The Full Story
What were we thinking??
In 2012 a small group of us were enjoying a meal at a local pizza restaurant; along with a craft beer of course 🙂 That was where the seed was planted that grew into the dream that we would eventually open a brewery and make our own versions of these tasty beverages. We would homebrew together off and on for the next few years growing my interest in making those beers that we really liked. The culmination of that dream is New Maitland Brewing. Why New Maitland? Well, Maitland is my family ancestry name from my Dad's side. "Maitland brewing" was a long-ago brewery in Australia and I didn't want to be inadvertently connected to them so I added "New" to the name; now New Maitland Brewing.
In 2016 my wife and I made a rather magical trip to Scotland to tourist our way on a whirlwind yet still relaxing trip from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, through speyside and numerous distilleries to Inverness, up to Thurso, back down past Loch Ness to the Isles of Skye and Mull, eastward to Glasgow, down to our family (Maitland) properties in Lauderdale and back to Edinburgh before flying back home after 2 weeks of discovery, romance, adventure, and lots of beer tasting. A big portion of the draw to the Scottish theme is my family ties to the Maitland Clan. As I mentioned, we visited the town of Lauder in the Scottish borders area and the family residence; Castle of Thirlestane in Lauder, southeast of Edinburgh. The inspiration that came from that experience fueled our passion to open a small local pub/tavern/tasting room where we can enjoy relationships with neighbors and friends, and as in Scotland, relax and enjoy time together.
Join us for a pint and a story. Slainte'
Europe intrigued me even back to my high school days when my family was stationed on Ramstein AFB in the SW of Germany. Each town or community had its own brewery. If you liked a breweries beer you would need to go that town to enjoy a pint as it wasn't distributed outside there.
New Maitland Brewing is modeled after that idea. We're a small microbrewery on Greenbluff offering our beverages to Friends, neighbors, and folks who enjoy being on our small quiet orchard and adding the chance for quenching a desire for a cold microbrew. We hope to support our neighbors and company with our small taproom and even distributing to the communities many event centers on Greenbluff.
Why a Scottish Theme?
The Clan Maitland
John is descended from the Maitland Clan, located just south of Edinburgh by the town of Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. Thirlestane Castle (circa 1590) is the ancestral home where the Bonnie Prince Charlie once stayed during the 2nd Jacobite uprising in the 1700’s. John’s paternal grandmother, Catherine, was a Maitland and the name has been passed down from father to son for generations.
The Maitlands were involved in the Scottish government for hundreds of years with Dukes and Earls working for Kings and Queens. When the final uprising was squelched at Culloden, many Scottish people were sent to the American Colonies while others moved to France and eventually Canada. Scotland is a strong country and part of the United Kingdom, where it still has castles, “one carriage” roads in the rural areas of Skye and Mull, and tons of sheep! Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Oban and Thurso are just a small number of cities there.
The pubs serve fresh North Sea Haddock with chips and there are tables reserved for drop in musicians. Oh, and the beer! So good whether by keg or cask, it goes great with the fish and chips. The ancient history lives right alongside the modern with cobblestone streets and in Old Edinburgh and paved streets in the newer areas.
And there are so many Scotch Distilleries to sample from. Scotch whiskey, Scotch, gets its flavor from the peat in the soil and the water from each particular area. They have tours that give you a feel for what you’re drinking and we acquired a taste for Glen Morangie Scotch from the Speyside region south of Inverness.
Scotland is a wonderful place to visit and we hope to give you a small taste of that with the brewery. You will taste a hint of biscuity flavor from the UK malt called Maris Otter in most of our brews. We hope to provide a cozy place to meet with friends and share stories over a pint or two. In nice weather you can sit outside in the pastoral setting of orchards and take in the grand view of Mt. Spokane in its different seasons. If the weather is not so nice, come in and sit by the fire to warm up while enjoying a craft beer.
Hope to see you here. Slainte! Cheers!