Pair of Brunswick breweries get new homes
Black Pug Brewing Expanding to Maine Street in Brunswick This Summer
By Maine News Now Staff
A familiar name in Brunswick's craft beer scene is about to get a new home. Black Pug Brewing Company, owned by husband-and-wife team Sam and Emi Wilson, is preparing to open a new taproom and brewery at 103 Maine Street later this summer, taking over the space recently vacated by their fellow Brunswick brewers at Moderation Brewing Company.
The move comes just weeks after Moderation officially opened the doors to its new location in the redeveloped Brunswick Central Fire Station on June 19. That building, constructed in 1919, was sold to Developers Collaborative for $200,000 by the town after the fire department relocated to its Pleasant Street headquarters. The developers transformed the upstairs into five affordable housing units for tenants earning 60% or less of the area's average income, while the downstairs became Moderation's new taproom and production facility.
With Moderation's transition complete, Black Pug is moving out of its longtime home at 30 Bath Road, where it had operated since 2018. Moderation still owns the Maine Street building and is leasing it to the Wilsons, a arrangement that reflects a relationship between the two breweries that goes far beyond a typical landlord-tenant setup.
"It's giving us a lot more power together," Sam Wilson said in an interview. "For instance, with the price of shipping these days, if we can get one big order shipped to one of our breweries, it allows us to save on that."
The two breweries have shared a close bond since their owners met years ago on a Maine Brewers' Guild trip to Halifax, Canada. Wilson describes the dynamic between the two teams as "friends first, collaborators second and competitors dead last." That spirit of cooperation extends to equipment sharing, joint purchasing, and even recipe inspiration.
Black Pug plans to use Moderation's former brewing equipment in the new Maine Street space, a move that will allow the brewery to scale up production significantly. Moderation Brewing is co-owned by Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat from Cumberland and a Brunswick native, along with Philip Welsh.
For Black Pug, the new location represents more than just extra brewing capacity. Wilson said he is eager to be in the heart of downtown Brunswick, where the brewery will be closer to community events like pub crawls, art walks, and farmers markets. The move also opens up new opportunities to partner with nearby businesses. Black Pug already brews a pineapple chai IPA using chai mix from The Abbey, a café right on Maine Street, and Wilson said collaborating with other local businesses is a major focus going forward.
"There's definitely an increased feeling of community, where now we have access to things like pub crawls and art walks, farmers markets," Wilson said.
The expansion comes at a time when small breweries across Maine are navigating rising costs and a challenging economic landscape. By sharing resources and pooling purchasing power, Wilson said, both Black Pug and Moderation are better positioned to weather those pressures while continuing to grow.
An exact opening date for the new Black Pug Brewing location has not yet been announced, but the Wilsons expect to welcome customers later this summer.
