Pale, cream and Celtic red are among the many ales that will be featured at the Maine Brewers’ Festival on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Portland.
More than 4,000 people are expected to sample the state’s finest beer, ale and stout from 21 licensed microbreweries. The festival also will offer live music and food booths.
The festival began in 1993 when a couple of microbrewers who were excited about a popping industry wanted to showcase their concoctions. It has since grown into a tradition that draws people from as far away as California, said Dona Pfeffer of East Coast Events.
Richard Pfeffer and Ed Stebbins, owners of Gritty’s, sold the festival to East Coast Events in 1999. Gritty McDuff’s, which opened a pub in Auburn this summer, continues to be the festival’s presenting sponsor.
“It seems that every year now, we’ll get calls from people who want to celebrate an anniversary or birthday at the festival,” said Dona Pfeffer. “One year, we had a guy call and say that he had a glass from every year but he couldn’t make it last year because he was in Iraq. He wanted to know if he could still get a glass. We said, Have two.'”
Three live music acts will add to the party atmosphere on Saturday. Reckless Daughter will offer a combination of blues, rock and funk, then blues legend James Montgomery will take the stage. The closing act will be Enter the Haggis, an explosive Celtic-rock quintet based in Toronto.
So far, event organizers have not experienced problems with overindulgence, Pfeffer said. Everyone, whether they’re serious beer connoisseurs taking notes or just people wanting to have a good time, is encouraged to behave responsibly.
A phone booth will be set up with pre-paid calls by Sprint PCS to local cab services. Embassy Suites and Eastland Park hotels have partnered with East Coast Events to provide discounted rooms to festival attendees, Pfeffer said.
Poland Spring Water is providing free water to designated drivers, who can also take advantage of free food and other promotions in exchange for their paid admission.
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