Come for the beer, stay for the 'whale' of a display

A skeleton is suspended in a large room.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Beer Co. Maine Beer Co. recently completed the installation of the skeleton of a 49.6-foot-long finback whale in the Freeport brewery’s tasting room. 

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By Laurie Schreiber

Maine Beer Co. installed the skeleton of a 50-foot finback whale in its Freeport tasting room.

In keeping with federal Marine Mammal Protection Act rules, the brewery is providing an education program about the species and this individual in particular.

Named Finny, the young whale stranded on the Maine coast on Thanksgiving 2023.

In 2024, Maine Beer sponsored the collection of the skeleton by staff and students of Allied Whale, a marine mammal field research nonprofit at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.

The skeleton was prepared by Mount Desert Island-based Dan DenDanto, an Allied Whale research associate who has been cleaning, articulating, restoring and installing whale skeletons in museums, science centers and national parks since 1993.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Beer Co.

Whale expert Dan DenDanto works on the skeleton while it’s suspended in position.

Finny was DenDanto’s first installation in a commercial establishment — and it came with strict federal requirements.

“The Maine Beer Co. needed to obtain a federal permit for the exhibition under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which strictly dictates that the parts of whales be used exclusively for research or education,” DenDanto told Mainebiz.

Long connection

The connection between Maine Beer and Allied Whale began in 2009, when the brewery’s co-founder, David Kleban, visited College of the Atlantic’s natural history museum and learned about a fin whale named Lunch.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Beer Co.

A student helps to reassemble Finny while she’s still on the ground.

(Humpback and finback whales are named as part of a cataloging procedure. Allied Whale houses photo-identification catalogues of the two species, allowing scientists to follow individual whales anywhere they travel by comparing distinguishing marks.)

Kleban soon named the brewery’s signature IPA after Lunch and began a philanthropic relationship with Allied Whale with the brewery’s first donation of $100.

Stranding

Finny's unfortunate demise came on Thanksgiving 2023, when the young female fin whale stranded in Steuben.

She was emaciated and barely half the size of a full-grown adult, at just 49.6 feet long. The carcass refloated to a portion of high-energy beach in the Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge, where it remained and weathered the January storms of 2024. The rough sea action on the beach accelerated the exposure of the bones.

“The flesh decayed naturally on the beach until the bones became exposed during the summer months,” said DenDanto.

Collection

Last fall, with support from Maine Beer Co., Allied Whale staff, students and volunteers recovered the skeleton, removed the bones from the dried, jerky-like remains of the carcass.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Beer Co.

A scissor-lift, cables and pulleys were needed to get the skeleton in place.

The bones were then “tried,” or boiled, to render them clean enough to build an exhibit on an ambitious timeline.

“Trying bones is the traditional way 18th and 19th century whalers extracted oil from whale carcasses and it is like when bones are rendered clean when making soup stock in a pot,” said DenDanto.

Finny was cleaned and reassembled by students at College of the Atlantic under DenDanto’s guidance. It was his 23rd professional commission.

The total cost of this project was $70,000, said Carrie Seaver, Maine Beer’s creative director. The cost was financed by cash plus donations to Allied Whale through the company’s participation in the 1% For the Planet program.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Beer Co.

Dan DenDanto, center, and his team completed the installation in late September.

The company received the permits it needed, including one from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Finny’s collection and installation.

“Once we got to that point, we realized it was something we could do,” said Seaver.

It turned out that Finny was exactly the right size to suspend above the tasting room.

“She looks like we built the building around her,” said Seaver.

Arrival

Finny arrived somewhat unceremoniously in a U-Haul in September. The installation took two nights and three days. As part of the educational exhibit, there’s a mounted rib bone that people can touch.

Seaver and Maine Beer’s CEO, Steve Mills, had high praise for DenDanto and his ability to “articulate” the skeleton in a way that depicts her in movement.

“It’s just so beautiful,” said Mills.

Maine Beer and Allied Whale unveiled Finny on Wednesday, Oct. 1, with speeches by Sean Todd, director of Allied Whale; Sylvia Torti, president of College of the Atlantic; U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and College of the Atlantic class of 1979; and Maine Beer co-founder Dan Kleban.

Proceeds from the evening will go to Allied Whale.

The fin whale is the second-largest animal on Earth, reaching 80 feet and 80 tons, maturing at 25 and living up to 90 years. Capable of achieving 25 knots, they are the fastest large whale.

About Maine Beer Co.

Located at 525 U.S. Route 1 in Freeport, Maine Beer was founded in 2009 by brothers David and Daniel Kleban

The 16,800-square-foot brewery produces 50,000 barrels per year and is at capacity, said CEO Steve Mills.

Plans are in the works for an 11,700-square-foot expansion, to be finished by 2028, that’s expected to double production, add parking, and add staff to the workforce that today numbers 100 year-round and 20 seasonal employees.

Distribution is mainly in New England and the mid-Atlantic, provided through an independent wholesaler and distribution network to bars, restaurants, grocery stores and liquor stores.

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