Casco Bay Brewing Company - Old Port Winter Ale

Old Port Winter Ale is a holiday seasonal ale, meaning it’s only available a few months out of the year. And as luck would have it, this just happens to be one of those months! Old Port is copper in color and will be slightly hazy. Look for a light, white head that leaves a healthy amount of lace on the edge of your glass. The nose is bold and filled with citrus and floral hops, with hints of grapefruit and caramel. Look for a semi-sweet malt flavor with a tasty hop bite. The finish has a good hop bitterness to it and lingers for quite some time. This is an excellent “warming up” beer for a cold winter night.

The Casco Bay Brewing Company was established in 1994 in the city of Portland, Maine. They have the distinction of being the third largest brewery in the state and the only brewery to offer lager style beers year round. Due to a large number of breweries in Maine offering British style ales, Casco Bay decided to offer American and European style beers instead. Although brewing lagers traditionally takes much longer than brewing ales, they felt that filling the niche was a winning strategy and man, oh man, were they right!

Mike La Charite and Bob Wade, the owners of Casco Bay Brewing, are both well-regarded home brewers and have served as judges at competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival. Mike, the president and head brewer, is an award winning homebrewer, Certified National Beer Judge, homebrew instructor, and founder of the largest homebrew club in Maine M.A.L.T. or Maine Ale and Lager Tasters. He is also a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology in Chicago. You could say he’s got beer in his blood…figuratively, and most likely literally as well! Quality control and such.

Mike and Bob are two guys who believe in staying close to their roots. Each year they take everyone who helps out at the brewery up to Mt. Katahdin for a few days of hiking, white water rafting, and of course, beer drinking. For those of you who think that working at Casco Bay sounds like a dream job, get in line! We've already applied ourselves!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (207) 797-2020 or check out their web site at www.cascobaybrewing.com.