USM, Maine Brewers' Guild partner on craft brewing

File Photo / Tim Greenway Five-ounce pours of 4 Maine Beer Company beers in Freeport.

Write a Comment

By Lori Valigra

With Maine’s craft brewing industry frothing, the University of Southern Maine and the Maine Brewers’ Guild on Thursday partnered on a Quality Assurance Lab to give students research opportunities and area brewers a local facility at which to assure the quality of their brews.

“Maine’s craft beer industry employed 1,500 people and generated an estimated $432 million in sales in 2014,” Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers’ Guild, said in a statement at the opening of the lab. “The economic impact of Maine’s craft beer industry ranks seventh in the nation per capita, yet our brewers are dependent on West Coast QA facilities. This is about supporting a growing industry and ensuring local brewers can craft the highest quality products.”

The lab is funded by a three-year, $488,514 seed grant from the USM Maine Economic Improvement Fund to build the infrastructure for a Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Research Laboratory for the Maine and craft brewing industry.

USM Professor of Chemistry Lucille Benedict will oversee management of the lab, which will be run by students.

The aim for the lab is to help brewers to deliver a consistent, quality and safe product to their consumers.

The lab also is part of the STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — curriculum for the college.

USM President Glenn Cummings said, “It’s another great example of the type of work our Metropolitan University undertakes to benefit our economy while at the same time providing our students with skills and experience that will enhance their career opportunities.”

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said Maine already is on the map for craft brewing, “but this lab and partnership will go a long way toward making Maine beer the gold standard for the entire country.”

Brewers and attendees of the inaugural New England Brew Summit at USM on April 1 will be able to see the lab and learn more about the certifications and capability. The New England Brew Summit is being organized by the Maine Brewers’ Guild as a business-to-business conference covering both the technical aspects of brewing and running a brewery. More information on the conference is at: http://www.nebrewsummit.com/.

Maine is home to over 60 breweries producing more than 200 different ongoing varieties. More recently, craft brewers have been trying to become centers of their local communities with tastings, game-playing and relaxing lounges, thus reviving the neighborhood brewery concept that was pervasive before Prohibition.

New malthouse doubles craft brewer access to local malts

Craft brewers ferment more than beer as they aim to revive neighborhoods

Portland lager recognized as one of America's best

Nine Maine restaurants, brewers and chefs among James Beard semifinalists

Maine breweries to face off for The Maine Brewers' Cup

Portland’s smallest brewery to open this summer

A holy start to a new brewery in Penobscot County

Craft brewers soak up locally sourced and processed grains

Maine Beer Co. plots major expansion in Freeport

USM president wants major changes at Portland campus

Workforce development key part of USM's proposed infrastructure program