Brew pub developers
hope to bring excitement to Caribou
By Joshua Archer
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Northern Maine Brewing Company LLC, a full restaurant and brew pub planned for Caribou, could be up and running sometime after Thanksgiving if everything goes well, according to one of the venture’s investors Richard Solman.
Solman along with a diverse 13-member group of Caribou residents and business owners have taken over and are remodeling the former Catholic Charities building beside the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. “We’ve been working on ideas to help rejuvenate Caribou and bring some economic development,” Solman said. “Most of us are really looking to bring something to Caribou and there’s a lot of excitement.”
The pub will offer locally crafted beer and will use local ingredients from the area, having already obtained some hops from Westfield growers.
Solman said they’re still cooking up names for their brews including Northern Light, an easy drinking beer. “We haven’t really nailed anything down yet, but we thought we’d incorporate local names.”
The plan is to keg their beer and they already have several restaurants and bars that have contacted them about selling their products in their facilities, “they’re all anxious about having some locally brewed beer,” he said.
The interior of the building has been demolished and Solman said they’re working with an architect on the floor plans. Their brewing equipment has been ordered from Austria and should be delivered sometime in October to form their brewhouse.
