Shipyard Brewing Company is a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
and
soft drink manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, USA, and founded in 1994. Shipyard is the largest brewer in Maine (owning the Shipyard,
Sea Dog Brewing Company, and
Casco Bay Brewing Company banners, and bottling under contract with
Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company). Shipyard is the fourth largest microbrewery in New England after
Boston Beer Company,
Harpoon Brewery, and
Magic Hat Brewing Company
Magic Hat Brewing Company is a brewery and wholly owned brand of Florida Ice & Farm Co., which is headquartered in Costa Rica. It began production in 1994, and is distributed across the United States. Their flagship beer, the apricot-tinged #9, is ...
.
History
Shipyard first began in 1992 as the Kennebunkport Brewing Co. with founders Fred Forsley and Alan Pugsley at Federal Jack’s Restaurant and Brew Pub in Kennebunk, which is one of
Maine's original brew pubs and working breweries. Within two years, demand for Kennebunkport Brewing Co. beer outpaced the small operation and, in April 1994, businessman Fred Forsley and brewer Alan Pugsley expanded and opened the Shipyard Brewing Company in the heart of the waterfront in Portland, Maine on the site of the former Crosby Laughlin Foundry.
In 2008, Shipyard Brewing Company brewed 81,641 barrels of ale and shipped 2,900 barrels of soda. Its products are available in 40 states.
Shipyard operates several restaurants and contract breweries, and is active in many community projects around
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
. Shipyard is partners with the Sea Dog Brewing Company and Casco Bay Brewing Company. Shipyard also produces beer under contract for Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company,
brews an American version of Old Thumper under license from
Ringwood Brewery
Ringwood Brewery is a small brewery on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, England, near the Dorset border. It produces mainly cask ales and some bottled beers.
The emblem for the brewery is a boar.
There are records from the early 19th c ...
, and distributes the Capt'n Eli's Soda line of soft drinks.
Shipyard previously brewed at the Shipyard Emporium in
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winter Park was f ...
.
Casco Bay Brewing Co.
Casco Bay Brewing Co. was a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, U.S. In 2008, Casco Bay was acquired by Shipyard Brewing Company and became a Shipyard brand. The brewery was founded by Bob Wade and Mike (pud) Lacharite in 1994. Today Casco Bay distributes beer throughout
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
under its own brand as well as the Carrabassett brand. The brewery had a capacity of 11,000 bbls a year. As of 2008, Casco Bay has been acquired by Shipyard Brewing Company and is now brewed and bottled in their facility near the Portland waterfront.
Casco Bay uses two-row
malted barley
Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as "malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air.
Malted grain is used to make beer, whi ...
and a variety of other specialty malts. The brewery also utilizes grains from Germany, England, Belgium, Canada and the United States to adjust the flavor, color and mouthfeel of its brews. It imports
hops from Germany for its
Pilsner
Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Bre ...
and utilizes hops from the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
of the United States for the rest of its brews. The
ale yeast is an American strain, while
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...
yeast is imported from Germany.
See also
*
List of Maine breweries
*
Beer in the United States
Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels () of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly of bee ...
References
External links
*{{Official website
Beer brewing companies based in Maine
Companies based in Portland, Maine
1992 establishments in Maine
American companies established in 1992