By STEVE CARTWRIGHT
Staff Writer Tuesday, February 13, 2007

enlarge Staff photo by Jim Evans

Steve Gorrill's brewery is a one-man operation where much is not automated. After making the soup mixture called wort, he has to shovel out the spent grains.

enlarge Staff photo by Jim Evans

When malted barley and water are mixed, the extracted sweet mixture is called wort. It is then boiled with hops, which are bitter and offset the sweetness.

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After nearly a dozen years of running a small brewery, Steve Gorrill says he really wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

At the end of a long day at Sheepscot Valley Brewing Co., he settles down with a pint of Pemaquid Ale in his cozy farmhouse with his family, and hey, life is pretty good.

So, apparently, is the beer.

He has already brewed about 600 gallons this month, and in the busy beer-drinking month of August, he rolls out 2,000 gallons.

He supplies kegs to local pubs and bars, and "growlers" -- the term for a half-gallon bottle -- to local stores.

In a year, Sheepscot Valley puts out 12,500 gallons of brew. Besides the popular Pemaquid Ale, he produces New Harbor Lager, Damariscotta Double Brown, Sheepscot River Pale Ale, and Boothbay Special Bitter.

At Riverfront Barbecue and Grille in Augusta, waitress Miranda St. Peter raved about Pemaquid Ale, saying it's a top-seller that "goes best with barbecue."

King Eider's Pub in Damariscotta confirmed that Pemaquid Ale is always on tap there, and a bartender says it does "phenomenally" well.

At The Narrows Tavern in Waldoboro, Pemaquid Ale is frequently on tap. "We've sold plenty of it," co-owner Jeff Hurd said.

A ramshackle barn that serves as the brewery -- it's spic-and-span inside -- and the whole enterprise has a laid-back atmosphere. But Gorrill said he can put in a 70-hour week and get plenty of exercise doing it.

It's a one-man operation, and on his budget, hiring help is out of the question.

His wife, Louisa, whom he met 22 years ago at the University of Maine in Orono, sometimes gives him a hand. But, mostly, he works alone.

"I sell enough to break even," Gorrill said. "I do very well in one small area, and that's fine. My beer doesn't cost any more than Sam Adams, which is 400 times bigger than me."

A growler runs anywhere from $6.50 to $8, depending on the retailer's price. Bottles are returnable and refillable.

Gorrill said he may soon branch out with 22-ounce bottles, and if that works, maybe even six-packs. But it's unlikely he will ever lose the "micro" in front of his brewery.

Small is what he wants to be.

He tried raising oysters. Then he started doing some home brewing about 15 years ago and it almost seamlessly morphed into a microbrewery.

"I never really figured out what I wanted to do," he joked. "This works. It pays the bills." The couple have two children, Robert, 12, and Allie, 9.

Louisa Gorrill said she is grateful for being able to stay home with the children while also training to be an occupational therapy assistant at Kennebec Valley Community College.

"For me, it's been great," she said of Steve's work. "He has the right attitude, and yeah, he makes good beer."Sheepscot Valley Brewing recently upped its capacity to brew, obtaining a 750-gallon kettle from Allagash Brewing Co., another Maine microbrewery that is growing.

Gorrill said he doesn't mind if customers drive right up to his brewery to buy a growler or a keg. The business is located on Hollywood Boulevard in Whitefield, a short distance off Route 194.

The resemblance to Hollywood stops with the name. It's a rural back road and that's the way Gorrill likes it.

"People should really support Maine brewing, and drink Maine beer," the brewmaster declared. "There's no reason to go anywhere else."

Steve Cartwright -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

scartwright@centralmaine.com