We opened in 2017 in the rural city of Ellsworth, Maine - at the gateway to Acadia National Park - with a salvaged-wood temporary bar top, just a couple brews on tap, and free popcorn as the only snack for our earliest Fogtown fans.
Until 2020, Eat at Joe's Food Truck took up residence in the corner of our garden; we are so grateful to Joe & Nancy for feeding our customers in our earlier days, and for sharing our vision of sustainable, local, and responsibly farmed & raised food.
We've remained passionate about contributing to our community & culture, small-batch craft offerings and farm-to-table menus powered by Maine's farmers and growers, and we continue to explore and responsibly use the wild and foraged flavors of coastal Maine. Our cider and wine production has expanded, our brewhaus has added several new fermenters, and in 2020, we commissioned local masons to build our brick, wood-fired pizza oven in our Ellsworth beer garden.
While our first and original location in Ellsworth houses our brewery & cellar, original taproom, beer garden & brick wood-fired pizza oven, our second taproom in downtown Bar Harbor features snacks and food specials with a farm-to-table approach, and up to 14 tap lines pouring our brews
From the very beginning, we've been committed to sustainable practices to reduce impact on our environment, and addition to sourcing as many local ingredients as possible, in 2019 when we were just two years young, we invested in the rooftop photovoltaic panels which supply Fogtown with renewable energy at 73% of our electricity needs.
We support sustainable food systems, and to reduce waste, we utilize as much of the byproducts from our brewing process as possible (read more in the next section, "SPENT GRAIN PROGRAM"). We also host one of Chickadee Compost's "Community Drop-Off Sheds" for Downtown Ellsworth.
Every time we brew, we generate several hundred pounds of spent grain, and that means tons (over 25 tons a year) of nutrients and energy that goes to local farm animals (the Maine-grown barley, wheat, oats and rye provide a great source of protein and carbohydrates), compost facilities, and into our Fogtown pizza dough.
Our three Yorkshire/Duroc-mix hogs (pasture-raised at local Half-Ash Farm in Orland, ME) were fed a mix of spent grain from our flagship brews, and finished on spent apple pomace from our hard cider program. The result is our responsibly-raised and flavorful pork featured in our pizza toppings and Fogtown brand sausages.
72.67MWh System production over total lifespan = 111,000 lbs of CO2 Emissions Saved or 837 Equivalent Trees Planted
Fogtown's photovoltaic system generates over 70% of the brewery's electric energy usage!
"Fogtown has stepped into the spotlight as a leader in the clean energy business community." - Natural Resources Council of Maine
We brew with Maine-grown base malt, & brew with fresh Maine-grown hops, heritage Maine malts, organic Maine oats & spelt, locally-foraged ingredients such as berries, sweet fern, spruce tips, bog myrtle, & whatever else we can dream up!
Right here in Ellsworth, we brew farmhouse ales, saisons, sours, herbed/spiced ales, IPAs, lagers, pilsners, stouts, porters, tripels — any of which might be aged in barrels as part of our barrel program. Check out our brews.
Our flagship brews include Maine Coast IPA, Night Nurse American Stout, Foglight Maine Pilsner, and Munich Dark Lager. Check out our flagships.
We produce hard ciders & craft hard seltzers in a variety of flavors, as well as limited release vintage wines. Most of these offerings are gluten-free.
