E-Malt.com News article: USA, ME: New Mast Landing Brewing location in Freeport to open on July 12

The new Mast Landing Brewing Co. location is set to open in Freeport on Monday, July 12 with collaboration from a renowned chef, the Press Herald reported.

The Westbrook-based brewery is partnering with Christian Noe of Nighthawk’s Kitchen in Freeport to serve food at the new 11,000-square-foot brew pub at Freeport Crossing.

Noe, known as Nighthawk, has catered for big names like Spike Lee and Bobby Flay. He said he looks forward to continuing his work in Maine after moving here just two years ago. He got his culinary start in New York City.

“One of my first memories of Maine was driving from New York to Kennebunkport for a family vacation as kid,” Noe told the American Journal. “As an adult, my wife would travel to Portland from New York City regularly for business, and we always commented on how beautiful Maine is, how great the food is and how genuine the people are. When we had the opportunity to make a life change to Maine we really didn’t hesitate.”

Noe will start at Mast Landing with a food truck before expanding to a permanent kitchen on the second floor, offering American comfort food like buffalo mac and cheese, barbecue burgers and hand-cut fries.

“The Mast Landing team is the dream partner,” Noe said. “They bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and professionalism to everything they set out to do. While at the same time they don’t forget how they got where they did and are simply fun to be around. Did I mention they make amazing beer? I think when we scheduled our first food tasting for an hour and it ended up being close to six hours long, we knew it would be a good partnership.”

Mast Landing President and CEO Ian Dorsey said the brewery looks forward to working on the Freeport project with Noe.

“Nighthawk’s Kitchen is going to make an excellent addition to the space in Freeport, and we’re excited to create something really special with our two brands,” Dorsey said.

They’re also looking forward to recommending food and beer pairings.

“You pair lighter beers with lighter food items like fish or chicken, while you pair really rich beers, like stouts and porters, with richer foods like duck or lamb,” Noe said. “The reason being you don’t want either the beer or the food to really take over. You want both of them to be lost in a good conversation in your mouth, like old friends.”

Noe got his culinary start in New York City, and was hired for the “She’s Gotta Have It,” Netflix series, which led to him providing food for the cast and crew of several of Spike’s Lee’s subsequent productions, as well as the Oscar-nominated film “Black Klansman.”


06 July, 2021