COVID-19 Update

In response to recent global events, First Mile Brewing Co. released the following statement last week regarding the coronavirus, COVID-19, and our short-term mitigation strategy:

"In light of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maine, we’d like to assure you we here at First Mile Brewing take staff and customer health and safety seriously.  The tap room will remain open at this time, though we will continue to monitor the situation, as necessary.

We have implemented a few changes to help:

Staff will sanitize high touch areas more frequently throughout their shift (door knobs, table tops, sink handles, etc)

Staff will sanitize the iPad cash out system more frequently

Games and table menus have been removed. A menu is available with your server upon request

Staff will also continue normal cleaning routines. Glassware is, as always, sanitized between uses. Our brewers will also continue to follow industry standard cleanliness and sanitizing practices in the brew house and during the brewing and packaging processes.

Please remember to do your part to help control the potential spread of this virus. Remember to wash your hands frequently, don’t touch your face, be kind to each other. And as always, if you’re feeling unwell, stay home!"

However, as of today, FMB has issued the following statement, in accordance with state mandate:

"After much thought and consideration concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic, the First Mile Brewing Family has decided to close the tap room for in house guests at this time.  We do this with heavy hearts but with our staff and public health safety as our top priority.

We will continue to offer to go options, including many canned options and new growler fills. We will only fill new, unused growlers for the time being.  Please do not bring your empty growlers in - we will not be accepting them until further notice. We also will only be accepting credit and gift card payments. NO CASH.

This is in effect through Sunday, March 29 at which time we will reassess the situation and the current CDC recommendations.

Our hours will be adjusted as follows:

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 330-600

Saturday: 200-600

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday: Closed

All tips will be donated to the Fort Kent Ecumenical Food Pantry to assist families in need during these tough times.

We thank you for your continued support and patronage.

Be safe. Stay healthy."

A global pandemic such as this one is entirely unprecedented. But, with strict mitigation strategies now being implemented state- and nation-wide, this is an issue that we will all weather together. In such trying times, please remember that the health of you and your loved ones are first priority, and, if personal well-being permits, continue to show support for your community's local small businesses. If you would like to keep abreast of news about brewery and tap room operations, feel free to subscribe to our email list from our website. We will be releasing updates and revelations as needed over the course of the next couple to several weeks, and we would love to keep you posted.

We have it on good authority that our beer tastes just as good in the comfort of your living room as it does in the taproom--so come on in, grab a 4-pack or two (or three or four,) and then go home and stay healthty!

Much love,

The FMB Family

Event Spotlight: Fredericton Brew Fest 2020

Salut, Freddy! This past weekend, First Mile Brewing Co. made its debut appearance at the annual Fredericton Brew Fest. Along with fellow Maine breweries, Geaghan Bros. and Tumbledown, FMB represented one of 60 breweries from around the Maritime region of Canada, which includes New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and even one from the Gaspe region of Quebec!

The Fredericton Brew Fest is a two-day extravaganza, offering an evening tasting on Friday and two tastings on Saturday--one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. The First Mile crew participated solely as customers at the first event (which may or may not have involved multitasking between two full pints and a shandy popsicle...) but made a lively showing for both of Saturday sessions. More than five hundred people were in attendance at any given time, and Saturday's evening session had a turnout that easily approached one thousand. Customer response: once again, overwhelmingly positive. Valley Haze was touted as the best IPA at the event, with Trailway's Hu Jon Hops IPA offering the only specific competition (thanks again for the 4-pack!!)

Outside of the brew fest, the crew also found time to visit such local businesses as Picaroons, Maybee, Graystone, and Grimross Brewing Companies.

Unsurprisingly, craft beer is alive and well in our neighboring, bilingual province, and we look forward to once again returning to the beautiful city of Fredericton for more fantastic beer and festivities!

Craft Beer as Industry: New England Craft Brew Summit 2020

This past weekend, Matt and Ezra represented First Mile Brewing Co. at the 2020 New England Craft Brew Summit. The event, with a record 625 people in attendance, featured a keynote speech from Allagash Brewing's founder and master brewer, Rob Tod, and guest appearances by both Gov. Janet Mills and Sen. Angus King. Their messages were unique, but united by one common theme: craft beer in Maine is an industry, and it is as important an industry as any other in this state.

Janet Mills began her speech with an anecdote about Neal Dow, the "father of Prohibition," and his famous ban of alcoholic beverages in the state of Maine in the mid-19th century--a ban that would persist until the 21st Amendment ended prohibition nation-wide--and how the citizens of Portland rioted upon learning of Mr. Dow's private stash of booze inside City hall shortly thereafter. Such "spirit" is still clearly alive and well among Mainers, as the state can now boast the largest number of breweries per capita of any other state in the U.S.

Rob Tod's speech, given prior to Mills' address, also touted Maine's rich craft beer industry, citing that Maine has more breweries than existed in the entire United States circa the mid-1970s. His message, however, also featured a cautionary message. Craft beer experienced a market boom in the late 2000s, and this boom has only recently begun to level off. This leveling-off phenomenon, though, indicates that the craft beer industry will not experience a permanent growth trend. Allagash Brewing plans to celebrate its 25th year in business this July, but of Maine's 130+ breweries, more than 55% of them are between three and five years old. The message? Burgeoning breweries would be wise to grow in a sustainable fashion and take advantage of such practices as re-purposing used equipment, sourcing ingredients locally, and managing market outreach without sacrificing quality.

Angus King rounded out the discussion with an economic statistic: Maine's craft beer industry, altogether, employs more than two thousand people in the state (Bath Iron Works, Maine's largest industrial employer, maintains six thousand people, by comparison!) This extends beyond the brew house as well, as taprooms employ bartenders, hop-growing operations employ farmers, malt houses employ maltsters, and distributors connect these markets together. King described the state of Maine as a "big small town," and advocated for continued collaboration within the industry.

From Kittery, at the southern point of the state, to all the way up here in Fort Kent, and from Lubec to the east and Rangeley to the West, the fingers of our craft spread widely across Maine, and we all play a role--producer and consumer, alike--in the continued growth and success of the craft brewing industry in Maine.

QUICK NOTE:

As of this past weekend, southern Maine customers can now find First Mile Brewing at two locations far from home: Craft Brew Underground in Lewiston-Auburn, and the Great Lost Bear in Portland!!