Beer

Beer

Christmas Ale

  • Extra Special Bitter
  • Starting Gravity: 1064
  • Finish: 1016
  • ABV: 6.2%
  • I.B.U.'s: 25
  • Hops: Styrian Goldings, Saaz, Yakima Goldings, Willamette

  • Available: November through December

Packages: 12 oz. bottles in six & twelve packs, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

Every November heralds the return of our holiday seasonal, Christmas Ale. It’s a robust E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter) full of holiday cheer. It scored 97 by Beer Advocate. Christmas Ale has a lovely, dark red/amber color.  The ale has a chocolaty character followed by an earthy hop flavor with a fruity middle-to-end with hints of melon and pear. We brew our Christmas Ale to an original gravity of 1064 (about 6.2% alcohol by volume) which gives it a light warming feature. We use only the finest English Pale and Crystal Malts and a touch of roasted barley. Willamette, Styrian Goldings, Saaz and Yakima Goldings leaf hops round out this hearty brew. Gritty’s Christmas Ale has no additives, fruits or spices. It’s a good honest ale, perfect for the season.

Scottish Ale

  • Scottish Ale
  • Starting Gravity: 1065
  • Finish: 1014
  • ABV: 6.2%
  • I.B.U.'s: 24
  • Hops: Northern Brewer, Goldings


  • Available: January to April

Packages: 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

It takes a brave beer to stand up to a Maine winter. Gritty’s Scottish Ale returns every January to help you weather the season. Scottish Style Ale is our interpretation of the robust brews native to Scotland. It pours a clear burnished copper blended with woody brown color with a tan colored foam head and a little lace. The aroma is sweet, fruity, with nutty and buttery tones.  There’s a rich, slightly sweet first impression on the palate that rounds to a satisfying semi-dry hop finish. We use generous quantities of pale malt along with Munich and cara-malts to give this ale a deep and complex profile. Beef stew would be a great pairing with this one. Sure to please the Brave heart in all of us.

Vacationland Ale

  • Golden Pale Ale

  • Starting Gravity: 1049
  • Finish: 1012
  • ABV: 4.8%
  • I.B.U.'s: 22
  • Hops: Cascade Leaf, Cascade, Saaz
  • Available: April through August 


Packages: 12 oz. bottles in six & twelve packs, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

You can’t put summer in a bottle, but we may have come close! When the weather gets warm we roll out our summer seasonal, Vacationland Summer Ale. Vacationland is an Extra Special Golden Ale that’s a deep brassy golden color but full-bodied, with a snappy hop finish. We use generous portions of pale malt with just a touch of wheat malt to give VSA that unique flavor that’s richer than most summer brews. A surprisingly robust malt character leads off with hints of caramel, toffee and touch of toasted grain. Then a lemon citrus snap cuts through at mid-palate. Vacationland finishes with a delicate leafy hops flavor from the Cascade leaf hops we use. It’s the perfect brew for all things summer.

Halloween Ale

  • Extra Special Bitter (ESB)
  • Starting Gravity: 1060
  • Finish: 1010
  • ABV: 6.0%
  • I.B.U.'s: 45
  • Hops: Whitbread Goldings Variety, East Kent Goldings
  • Available: August to November

Packages: 12 oz. bottles in six & twelve packs, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

Every fall marks the return of our legendary Halloween Ale – the beer so good, it’s scary! This masterful brew is not only a great rendition of the Extra Special Bitter style (ESB) but a great alternative to the annual onslaught of pumpkin beers. No pumpkins are harmed in the brewing of this beer! This robust brew has a deep amber color, a bold, malty palate and a well-rounded hop finish. Halloween Ale is smooth and creamy with a medium-to-full body. It has a big malty flavor with toasted caramel balanced by ripe pear and faint apple undertones. The hops give it ample bitterness, but the beer finishes a bit sweet. Halloween Ale, the perfect beer for a crisp autumn day!

Sebago Light Ale

  • Light Ale
  • Starting Gravity: 1033
  • Finish: 1011
  • ABV: 3.2%
  • I.B.U.'s: 18
  • Hops: Willamette, Cascade 

  • Available: Year Round

Packages: 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

Sebago Light Ale is a low-alcohol ale brewed in the classic Gritty fashion. Featuring a touch of Caramalt blended with 2-row barley from the UK. Available primarily in our Freeport Brew Pub, but occasionally on tap at our other locations as well. A great pint for someone just getting started with craft beer.

Raspberry Wheat Ale

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Raspberry Wheat Ale is a draft-only selection served at our Brew Pubs. This session beer features a lovely straw color and a nice raspberry flavor that is not too overpowering. We add pureed raspberries to the beer during fermentation and this helps reduce the sweetness but the flavor remains. This is a great ale for folks who are new to craft beer!

Best Bitter

  • British-Style Bitter

  • Starting Gravity: 1050
  • Finish: 1012
  • ABV: 4.8%
  • I.B.U.'s: 25
  • Hops: Yakima Goldings
  • Available: Year Round 


Packages: 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

Best Bitter was the first beer we brewed at our Portland Brew Pub. This true English classic has been the anchor of our draft selection ever since. Best Bitter is copper-colored. It’s smooth and a little crisp with malty flavors of toasted grain and some residual sweetness that tastes a little caramel then fades to a slight hop bitterness. Make sure you don’t drink this brew too cold … it will mask all of the true Bitter style flavors. We use Yakima Golding hop flowers when brew this beer.

Maine’s Best IPA

  • IPA
  • Starting Gravity: 1069
  • Finish: 1014
  • ABV: 6.9%
  • I.B.U.'s: 47
  • Hops: Cascade, Warrior and Willamette

  • Available: Year Round

Packages: 12 oz. bottles in six & twelve packs, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs.

Maine’s Best IPA is a true “British style” IPA.  A unique blend of American hops with a British body using English 2-Row pale malts. Maine’s Best IPA starts with a hoppy aroma and taste then ends with a slightly sweet finish.  It’s hoppy, but still well balanced. Plenty of Munich and cara-malts are used to give the beer that golden hue and sweet finish. To give Maine’s Best IPA that hoppy flavor there are fifty-six pounds of Cascade Hops used in each 50 barrel batch and we finish it with Willamette & Warrior Hops (Warrior is a high-alpha acid variety of hops).

Original Pub Style

  • British Style Pale Ale 

  • Starting Gravity: 1046
  • Finish: 1012
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • I.B.U.'s: 18
  • Hops: Willamette, Cascade
 

  • Available: Year Round

Packages: 12 oz. bottles in six & twelve packs, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

“Original Pub Style captures what made people fall in love with craft brewing in the first place: a fresh, classic pale ale with plenty of hop character,” says Brewmaster Ed Stebbins. Original Pub Style is a light copper-colored medium-bodied beer with a nice dry bite at the finish. A subtle combination of Cascade and Willamette hops give this ale a fine floral aroma and a slightly fruity undertone. The taste captures the freshness of a hand-crafted ale that goes right from the conditioning tank to your pint!

Honey Brown

  • Brown Ale
  • Starting Gravity: 1054
  • Finish: 1014
  • ABV: 5.4
  • I.B.U.'s: 22
  • Hops: Centennial & Cascade
  • Available: Christmas time.

Packages: On tap in the Portland Pub. May go on tap in the other Pubs.
No distribution.

Honey Brown Ale is on tap. Shane and Andy added 10 pounds of Maine-made honey to 6 different malts to brew this sweet tasting Brown Ale. The perfect session beer for a day in the pub during the holidays.
This Honey Brown Ale has a dark red-amber color, with a full, round malt palate, nutty and roasted accents, and a delicate hop flavor that whispers with just a hint of honey. Honey Brown pairs well with aged cheddar cheese and smoked seafood.

Best Brown

  • Brown Ale
  • Starting Gravity: 1044
  • Finish: 1014
  • ABV: 4.1%
  • I.B.U.'s: 16
  • Hops: Willamette, Cascade

  • Available: Year Round 


Packages: 12 oz. bottles in the Gritty Dozen only, 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” keg

Best Brown Ale has a dark red-amber color, with a full, round malt palate, nutty and roasted accents, and a delicate hop flavor that whispers with just a hint of floral finish. Best Brown is the perfect ale for a long afternoon spent with good friends and some nice hearty food. Best Brown Ale is modeled after the classic “session beers” that are so often found pouring in British Pubs. Low in alcohol, a subdued hopping rate and nice caramel finish make this the perfect beer to enjoy while playing a long game of cribbage with a good friend.  Best Brown pairs well with aged cheddar cheese and smoked seafood.

Abram’s Ale

  • Northern Red Ale
  • Starting Gravity: 1055
  • Finish: 1015
  • ABV: 5.5%
  • I.B.U.'s: 26
  • Hops:
  • Available: Thanksgiving to late March

Packages: On draft at our Auburn Pub and available in kegs for limited distribution.

You can’t put winter in a keg, but we may have come close! Abram’s Ale is a classic winter session and it’s back on tap.  This ale has a reddish cast, amber color with a light, well balanced flavor. In our pubs we often use nitrogen to charge the Abram’s Ale. The result is a beer that’s richer & creamier than most winter brews.

Black Fly Stout

  • Dry Irish Stout
  • Starting Gravity: 1044
  • Finish: 1014
  • ABV: 4.7%
  • I.B.U.'s: 16
  • Hops: Willamette, Cluster, Goldings
  • Available: Year Round

Packages: 22 oz bottles, 15.5 gallon “full” kegs, and 7.75 gallon “quarter” kegs

Black Fly Stout is an opaque black-colored brew with a cream colored head. First there is a rush of mild roasted malt and subdued black currant fruitiness, then the roasted kicks things up a notch by unleashing an even burnt charcoal bitterness. Malt sweetness holds this brew together in the beginning then the dryness sets in to make the mouth beg for more. Lingering suggestions of espresso and vague chocolate flavor make up the end. We use six different grains to brew this dark masterpiece and we balance the full palate with Oregon Willamette and Yakima Clusters hops. The Alström Brothers at Beer Advocate Magazine gave Gritty’s Black Fly Stout a perfect 100 score and had this to say about our Stout: “One of the top stouts brewed in the US, very well balanced and is even more heavenly on nitro-tap.  Certainly a stout-lovers stout…”

 

Wet Hop Ale

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  • ABV: 4.8%
  • I.B.U.'s: 52
  • Hops: Centennial & Cascade
  • Available: Autumn

Packages: Only available in a pint glass at our Portland Brew Pub

Wet Hop Ale is an original style developed by North American brewers. What distinguishes a wet hop beer from a regular beer is the use of freshly harvested or ‘wet’ hops in the brewing process. We traveled to Aroostook Hops in Westfield, ME and picked ripened Centennial & Cascade cones right off the vine, and then delivered them to our brewers the next day. The use of “fresh, ‘wet’ hops imparts amazing and unique fruit aromas and flavors to the beer that you just cannot get from using traditional kiln dried hops. Each beer is considered a ‘one-off’, as there is no way of predicting to what extent the ‘wet’ hops will affect the flavor of each individual brew.  In addition to ‘wet’ Centennial hops, the barley in this beer is grown and malted by Buck Farms in Mapleton, ME, making the County Wet Hop a 100% locally sourced beer! This beer comes in at 4.8% ABV and 52 IBU’s.

Influx IPA

  • IPA
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  • ABV: 7%
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  • Available: Late March and early April 2016. Only at Gritty's Portland or Auburn

Packages: In pint glasses or growlers only.

Feel the flow of Influx IPA.
On tap for a very short time at Gritty’s in Portland and in Auburn only
Try this small batch 7% ABV IPA before it’s gone.

Meddybemps Blueberry Ale

  • British Style Pale Ale with Blueberry
  • Starting Gravity: 1046
  • Finish: 1012
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • I.B.U.'s: 20
  • Hops: Willamette, Cascade
  • Available: Summer only

Packages: On tap at in our Brew Pubs only.

Meddybemps Blueberry Ale is a light copper-colored medium-bodied beer with tones of blueberry and a nice dry finish. A subtle combination of Cascade and Willamette hops give this ale a fine floral aroma. By adding some blueberry puree we get a slightly fruity undertone. The taste captures the freshness of a hand-crafted ale mixed with what makes Maine great!