“We didn’t enter the market,” recalls David Geary of the day when he and his wife, Karen, opened their brewery in Portland, Maine. “We had to make a market.”
Billing itself as the oldest craft brewery east of the Mississippi, the D.L. Geary Brewing Company tapped its first keg on December 10, 1986, introducing Maine—and eventually the entire Northeastern US—to locally crafted, small-batch beer. Brewed on a Peter Austin brick kettle open fermentation system with the Ringwood yeast strain, Geary’s Pale Ale set the standard for malty, English-style ales.
At its peak, Geary’s produced about 18,000 barrels per year and distributed to 10 states in the Northeast. Changing tastes and increased competition stunted the trail-blazing brewery’s growth—the same Austin brewing system and yeast strain that fueled its success have been factors in the brewery’s declining sales. Now, a new owner has big plans to revive the pioneering microbrewery.
Bringing England to New England
Intent on opening a brewery but lacking local mentors for guidance, Maine native David Geary spent the winter of 1984 studying styles and techniques by training at various breweries throughout Scotland and England. While in Hampshire, England, he recruited Alan Pugsley, associate of British microbrewing pioneer Peter Austin, to help him establish D.L. Geary Brewing. Pugsley brought the iconic Ringwood yeast with him, and would go on to design and install more than 80 other Austin-style breweries throughout North America, including Portand’s Shipyard Brewing Company.
The proliferation of the Ringwood yeast strain in the Northeast tightened competition among English-style brewers, while a wave of new brewery openings increased demand for new styles and bolder flavors. As the craft brewing community changed around it, Geary’s stuck to tradition, citing concerns about yeast strain cross-contamination for limiting its options.
この記事は BeerAdvocate magazine の #125 (June 2017) 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は BeerAdvocate magazine の #125 (June 2017) 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Trainers Incorporate Beer-Making Equipment Into Brewery-Hosted Workouts
On a typical Saturday morning, Johnathan Wakefield can be found hoisting kegs out front of his brewery, J. Wakefield Brewing Co., in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.
Mug Club 2.0
Craft Brewers Modify Loyalty Programs to Sow Deeper Relationships
Fruit Of The Vine
Now that fall’s here, it’s harvest time for a great many things. To zymurgical enthusiasts, that means grape season.
The Shaved Duck
Tucked away in an attractive brick neighborhood, just east of the second largest urban park in St. Louis, sits The Shaved Duck, one of the finest beer and barbecue joints west of the Mississippi.
John Segal Jr. The Hops Farmer
Although John Segal Jr. spent many childhood summers in Washington’s Yakima Valley and once brought a block of hops to show-and-tell, the third generation hops farmer never envisioned taking over the family business.
9 steps to beerdom
when david morgan first got into the craft business, it was as a retailer, and beer evangelism was a heavy lift. now, more than 15 years later, morgan is at the production end of the business, and the wind is at his back. singlespeed brewing, the cedar falls, iowa, nanobrewery morgan founded in 2012, is on the brink of a major expansion, as singlespeed exits its nano-sized beta version for a state of-the-art brewhouse opening late this year.
beau's all natural brewing company
after 32 years of working in the leather finishing industry, 55-year-old entrepreneur tim beauchesne was ready to make a bold career change.
higher prices, brighter futures?
the changing landscape of beer retail.
beer culture
as fresh hop beers multiply, so does experimentation
Birreria Volo
When your father is one of Canada’s most renowned craft beer publicans, opening your own beer bar is a high-pressure situation.
