“[Attempting to cross partisan lines through beer is something] I’ve always really, really enjoyed, especially opening up in Newcastle, which is a rural part of Maine, and is very politically mixed,” he says. “The locals know we’re a bunch of liberals, but we brew a beer they like to drink and they grow that food we like to eat. They’re the ones that help us with their tractors to get the tanks in here. We couldn’t exist without them.”
Adams hopes his brewery locations can serve as community-gathering places—not just physically, but socially as well. He wants to be a stalwart of each community of which he is a part, to encourage conversation among groups of people who may not otherwise see eye-to-eye.
“And so, it’s kind of through those interactions and [being able to] provide those places in the communities, particularly our two rural locations, you know, in Portland, we’re in a liberal bubble anyways. But out in those spots, you know, we really are proud of the work that we’ve done bringing people together,” he says.
Bringing folks together, especially in a heated political climate, feels elusive in many instances. But despite these differences, people are coming to visit each Oxbow location. They’re coming for the beer, of course, but having good beer simply isn’t enough.
“It sounds pretentious when you’re building a brand that you need to build a lifestyle brand,” Calagione says. “You are selling what you make in your own environment. Tim and the whole team have done a great job creating unique environments.”
In other words, people will come to log a few miles on their skis; people will round Cowshit Corner and sit by the lake for a pint of Farmhouse Pale Ale; people will come bounce at a hip-hop show on a Friday night. But, moreover, they’ll come for the beer, which is nuanced, balanced, delicious, and made by people from the community.
“I also just think about [longevity] as a business owner,” Adams says. “There’s a lot on the line. I need this to work. Fortunately our approach, our ethos is based on how we genuinely feel about beer. We have a focus and an identity and it’s about being a specialist. Combining that specialty with drinkability. Drinkable beers—they’re the past, and they will be the future.”
Adams is “literally betting the farm” that that approach will continue to connect, and draw new drinkers in.
“Trends will come and go, and that’s fun and makes [beer] a true, interesting category and brings new drinkers in left and right to the new shiny things,” he says. “Then we can bring them to our side.”
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