BANGOR – There’s no disputing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on businesses large and small. Everyone has been forces to find ways to adapt, to seek out a new normal and carve out a spot for themselves.

Craft brewing – long a booming industry here in Bangor and all over the state – is no exception.

Here’s the thing: The Maine Edge digs beer. We cover it a fair amount in these pages. We feature it on our cover at least a couple of times a year. We’ve run a beer column in the past. And our editor (also the writer of this piece) enjoys the wares of just about every one of the brewers in the region.

So let’s talk about ways in which we can continue to enjoy those wares while still being responsible and safe, shall we?

Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I am intimately familiar with the protocols in place for every single area brewery. I’ll freely admit that there are some – even on the list you’ll see later in this piece – that I personally have not visited since the pandemic struck. I’ve visited many of these spots, but not all of them, so I can’t speak in absolutes.

What I WILL say is this: Everything that I’ve seen from the places I HAVE visited tells me that the vast majority of the region’s breweries are taking all of this very seriously and doing their very best to follow the rules and keep their patrons and employees safe. Not that it should surprise anyone familiar with the scene – these are all good people who want nothing more than to make good, interesting brews and do right by the world.

And that’s the thing – even in the midst of all this, these people are still making really good beer.

BUCKSPORT – Bucksport’s Main Street played host to a few members of Maine’s burgeoning craft brewing scene last weekend, thanks to the efforts of everybody’s favorite beermaking friars.

The Friars’ Invitational Brewfest took place on July 21 as part of the Bucksport Bay Festival that took place all weekend. A number of local craft breweries set up tents and offered up samples of their delicious brews for a few hours one warm afternoon.

The participating breweries were: Friars’ Brewhouse (of course), Airline Brewing Company, Blank Canvas Brewery, Lake St. George Brewing Company, Penobscot Bay Brewery, 2 Feet Brewing and Waterville Brewing Company.