Get thee to Sidereal
A new farm brewery near the capitol is hitting home runs
In my introductory post to the Maine beer scene, I broke Maine breweries into three distinct categories: Brewpubs, that operate as full restaurants, brewpub chains, and pure breweries, that may have a food truck (even a permanent one), but that definitely focus on the beer. While those categories still apply, they’re always worth tweaking, and in the past few years a new category has begun to emerge: the brewery-eatery.
The brewery-eatery isn’t quite a full restaurant, unlike a brewpub: they usually don’t have waitstaff, a reservation system, or a hostess. That’s what Bissell Brothers’ Portland location has evolved into, for instance, now that they own and operate their own kitchen on-site.
The latest entry into this category (although that probably won’t be true for long) is the brand-new Sidereal Farm Brewery, located in Vassalboro, near Augusta. They have food on-site, and it’s not just pub food, nor is it a permanent food truck: they have an upscale menu that changes weekly, prepared by Maillard, their kitchen. Last week, the week before Thanksgiving, they highlighted a number of dishes of Native American origin or inspiration, for instance; this week they had dry-aged strip steaks, lobster bisque, and more.
I first visited Sidereal on October 8, their first full Saturday of service, and I was immediately impressed. For one, the setting is gorgeous: Sidereal is located on an organic farm and feels as if it’s in the middle of nowhere, even though it’s about fifteen minutes from downtown Augusta. While that’s not atypical of Maine in general, there aren’t a lot of breweries that are located on actual farms, so it’s not a typical brewery experience.
Even on their opening weekend, they had an impressive line-up of beers, featuring a variety of styles that really ran the gamut. For my second visit this past weekend, they’d added a few new releases since, and were up to thirteen different options - eight on draft and five can pours. Sidereal enjoys exploring globally-inspired and historical beers - they have an excellent grisette, for instance - which is a nice change of pace in the Maine beer scene, where IPAs often rule the day. The ABV of Sidereal beers is a wide range, too, running from the 3.2% Berliner Weisse all the way up to the 7.5% Zeus double dry-hopped IPA. That gives nearly any beer-drinker something to try, and it’s worth trying them all, to be sure. Since they have a kitchen, they also offer a number of non-beer drink options as well, including wine and seltzer.
As is more commonly becoming the case in the industry, they don’t offer flights; instead, they will serve any draft option in 5oz, 12oz, or 16oz pours. Essentially, offering a five-ounce pour rather than a flight is a distinction without much of a difference: in the end it offers the customer much of the same experience as a flight, especially at a place like Sidereal, where the space isn’t overwhelming and the staff are accessible and friendly.
Today, though, I was on a mission: To try Sidereal’s new double dry-hopped IPA, Zeus. In the spirit of full disclosure, one of the brewers here is a friend and former co-worker of mine; their newest creation is named after his dog who passed away. One of the more unique features of Sidereal Farm Brewery is that they have an in-house yeast lab, Sidereal Labs; that allows them to engage in broad-ranging experimentation. They also, like some larger breweries such as Allagash down in Portland, have their own dedicated koelschip room, allowing them to experiment with wild yeasts.
Zeus is, to put it simply, a home run, and that’s said without any bias whatsoever. Although it’s the highest-ABV beer they had, it’s not as high as many double dry-hopped IPAs, which often clock in at 8% or more. When I visited on a Sunday, I tried Zeus in a twelve-ounce pour on draft, and it was excellent. The hoppy IPA featured a complex bouquet of flavors layered on top of one another that gave a nice depth to it. Moreover, while hoppy, it was not overly bitter, either, giving it a pleasant aftertaste throughout the drinking experience. It was also consistently as good in a can at home as it was on draft at the brewery, showing that Sidereal is already nailing their consistency - often a problem at breweries that are either new or new to canning. I can’t tell you how often I’ve enjoyed a beer at a brewery only to be disappointed once I tried it in a can at home, but it looks like that won’t be a problem at Sidereal.
The food is excellent at Sidereal as well. As I’ve noted above, they have a menu that changes weekly, but one of the consistent features is an excellent charcuterie board. I’ve tried it both times I was there thus far (eventually I’ll try something else, I promise), and each time it was delicious, satisfying, and filling.
Regardless of what type of beer you like, you’re bound to find something that satisfies your palette at Sidereal, along with food that’s well above pub fare to go with it. They’re doing interesting, creative things with not only their beer, but with wine and food as well - and not just in content, but in serving and presentation. They are, for instance, one of the only breweries in Maine that I know of doing Mlíko pours, where a beer is poured with a lot of foam and you drink it all at once, like a shot (see below). Yes, there’s actually beer in there, and yes, pouring it this way is very delicious and absolutely helps to bring out the flavor of their beer. Since Sidereal has Lukr taps, they can do this - so far they’re offering their Side Pour Pls, a more than tasty enough beer when served the regular way, in this fashion.
Sidereal is an excellent brewery in a gorgeous setting with friendly staff that is consistently putting out top-notch products. They have superb food, most of their beer is available to go, and they’re already being very creative with everything they do. It’s definitely worth a visit - and likely many more after that, just to see what they might do next.
And, you know, to get more beer.