Penny Brewing boosts production to keep beer on shelves

Photo: Peter L. McGuire

LOCAL OFFERING — Harrison's Pennesseewassee Brewing Company, which started distributing in November, has already doubled capacity to meet local demand.

HARRISON — Only two months after opening, Oxford Hills' very first craft brewery is ramping up production.

Pennesseewassee Brewing Company owner Lee Margolin says demand has already surpassed his ability to provide the hoppy offering.

To appease the clamour, Margolin has installed a second fermentor in his one-room brewery, located in his Plains Road home in Harrison.

So far, the brewery's flagship "Pennesseewassee Pale Ale" – "Penny" for short –  is only available in 22-ounce bottles at a few local outlets. 

"Usually everyone gets a case," Margolin says. "That's about all I can do right now."

At The Lake Store in Norway last Friday, just one bottle of "Penny" was left on the shelves.

Kelsey Chamberlain, a cashier at the store, said sales had been steady, if not overwhelming.

"A lot of people don't know about it," Chamberlain said. "I think once more people see it, especially in the summertime, it will be more popular."

The Lake Store was on its second case of Penny since November.

It was a similar story for the Market Basket, in Harrison.

Manager Bob Holden said the first shipment the store received sold quickly and a second batch had only recently arrived. He said the store enjoyed carrying local products and hoped the beer kept selling well.

So far, Margolin says he's brewed between six and eight 15-gallon batches. With the addition of a new fermentor, he's able to double that.

He hopes that will allow him to offer his beer at a more regular pace and expand distribution to a "second tier" of vendors he earlier had to turn away.

Although customers have been asking when Margolin is going to come out with a different beer, he simply doesn't have time to work on brewing a new recipe.

"This one thing is filling up my time pretty good," he says. "I'm not exactly Baxter Brewing Company [a Lewiston brewery], but good things are happening for us too."

"Penny Pale" is sold at The Lake Store, Fare Share Market, 76 Pleasant Street and Tucker's Pub in Norway, the Smilin' Moose in Paris and The Tie-Up, Market Basket and The Olde Mill Tavern in Harrison –  if there's any left on the shelves.