Right around the time restaurants and brew pubs were celebrating Happy Hour across the state of Maine yesterday afternoon, an important social gathering of its own was kicking off at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta.
About once a year, the Maine Brewers Guild and its members host a reception for our state Legislators and Representative of various capacities, such as the Maine Office of Tourism. The event offers a wonderful opportunity for these groups to connect in a social setting, get to know one another and discuss the topic at hand; which in this case is world class beer, produced right here in Maine, at more than 25 breweries around the state.
The mood of the evening was light and fun, the conversation easy and the food and beverage delicious. But the evening certainly wasn’t about all play and no work. About mid way through the reception, MBG President, Dan Kleban, of Maine Beer Company, called us to attention to welcome us, thank us for attending and quite eloquently point out some pretty incredible facts about the Maine Brewing Industry and what it means to our state.
Probably the most impressive statistic was that, in the past three years, amidst an overall struggling economy, the brewery industry has actually grown. To the tune of: five new breweries in operation, three about to be and several in the process of expanding. Dan also pointed out the massive ripple effect this growth has had on our state’s economy, from jobs created within these organizations, to indirect employment for contractors, plumbers, industry sales, etc. Win Mitchell, of Boothbay Resort and Craft Brewery added that the brewery industry is markedly growing tourism in our state, by offering another unique reason to travel to Maine. The Maine Brewers Guild Beer Trail launched in 2010 and Craft Beer Comes to Boothbay event, which debuted in July 2011 {and is scheduled to return on July 14, 2012}, were both measurable examples of this growth.
In a nutshell, I think we can sum things up like this; If the acts of uniting unlikely parties, sending out an uplifting and positive message and simply having an all around fun time were the goals of last evening, I’d be willing to bet there wasn’t a person in the room who wouldn’t agree; the Maine Brewers once again surpassed their goal!
I am honored to raise my glass to all of them!
An awesome time with people of great character and interested in the future of Maine and Beer!!!
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