by the rich, malty aroma of soft brown bread, with light notes of chocolate, molasses, and a fig-like wisp. On the palate, big, lightly toasted, bready malts compose the core of this brew. Notes of brown sugar join with some chocolate, while a lightly fruity impression flows underneath with a hint of tartness. Look for the hops to provide a moderately spicy, earthy component, while the bitterness does a good job as a counterbalance to the malt core which, while on the richer side, never breaks loose into cloying sweetness. Well-balanced and medium bodied, Casco Bay’s Brown Ale is one of the better browns we’ve sampled recently, and would make a great accompaniment to French onion soup, a moderately spicy jambalaya, or an earthy, woody cigar. Cheers!

Founders Bob Wade and Mike Lacharite opened the Casco Bay Brewing Company in the spring of 1994, originally brewing beers under the Katahdin name. Now here comes an inspirational part of the story: Bryan Smith started with the company less than a year later as a part-time bottler, but eventually went on to become owner, president, and brewmaster. We’re not making this up! Bryan started as a bottler in January of 1995, and by May he had become a brewer. After leaving to study the chemistry and microbiology of brewing (as well as brewery management) at the American Brewers Guild in California at UC Davis, Bryan returned to Maine in January of 1998 and, along with two other partners, bought out Mike Lacharite’s half of the business. Bryan took over all brewing operations, and it was later that year that they introduced Casco Bay Pilsner, the first of their beers to bear the Casco Bay name. In 1999, the Katahdin line was dropped in favor of their developing Casco Bay brand. The Katahdin Red Ale was reworked and turned into Casco Bay’s Riptide Red, which went on to win Gold at the 2000 World Beer Cup. In 2002, Bob Wade sold his half of the business to Bryan and his partners who went on to expand the brewery and grow the business further. In 2008, fellow Portland brewer Shipyard Brewing Company, owned by Maine native Fred Forsley and famed English Master Brewer Alan Pugsley (considered by many to be the "Johnny Appleseed of Brewing" due to his involvement in the founding and growth of numerous American microbreweries and his central position in this country’s craft brewing revolution), took over the Casco Bay line and continues to grow the regional brand throughout New England.