It’s been 15 years since Boothbay Craft Brewery produced its first commercial batch of beer, and now the business is expanding its facility on Adams Pond Road. The 900-square-foot addition will accommodate the packaging, canning and kegging operations. Currently, 90-95% of the product created in-house is shipped out to businesses across the state, totaling about 3,000 kegs and 10,000 cases of beer a year. 

The expansion will also free up space for more equipment as the brewery plans to introduce seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and canned water to its product line. The project is expected to be finished in May.  

“We're not looking to get any bigger (after) this expansion. This will tighten everything up. This will make everything the way we've wanted it,” explained Cody Mitchell, brewery general manager. 

The business is something of a Mitchell family affair with founders “Win” and Lori Mitchell working alongside sons Cody and Riley, who serve as general managers for the brewery and RV resort, respectively. “For a mom, it’s the family dream to all work together,” said Lori Mitchell, laughing.  

As their family business grows, the Mitchells emphasized the importance of maintaining their commitment to sustainable practices. This includes getting most of their equipment secondhand, using solar energy when possible, and using geothermal heating and cooling systems for the building. They also try to conserve water, especially during the summer months when the brewery uses 4,000 gallons a day.  

One way this is accomplished is during a batch’s cool-down process. Yeast – beer’s crucial ingredient – will begin to die off if temperatures are too high so cool water is passed through one side of a heat exchanger to lower batch temperature. This water is then heated up and used for the next batch. 

“We've always wanted to be as efficient as possible. It helps us. It helps the environment. We respect our water source tremendously because that's our bread and butter,” said Cody. He explained that the “clean” taste that makes their products unique is due to the local water, and water quality is a big consideration for breweries when deciding locale.  

“Unlike some other breweries, we don't have to pre-filter our water,” added Riley.  

This is partly why the family is excited to start expanding into the canned water business. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, unlike plastic, which goes back to the Mitchells' sustainability mission.  

However, the expansion of their product line also speaks to their larger place in the community.  

“If you're not doing what you're passionate about, you're going to fail every time,” said Riley. “So, not only are we passionate about the beer we make and the customers that we greet, we're also passionate about growing our own business so that the region can benefit from that as well.”