Sacred Profane Brewing Launching Summer 2022

I think I've finally found an opening. Next Friday for opening. That's my goal. Looks like there are a couple places nearby too. Anything worth checking out?

 

I don't love all of their beers, but Banded Brewing has a very cool tap room and patio housed in an old mill building. Good food too. And Lucky Pigeon, a gluten free brewery, is housed in the same building. I'm not an expert in gluten-free beers, but I was impressed by the range and quality of their beers.

 

I can't comment on the brewery itself. But I was in Portland last weekend and managed to try both beers on draft at different locations.

Had the Pale Lager at Portland Beer Hub.
Had the Dark first at Novare, and liked it so much I had it with lunch the next day at Terlingua.

Both beers are excellent. Full of flavor and body but also session-level proof.
Not at all surprising considering the Notch connection.

Definitely beer I will seek out the next time I am in the area.

 

So I’m at Sacred Profane right now. Couldn’t convince my three buddies to come with me from Kennebunkport during our guys weekend. They’re missing out. I’ll chime in and say the dark lager is amazing. I had the pale first and it was really good but the dark is just delicious, thick and chewy. Nice place. Small, but nice. Bartender was really friendly and attentive.

 

How were those beers served/poured? Did those places have LUKR side-pull faucets?

Cheers!

 

I didn't see the beers pouted at Novare or Terlingua. At Hub it was just from a straight tap, no Lukr or side pour.
Fantastic though, and will agree with the Doctor above that the dark is the better of the two.

 

What was their reason for not wanting to join?

 

I have no personal knowledge of this but it was probably a general lack of coolness…

 

Complaints ranging from being hungover to being really hungover.

 

Who wants to go to a brewery serving only two beers?!?

 

Agree on all of this. Two well done beers. Dark was next level for me. Cozy spot. Not unexpectedly quiet on my opening time visit, but I’ll take that over a bustling taproom. Staff, especially tender were friendly, helpful, and made the experience.

 

What?! Don't they know that Czech lagers and oysters are the only approved cures for a hangover?

 

What?! Don't they know that Czech lagers and oysters are the only approved cures for a hangover?

 

Stopped by today to check it out. Both beers were very solid. I actually enjoyed the Pale slightly more than the Dark, but that may have just been what my palate wanted at the moment. Carb on the Pale felt perfect. Both were quite good. Definitely enjoyable and similar quality to what places like Schilling do. Place was busy and a bit loud/echoey inside. We had poutine, which was very tasty. It’s a simple version with just crunchy fries, gravy, and curds, which was kind of nice and “light” in comparison with the way a lot of places load them up with meat and other toppings.

 

https://mainernews.com/major-in-beer-30/
Another Sacred Profane article

 

In reality the hangovers were not the real reason, since they were all drinking again soon enough. They don’t like leaving Kennebunkport during guys weekend. In four years I’ve only convinced one of them to come with me to Portland once. Weird. But I’m glad I made it ti Sacred Profane. Worth the visit.

 

Ok so here are my full thoughts on my stop at Sacred Profane last week as I mentioned would be coming in a post in the WNEBAYDN thread. My wife and I stopped for dinner and drinks on on drive through town headed south from our trip to Acadia National Park. Going by the BA Place review sub-catagories and my scores:

Vibe - 4. Modern feel, smaller than I expected on the first floor (I think there was second floor space but uncertain). But the tighty spaced tables felt more communal than cramped. The look of the shiny copper tanks hanging over the bar is definitely a statement.

Quality - 4.5. I drank mugs of "classic" pours of both beers. In general I am not as crazy about pale lagers as I am with amber and dark ones, but the Pale was definitely on par with the Lukr pours of Lawsons' and Schilling's Czech pale lagers that I drank at those breweries earlier in the week. I really liked the Dark, it was very roasty and dry. A little thinner feeling than Human Robot's Tmavy which I love, but perhaps than is unavoidable at the lower abv.

Service - 3.75. The pros are that our server was very friendly, and the food came out very quickly. But some minor cons - they had 2 or 3 hard ciders on the menu and my wife ordered one. It ended up being a cider with "gin botanicals" added, definitely a unique spin on a cider and could be polarizing. My wife likes gin, so she liked it. But for a place like this with high quality drink list, seems like something that you'd list on the menu or the server would mention when you order it. But instead she was surprised when my wife mentioned about how she liked that aspect. Seems kind of crazy if you only have about a dozen drinks, that the servers wouldn't be familar with them all.
Also, for a place only open a month or so, and all the effort that SP has put into the unique Lukr setup and going all-in on the Czech tankpub theme, that the hostess or server wouldn't give a quick 20 second spiel to introduce the concept to customers. Obviously I was informed about what to expect, but the couple at the table next to us probably didnt understand the concept. The guy tried to order a diet coke, only to be told they didn't serve any soda or non-alcoholic seltzer, so he begrudgingly settled on just water to drink. I think they thought it was a "regular" restaurant.

Selection- 3. Obviously this has been over analyzed here in the thread, but not sure I could give anything more than a middle grade.

Food -3.75. For the focus on being a restaurant and not just a brewery, we thought the food was a little underwhelming. I should be the target customer, as I love well executed casual "gastropub" style food. We ordered the Poutine and the Schnitzel to split. The schnitzel and the house mustard was good. I dont like mayo-based potato salad but my wife said it was average. As for the poutine - I am a sucker for good fresh-cut skin on fries. I understand why instead they'd use (slightly battered?) crispier fries for a poutine. But the gravy flavor was also meh.

Overall I would go back when we are passing through Maine again, but I think they can make some improvements in the non-beer aspects, which is to be considered for a new place.

 

Aaron Goldfarb, a good dude, wrote about SP.

https://punchdrink.com/articles/anti-hype-brewery-sacred-profane-craft-beer/

Beer is delicious, btw. Canning begins next week. 12 packs of both beers. No mixed 12’s.

 

Excellent news. Any word on where the canned 12 packs will be distributed? Hoping these make it to the Merrimack Valley, but willing to do the 60 minute drive to the Maine border if needed.