Lone Pine Brewing’s Maple Sunday is available this month only.
By Joel Crabtree
[dropcap letter=”T”]wo years ago, Lone Pine founders Tom Madden and John Paul made their first batch of a maple brown ale in honor of Maine Maple Sunday, the annual statewide celebration of all things syrup (this year, it lands on March 24). They did a small release, split between the Portland brewery and a dozen or so bars. Recently, the duo moved into a larger production facility, in Gorham, which means they’ll tap — and can — way more of their maple beer this year. And their syrup guy, Lyle Merrifield, head of the Maine Maple Producers Association and owner of Gorham’s Merrifield Farm and Sugarhouse, is now just down the road. Although the resulting beer leans sweet, you probably don’t want to drizzle it on pancakes. “But if there’s a beer you could do that with,” Madden says, “this’d be the best candidate.”
