Blank Canvas Brewery to open in early summer in downtown Brewer

blank canvasOwners Stephen Genthner and Jessica Wentworth announced on Monday that their new beer-making company, Blank Canvas Brewery, will open in early summer at 71B Center Street in downtown Brewer.

Blank Canvas Brewery will offer craft beer inspired by local ingredients. Genthner and Wentworth will operate a small-scale brewing production, starting with growlers and samples served in the brewery tap room. The beer styles will come from all over the brewing world, from browns and porters to ales and lighter beers. Genthner is the head brewer, while Wentworth will manage the tap room.

“When creating a recipe, we look at what beer marries well with the ingredient we are showcasing, such as a brown ale to which we add Maine roasted coffee,” said Genthner, who previously worked for Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, and recently graduated from Eastern Maine Community College with a degree in business. “It is not about the roasted bitterness that goes into porters and stouts. We want a balanced bitterness and malt sweetness profile. We use the brown ale for its balanced nature to let the coffee come through, the coffee is in the forefront but not overpower the beer.”

The brewery is inviting local artists to draw on the walls of the tap room with markers, to create a collaborative living mural that will change over time. When it is full, the wall will be photographed and then started over, creating a different mural each time — a blank canvas, as in the name of the brewery. For updates, grand opening details, and tap house hours, check out the Blank Canvas Brewery Facebook page, or contact them via email at sgenthner@blankcanvasbrewery.com.

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.