SEARSPORT—At the site of the old Captain Tinkham's Emporium, a new brewery has quietly opened, becoming a new "third place" for locals and visitors to sit down at the wooden benches, talk, and enjoy a craft brew. 

Rob and Paula Martell opened Maineport Brewing on 34 E. Main Street in June, after relocating to Searsport from Los Angeles during the pandemic.

The brewery offers four brews on tap, all special recipes crafted by Rob Martell, who honed his home brewing skills while running an electrical contracting company. With his wife, Paula continuing her profession as a data analyst, the partnership allows Martell to focus full-time on a vocation he has always wanted to be part of.

Since 2002, he has home-brewed, building fundamental skills of the craft brewing business and bartering his electrician skills with a brewmaster in exchange for mentorship. 

Then, partnering up with a friend with an outdoor kitchen in L.A., he began offering his home brews to his friends and family. When the opportunity arose to brew his beer in a small-batch community under the tutelage of a brewmaster in Long Beach called Dutch's Brewhouse, Martell finally had use of the commercial equipment to test out his recipes.  

"It was a lot of fun," he said. "We drank more than we brewed."

Currently, one half of the building — the tasting room — is under construction, but the brew room, doubling as the de facto tap room, has a cozy feel with exposed brick and plain wooden tables and benches. Behind the tiny cashier stand sits his four-barrel system that the Martells bought from The Waterville Brewing Co. Where their operations are still small, he brews twice a month.

The four beers on his menu all have some special meaning. 

The Odanata, a Mexican Lager with spicy notes from the hops, is for the community. 

"A Mexican Lager is a light drinking beer, a good summertime beer," he said. "I've done a lot of research on what people like and wanted a crisp, light beer people would enjoy."

The Sugarmamaness, a malty Brown Ale with a hint of chocolate, is an ode to his wife, Paula, a big fan of brown ales, and whom he credits for allowing him to live his dream in Maine. 

"Because she kept her job affording me to do what I'm doing now, this is a tribute to my Sugar Mama," he said.

The Angler Fish IPA is a recipe he wrote for himself. 

"I really don't care for how IPAs are made these days, so I brought this recipe back to the late '90s West Coast old-school IPA," he said. "The beer is mellow with a higher ABV with piney, stone fruit notes, but none of the bitterness often accompanies East Coast IPAs."

Patty Mahoney, a light, malty Irish Blonde Ale is a recipe for his mother. 

"This one is our best-seller," he said. "People love it." 

The brewery also offers non-alcoholic seltzers and snacks.

There is no Wi-Fi in the current tasting room, something Martell feels is good for community building.

"We like to create community in this room," he said. "We don't have TVs. You're encouraged to talk with people when you're here."

A natural people connector himself, he told a story about two farming families who sat near one another and didn't know each other. He introduced them and they sat in his tasting room for four hours talking about working  on a farming collaboration. 

Martell predicts the tasting room will be finished around the holidays. At that point, they'll offer trivia, game nights, tournaments, live music, and other events. They will also have food trucks and a beer yard in the back is in the works for next summer. 

"It's been a great experience," he said. "We have about 80 percent locals here every weekend, which makes us hopeful for the winter. The brewing community has been more than welcoming. I'd say every brewery within two hours of Searsport has stopped by. We've been told by a few brewers that it's rare for a new, small brewery to open and the beer is good." 

Maineport Brewing Company is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Visit the website for more information and hours. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com