New brewery brings local beer to area

Photo: Peter L. McGuire

LOCAL PRIDE — Harrison brewer Lee Margolin shows off the design for Pennesseewassee Brewing Company's flagship beer, Pennesseewassee Pale Ale. Two years after deciding to start a brewery in Oxford Hills, Margolin is awaiting final state approval before distributing his brews.

HARRISON — In the next few months, beer lovers in Oxford Hills may have a new reason to raise their glasses, as the Pennesseewassee Brewing Company begins distributing to the community.

The brewery is the brainchild of Lee Margolin, a Harrison resident and 20-year veteran home-brewer.

Two years after deciding to start a local brewery, Margolin is almost ready to begin distributing. He recently received his federal brewing license and is waiting on the state to approve his label so he can formally introduce Oxford Hills to his beer, "brewed on the banks of the Crooked River."

Margolin plans to distribute his flagship beer, Pennesseewassee Pale Ale to stores, pubs and restaurants from Harrison to South Paris.

Introducing the community to his creation is important for Margolin – he wants his brewery to represent Oxford Hills.

"I thought it would be really good for the local economy if there was a brewery that identified with the local area," says Margolin.

"Before prohibition, pretty much every town had a little brew pub or brewery, there were thousands of them ... I'm kind of aligning myself with that old tradition of small-town, locally-identified and available brews."

Pennessewassee Brewing Company is certainly scaled for a small town – the entire operation is run out of a side room in Margolin's Harrison home. The brewery floor has a brew pot, fermenter and assorted brewing equipment, with a small sanitation room on the side. Margolin brews, kegs and bottles his beer in the same small space.

Right now, Margolin can produce about a half barrel – 15-16 gallons – per batch, at two batches a month. If the brewery really takes off, he'll need to expand.

Margolin describes Pennessewassee Pale Ale as an "Americanized English pale ale." The unfiltered, naturally carbonated beer is a formalized version of Margolin's favorite home brew.

Margolin says he can consistently reproduce "Penny" – his nickname for the brew –  but the reality of brewing in a tiny one-man operation means there will probably be small differences from batch to batch.

But those minute variations are all part of the fun, Margolin says.

"If you want slavish dedication to consistency ... buy something from the big brewers because they have the wherewithal, infrastructure and volume to be absolutely consistent," he says.

Personally, Margolin would prefer people appreciate the variety in his beers.

"I'd like the buzz out in the community to be 'oh, did you try that last batch?'"

Pennesseewassee Brewing is still waiting for state label approval before it can begin distributing, but Margolin hopes people can start enjoying "Penny" pale ale sometime this fall.

Photo: Peter L. McGuire

QUALITY CONTROL — Lee Margolin checks on a batch of Pennesseewassee Pale Ale in his one-room brewery located in his Harrison home. With his current set-up, Margolin says he can produce about two 15-gallon batches of the "Americanized English pale ale," per month.