I’m lucky enough to live in Lewiston, Maine right now (haha, that’s a joke you’d probably only get if you live here in Maine). The problem is, that is a joke. But Luke Livingston, a Lewiston native has other ideas for his fair city, and he’s taken the first step toward helping to change Lewiston’s image by starting his own craft brewery. Located in the converted skeleton of Lewiston’s former Bates Mills, Baxter Brewing aims to be Maine’s (and in fact, the Northeast U.S.’s ) first craft brewery to offer its entire line of beers in cans.
Despite the unfair stereotype canned beer has gotten over the years due to poor marketing and even worse beers, putting your beer in a can is perhaps the best way for a beer to be stored. Think of kegs: they’re just giant cans. Canned beer benefits from the lack of light and oxygen, which can spoil a beer in a hurry. Baxter Brewing is banking on these facts, in addition to canned beer’s decided advantage over bottled beer in the shipping and recycling areas.
Last week, I took a drive down the road to see the progress that’s being made at the fledgling brewery. I was pleasantly surprised to see two kegs in a cooler brewing the first test batch of Baxter’s Stowaway I.P.A. and Pamola Extra Pale Ale. Both beers go into production this month, and should hit store shelves and bar taps in Maine come January.