FEATURED BREWER PROGRAM

Bixby Chocolate, established in 2011 by Kate McAleer, was born out of a passion for chocolate and a determination to make chocolate with a conscience. Proudly woman-owned and family-run (Kate's mother, Donna, has been actively involved from the start), Bixby is  committed to supporting the communities that are involved in tall stages of their production.

Bixby makes a diversity of chocolates and confections- from certified organic and vegan chocolates, to premium bean-to-bar varieties, to drinking chocolates and bonbons. For Kate, business is a community affair: some of the company's standout offerings were born out of collaborations with other Maine producers, like Split Rock Distilling and Maine Grains. Allagash Peanut Beer Brittle is a favorite of guests at the Tasting Center all season long.

Morse’s Sauerkraut was founded in 1918 by Virgil Morse in Waldoboro, Maine. Over a hundred years later, the company uses the same methods to create its famous sauerkraut: cabbage grown by neighboring White Oak Farm is shredded by hand, tamped with wooden mallets, and weighed down by river stones.  Over the years, they hae also added crock pickles, relishes, mustard and horseradish to their roster of delicious goods. If you’re looking for another great stop on your Maine food tour, be sure to check out Morse’s – not only do they sell delicious sauerkraut and pickles, but they also have a fabulous German restaurant onsite and a full specialty food market. It is a can’t-miss destination in midcoast Maine!

Chris Kinkade, a father of three young children, created Green Bee soda as a way to offer his children a fun beverage that he could feel good about. He started out in his kitchen using honey from his own beehives, creating drinks with fresh juices, herbs and honey. Today, the company operates out of a commercial manufacturing facility in Brunswick and distributes nation-wide. They are the only soda company currently operating within the state of Maine.

Founded in 2015 by Mika and Nicholas Repenning, Go-En fermented foods was born out of a passion to share real, good Japanese miso within the United States. Mika and Nicholas met in Japan and started life in Maine together with their son in 2011. They started to make koji and miso for themselves but started to grow as they shared their love for these Japanese ferments with friends and their larger community. 

Go-En is a Japanese word about connection and relationship. It has an interconnected holistic sense and exists in the convergence of peoples, places, and all events where each as an equal, mutual relationship. Go of go-en is a Japanese honorific prefix that is used before a noun to show respect. En is like a spider web where each strand connects and affects the others, it is the pieces and the whole. 

This philosophical attitude is at the heart of their production. As they write on their website, “go-en embodies all that is community.  It encompasses the ever expanding circle of connection which develops from an individual outward into a society.  Whenever possible we source ingredients local and utilize local connections to support those around us creating a circle in harmony." 

The Fat Friar’s Meadery is a Maine farm winery run by Sean Bailey. Sean paints houses during the day and makes delicious semi-dry and semi-sweet meads with the rest of his time. His meadery and tasting room is located in Newcastle, Maine just off of Route 215. It may look like you’re driving up to someone’s house when you pay them a visit – because you are! Don’t let that stop you though – Sean has transformed the basement of his home into a top-notch mead production space and cozy tasting room fitted out with medieval décor.

A Smallgood is a family-run salumeria, founded in 2018 by Oliver and Kelly Perkins.  A Smallgood prides itself on reimagining the craft of cured meats using wild fermentation, hard cider and koji. 

A Smallgood uses only whole animals and primal cuts sourced directly from local farmers. All animals are raised on living pasture with a focus on animal welfare. In the shop, they practice traditional European "seam butchery," a technique that focuses on pulling out individual muscle groups to reduce waste and allow for a better preparation of salami grinds and whole muscle cures. 

In place of standard freeze-dried cultures, the company uses their own in-house ferments, built up from the spent hard cider lees they collect from a local hard cidery that spontaneously ferments its cider. A Small Good then adds their own lacto-brines to build up the vigor before using it to catalyze the fermentation of the salami. They are currently the only USDA facility in the US that is wild fermenting its products.

Wine making has been a Mancini family tradition for generations - one which Mark and Carrie Mancini continue in their Palermo meadery. Their meadmaking journey began as a happy experiment in the Spring of 2012: they wanted to compete in a  "dandelion wine off" with friends while holding true to their Paleo diet. Enter, Maine honey. The drink they ended up was delicious, and different from any wine they had tasted before. Soon after, they founded Aegir's Den. 

Today, Mark and Carrie produce a line of dry, sparkling session meads in cans, as well as several full-strength meads in beautifully designed bottles that highlight Norse mythology: Metheglin (mead aged with spices), Melomel (mead aged with fruit), Acerglyn (mead aged with maple syrup from our family’s maple grove) and Cyser (mead aged using apple cider, hand pressed from a local holistic orchard). They source their raw honey from hives in Jay, Palmyra, and Pittsfield Maine.

Six River Farm is a diverse organic vegetable farm located in Bowdoinham. They grow 24 acres of vegetables on their 40 acres of land, under the ownership and direction of Nate Drummond and Gabrielle Gosselin.

The year-round farm is supported by a team of employees who work to provide their customers with a wide range of healthy produce. Six River Farm can be found at local farmers markets, their own impressive farm stand, at local grocery stores and at area restaurants (like ours!).

Six River Farm has been especially good to us here at Maine Tasting Center, regularly hand-picking the smallest potatoes out of their harvest to put aside for us to serve as “Maine Marbles.”

Green Thumb Farms has been farming in Western Maine since 1965. Working on over 2,200 acres of rich Saco River Valley soil has firmly established their reputation for quality potatoes, turf, dry beans and corn. Their third-generation family farm strives to preserve Maine’s open spaces and agricultural heritage.

Currently, they grow New England heirloom bean varieties such as Jacob’s Cattle, Yellow Eye, Soldier, and Red Kidney – some of which are found in the bean hummus dish on our menu. These beans can be found in specialty food markets, Hannaford’s, online, and in a variety of other locations - look for a big red, white and blue logo that reads “State of Maine Quality!”

Green Thumb also supplies the potatoes for Cold River Vodka, a brand from Maine Distilleries in Freeport. This spirit is a true “ground-to-glass” product and worth seeking out!

Heiwa Tofu is a small family business, founded in 2008, operated out of Rockport. They make their delicious tofu using local organic soybeans and are continuing to grow today. Their tofu can be found in local co-ops, Hannaford and through local distributors.

Raye’s Mustard Mill, located in coastal Eastport, Maine, the nation’s eastern-most city, is North America’s last remaining traditional stone-ground mustard mill. In 1900, J. Wesley Raye, the 20-year-old son of a sea captain, founded the business in the family smokehouse to produce mustard for Maine’s burgeoning sardine industry. In 1903, Wesley moved the Mill to its current location, enabling Raye’s Mustard to be shipped out by both rail and steamship.

Raye’s makes dozens of varieties of mustard, each produced with the traditional cold grind process in the same mill since 1900, using the original stones from France. The Aroostook Gold variety is even made using mustard seeds grown right here in Maine.

Raye’s Mustard Mill is a working museum that hosts thousands of tourists each year and brings needed tourism dollars to Washington County. The museum, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is currently raising $2 million dollars for much needed restoration, preservation and succession planning.

Winter Hill Farm, located near Freeport, is a 55 acre farm of gently rolling pasture and mixed forest. The business was founded by Jim Stampone and his wife Kate LeRoyer with their herd of Randall Lineback cows. These founders retired in 2011 and Winter Hill was purchased by two families dedicated to the preservation of farmland in the midcoast area. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Freeport Conservation Trust, Winter Hill Farm is now permanently protected with an agricultural easement.

Today Winter Hill is managed by Steve Burger and Sarah Wiederkehr, who live in the farm homestead with their two children, Isaac and Calla, and their dogs Jasper and Cully. There are also full and part-time employees -- without their hard work this farm could not run! Winter Hill produces a core line of award-winning cheeses as well as meat, flowers and other farm products.

You can sign up for a farm stay on their beautiful property if you’d like to pay them a visit! You can also find their products through FarmDrop, at the Brunswick Farmers Market and in local co-ops and shops throughout the midcoast region.

Broad Arrow Farm, located on the Pemaquid Peninsula, is a “farrow-to-finish” operation that maintains approximately twenty heritage-breed sows and two terminal sire boars for breeding. Their hogs thrive in the woods and on pasture year-round and the farmers use intensive grazing and agro-forestry methods to build soil, regenerate forage and put their woods to productive use.

The result is happier, healthier animals, enhanced fertility and water absorpotion in the soil and more nutrient-dense, delicious pork. In addition, Broad Arrow Farm also raises lamb, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, eggs and seasonal vegetables which can be purchased at their wonderful farm market. Pork and lamb products can also be cold-pack shipped through their online store.

Visit their website to plan your visit to their farm market, order a beautiful charcuterie board (stocked with their housemade charcuterie, of course), or learn about their upcoming events. Their seasonal ticketed meals are not to be missed!

Cellardoor is located in Lincolnville and boasts a five-and-a-half-acre vineyard planted with cold-hardy hybrids developed to overcome the challenge of Maine’s climate. They are one of very few wineries in Maine that grow their own grapes (or use Maine-grown grapes at all!). Their varieties include Marquette, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc and L’Acadie Blanc. They also source high-quality grapes from California, Washington and New York.

Cellardoor uses innovative technology to improve the quality of their wine and reduce their impact on the environment. The water used in their facility is sourced from their own natural mountain spring, and they utilize a water filtration system that allows them to sustainably return clean water back to the ground supply. Even the winemaking facility itself is built into a mountain hillside to help regulate temperature and humidity in the barrel aging rooms.

Bluet, a wild blueberry wine brand, was founded by Eric Martin and Michael Terrien, childhood friends who grew up in Maine and reunited as young adults in California. In California, Michael worked as a winemaker and Eric would help out seasonally, sorting and stomping the grapes. During subsequent visits to Maine, Michael began to see Maine’s iconic fruit – the wild blueberry – through a winemaker’s eyes. He began experimenting and eventually teamed up with Eric to release the first batch of Bluet in 2015.

Michael and Eric are passionate not only about the quality and Maine roots of their product, but also about its potential to support wild blueberry farmers in Maine. With the price of the fruit dropping significantly over the past years, fresh market sales and value add products represent the highest earning potential for growers. The amount of blueberries needed to make blueberry wine is significant – tens of thousands of pounds per year – which adds a lot of value to the crop and helps the state’s economy. It helps growers get a good return on their berries and helps spread the unique cultural story of Maine’s wild blueberries to new consumers in new places. Bluet is not just focused on local sales – they have their sights set on national distribution and are using their wine industry connections to make that happen.

In 2009, the founders of Atlantic Sea Farms created the first commercially-viable seaweed farm in the United States. Then and now, their goal has been to diversify how coastal waters are used and to provide a domestic, fresh and healthy alternative to imported seaweed products.

Today, the company identifies and works with fishermen throughout the coast of Maine, to help them start their own kelp farms. They provide technical assistance and training, helping farms obtain leases, set up their gear, learn how to seed and harvest, and support their business planning. Post harvest, they use seaweed from partner farms to create easy-to-cook-with products like cut kelp and kelp cubes, and also create delicious value-add products like fermented seaweed salad.

Atlantic Sea Farms products can be found at shops throughout the United States with a heavy presence in California and the mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

Five minutes from the busy harbor of Stonington Maine, Coldwater Seafood Market & Smokehouse is a family-owned business that takes great pride in the traditions of the area. They are well known for their signature smoked mussels, but also produce a wide range of smoked finfish and fresh seafood.

They work with local lobstermen and fishermen to supply their onsite fresh fish market – including some of the freshest, best tasting and most artfully picked crabmeat we have ever tasted!

Stonington Seafood is owned and operated by Richard Penfold, who began smoking fish 40 years ago in Scotland after studying Fisheries Science in college. He worked underneath two of Shetland’s legendary smoke masters, who were producing kippers and Finnan Haddie for export all over the world. In 1997, he moved to Stonington, ME with his wife and helped to form Stonington Sea Products, a well-regarded and award-winning smokehouse.

After that business was sold in 2010, he founded Stonington Seafood with the mission of making top-quality Finnan Haddie widely available, keeping the food tradition alive for future generations. He smokes his Finnan Haddie in a historic kiln that was shipped from Scotland in 2001 – a nearly exact replica of a Torry kiln, the first mechanized kiln.

In addition to his iconic Finnan Haddie (which people order from all over the world!), Richard also produces smoked kipper fillets, salted cod, smoked cod, and smoked mackerel.

Spring Day Creamery (est. 2008) is a small, solar-powered operation in Durham, ME, helmed by cheesemaker Sarah Spring.

Inspired by her years living and working in the French countryside, Sarah purchased an old farm and set to restoring it with her husband. Her first foray into cheesemaking was purely experimental, but promising enough that she built a creamery in the annex off the old farmhouse kitchen. She founded Spring Day Creamery shortly thereafter. The name pays homage to the Day Family, who stewarded the land for 150 years.

Sarah makes only 4,000 pounds of cheese each year —small, hands-on, experimental batches, letting all the forces of nature do their part to produce cheeses that taste of the place. Try Spring Day Blue on our cheese board, and head to the creamery to snag a wheel.

Heather and Doug Donahue started Balfour Farm almost 20 years ago as a hobby farm. Today, they’ve scaled to a full-time family farm and run a MOFGA-certified organic dairy farm with a herd of Normande and Normande-cross cows, each of which they name.

Balfour Farm produces a wide range of raw milk aged cheeses, fresh cheeses, yogurt and other cultured products - including several state, regional and national award winners. Their daughter Erin and her partner David operate their own business, Tiny Acres, on the property, producing mixed vegetables, mushrooms and more.

Their retail shop “The Little Cheese Shop,” located on the farm property, was named after a cheese shop they encountered on a trip to the United Kingdom and sells a wide variety of Maine cheeses, charcuterie, wines and other delicious items – everything you need for the best Maine-made picnic you’ve ever had!

Amish Charcuterie in Unity is run by Matthew Secich who has worked in some of the country’s most gourmet, stressful kitchens. Growing discontent with his restaurant career and seeking a quieter life, Matthew, his wife and children joined the Amish community in Unity, ME.

Today, Matthew runs Amish Charcuterie, making delicious artisan meats with a focus on supplying his local community. Because of this hyper-local focus, his products can be difficult to find, but if you’re near Unity, consider stopping at his shop! It’s a peaceful, calm and respectful space where customers are encouraged to linger, sample products and chat with Matthew.