One of Baxter’s core missions has always been to make the best beer you can find everywhere, that you can take anywhere. Sometimes, though, it’s about a making a beer for a very special somewhere. That’s why when we had the opportunity to celebrate two of Maine’s most iconic communities, Bar Harbor and Millinocket, we couldn’t resist. The Sea To Summit race series, comprised of the Mount Desert Island Marathon (10/20) and Millinocket Marathon (12/7) are races specifically designed (by MDI marathoner Gary Allen) to give back to their local communities. We are thrilled to make a beer commemorating these two authentic Maine events.
With the series being so connected to the natural beauty of Maine, we wanted to develop a recipe that spoke to its wild bounty. While lobsters and lighthouses seem to show up on all the postcards, the hidden heart of Maine can be found in the dense evergreen forests, the lowbush blueberry patches and the rolling farmland of the county. The best way to capture this in a flavor profile was to brew a beer with Maine-grown red wheat, spruce tips and wild blueberries.
Everyone in New England knows what a wild blueberry tastes like in its natural state but how its transformed by fermentation is very interesting. The concentrated sweetness from the natural sugars are consumed by the yeast leaving only a delicate blueberry aroma, a subtle tartness and a tinge of purple. Spruce tips have a similarly surprising flavor contribution in that they do not taste piney or resinous at all, rather present with citrus and berry. We lager fermented to provide a clear stage for these understated tastes and smells to strut their stuff and balanced the dryness of the beer with the plush proteins of the Maine wheat for smooth sipping.
This beer will be available during the both marathons as well as the weeks leading up to each. Most importantly, a portion of the proceeds from this beer will go to the respective beneficiaries of each race, the Friends of Acadia, and Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters non-profits. Baxter is proud to support to wonderful organizations that promote and protect two of Maine’s most precious resources. Enjoy this beer as we cheers to fast races in wild places!