Most brewers love to tinker, experiment, and push boundaries in the brewhouse. But most breweries—as businesses—aim to sell high volumes of their core beers. That simplifies operations and ingredients, and it avoids the sort of headaches that come with managing crowds for special releases or whipping up new labels every week.
In Portland, Maine, Lone Pine Brewing is one of those lucky breweries that get to do both. Since opening in March 2016, it has built its reputation on hop-forward core beers: Portland Pale Ale, Brightside IPA, and Tessellation Double IPA, recently adding a New England double IPA, Oh-J, to the year-round lineup. Those beers constantly occupy the brewery’s largest 80- and 40-barrel fermentors, and their sales are what keep the lights on. Meanwhile, their success also bankrolls what might be called “the fun stuff”—such as a series of beers brewed with actual doughnuts from fellow Portlanders at The Holy Donut, or the Cannon IPA series that turns the haze dial to 11.
The popularity of its core beers made Lone Pine the fourth-fastest-growing American craft brewery in 2018, according to Brewers Association data. Cofounders Tom Madden and John Paul say their mission is to make Lone Pine’s beers approachable, adaptable, and available. In late 2017, they purchased Sebago Brewing’s former 13,000-square-foot brewery in nearby Gorham. That added production allowed Lone Pine to produce enough beer to send to 11 states as far-flung as Florida and Utah, as well as to overseas markets including the U.K., France, and Japan.