Gritty's Portland Brewery, our first, was designed and manufactured in 1988 by Peter Austin & Partners in Ringwood, Hampshire, England. All subsequent renovations and expansions of our brewery have remained true to the original, classic style of the English pub brewery. The copper-domed, brick faced brew kettle is the showpiece of the brewery and sits in a tiled room behind large viewing windows in our Wharf Street basement brewery bar.
Gritty McDuff's Freeport Brewery is a custom-designed and fabricated fourteen-barrel system based on traditional English models. We have three fourteen barrel fermenters and two twenty-eight barrel fermenters, along with six fourteen barrel conditioning tanks and two twenty eight barrel conditioning tanks. Most of our ales in Freeport are being filtered with our one meter Velo filtering system. We do offer on occasion some cask conditioned ales which are hand pumped with our beer engines. Our Black Fly Stout is not filtered and is carbonated with a nitrogen/C02 mix.
Gritty's Lewiston/Auburn Brewery is modeled after our original Portland brewery; a classic Peter Austin style pub brewery handcrafted by local artisans right here in Maine. Our L/A brewery is fully visible from its glass walls along Main Street in Auburn; the day-to-day workings of a real brewery right at street level! Our five flagship ales are brewed right on premise, along with our seasonal brews and the occasional small batch, pub-exclusive brews, always a brewer's favorite.
The Gritty Silo Arrives in Freeport
A big day for our biggest brewery! After months of bureaucratic wrangling and burnt offerings to the gods of paperwork, Gritty’s Freeport brewery has installed its own grain silo. What does this mean for you and your humble pint? More economical and efficient production helps us hold line on costs; an increasingly important concern with worldwide grain prices going through the roof. Check out the pics>>
The Gritty Truck Hits the Road
If you see a long line of cars on the highway madly pursuing a truck, here’s the reason why: The Gritty delivery truck is making the rounds, and wherever she goes Maine’s best beer is about to arrive! Check out the pics>>
MUSIC
Jump to our latest music listings>>
New Small Batch Brew - Rye PA
Brewer Ben Low’s latest small batch creation is Rye PA, a strong, deep amber ale made with 12% rye malt for a truly unique flavor. Here’s what Ben has to say about it:
“It’s got about 12% Rye Malt, which should give a really distinctive flavor. I’m expecting some pepper-like spiciness. It’s a pretty strong beer, finishing up somewhere around 6.3% ABV. It’s also a fairly hoppy beer, with a lot more late-addition aroma hops than we usually use. The aroma hops are Cascade and Saaz (the Cascade is to give it some American IPA flavor, the Saaz to complement the spiciness of the rye). It will also be dry-hopped in the conditioning tank with Cascade and Saaz.”
Keep up with all the action in the brewery at the Brewer Blog>>
WOW! Andy and Ben have done it again, the IRA is on Nitro and on tap!
If it’s really possible, Andy and Ben have made the ever delicious “IRA”, Irish Red Ale even better. They started running nitro through it, so now this amazing red ale is creamy smooth and just the thing you need! Stop by our Portland Brew Pub to get a pint before it’s gone.
Have you seen the amazing $5 OFF offer from Gritty’s in your mailers?
If you live in the Falmouth, Cumberland, Freeport, Bath, Brunswick, Topsham or L/A areas, look for the “Target Marketing” direct mail packet. There is a
$5 OFF Gritty’s coupon in there!
Maine has been featured as “A State of Bliss” in Saveur magazine’s 100 Favorite Foods, Restaurants, Drinks, People, Places and Things.
Among the highlights were local chef, Sam Hayward of Fore Street and Gritty McDuff’s Best Brown Ale. “It’s nice to see Portland receive recognition for its rich culinary community,” said Mayor Ed Suslovic. “Perhaps one of Maine and Portland’s best kept secrets is the availability of fresh, locally-grown produce and it was good to see that the prevalence of farmers’ markets in the area did not go unnoticed by Saveur,” said Suslovic. Published by the Bonnier Corp., Saveur, a food and wine magazine, each year produces a top-100 magazine.
Get Happy at Gritty’s Freeport
From 4pm to 6pm on Fridays we’re having a “happy afternoon”! Join us for $2 for any single liquor “well” drink; The House Ale is just $2 a pint and our Guest Beer in a bottle or a can is just $2 Don’t miss the FREE Happy Hour Buffet!
The Party continues all week at Gritty’s L/A Brew Pub!
From 4pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, get $2 OFF any drink made with Three Olives Vodka! Try our “Brewer’s Choice” special ale for just $2 a pint! Wednesdays: 1/2 Price Quesadillas! Thursdays: 1/2 Price Appetizers! Fridays: 1/2 Price Wings! Stop by Gritty’s and bring your friends!
Who said you can’t get a FREE Lunch?
Gritty’s “Frequent Feeder” program is BACK! Be sure to ask your server for a Frequent Feeder Card at any of our Brew Pubs. There are cards for each location. Buy 5 lunches at one location, get your card punched each time you eat lunch and you’ll get the 6th lunch for FREE!
