Orono Brewing Company

What Orono Brewing Company does

Orono Brewing Company is a privately held craft brewery founded in 2014 in Orono, Maine by four co-founders — Heather Furth, Mark Horton, Asa Marsh-Sachs, and Abe Furth. The company produces a portfolio of New England-style beers led by the flagship Tubular NEIPA, with complementary offerings including Wicked Maine Blueberry Ale, The Way Life Should Be IPA, Maine Life Pale Ale, Let's Go Black Bears IPA, AOK Kölsch, Totally Tubular DIPA, and seasonal releases such as Flannel Season and Sunset Sweeps Coffee Stout. Brewing operations are housed in a 10,000 square foot refurbished concrete manufacturing facility acquired in 2017, configured with 24 draft lines, a production brewery, a full kitchen, and a large beer garden. The company has extended into adjacent categories through the Wild Maine Vodka & Tequila Seltzer sub-brand and a non-alcoholic Hop Water line.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer model through two taproom locations — the flagship at 42 Alewife Run in Orono and a second at 26 State St in Bangor — supported by an integrated Heartland POS online ordering system for food and merchandise pickup. Revenue is generated from on-site draft beer sales, food service (Orono only), branded merchandise, and a Mug Club membership program. Pricing is pay-as-you-go with food menu items ranging from $8 kids' meals to $29 lobster rolls and merchandise priced from roughly $25 to $90.

The company's go-to-market emphasizes community engagement rather than wholesale distribution, anchored by strategic partnerships with the University of Maine (official beer of the Maine Black Bears, with proceeds funding student scholarships), Wyman's (wild blueberries for the blueberry ale), Kennebec Cheesery (Lacto cultures for kettle sours), and Carrabassett Coffee. Marketing is driven by live music programming, seasonal beer releases, social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, and cause-marketing events such as Touch-a-Truck with the Orono Fire Department. Customer segments are primarily local craft beer enthusiasts and the University of Maine community, with the geographic footprint confined to the New England region.

Name

Orono Brewing Company

Legal name

Orono Brewing Company

Website

https://oronobrewing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Orono Brewing Company is a privately held craft brewery founded in 2014 in Orono, Maine, operating two taproom locations and selling flagship beers like Tubular NEIPA alongside a Wild Maine seltzer sub-brand and merchandise to local craft beer enthusiasts and the University of Maine community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Brewing

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beer Brewing & Brands (CRADAIAA), Craft Beer Bars & Taprooms (THAFAEAG)

Keywords

• Craft beer brewing
• Taproom beverages
• Maine craft brewery
• Brewpub food service
• Beer merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Orono

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Draft Beer Sales: On-site draft beer sales at two taproom locations featuring 24 draft lines with rotating seasonal and flagship beers.
2. Food Service: Full kitchen food service at Orono flagship location with burgers, sandwiches, salads, and pub fare. Food available only at Orono location.
3. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including jerseys, hoodies, t-shirts, hats, accessories, and specialty items like custom Tubular hockey jerseys.
4. Online Ordering Pickup: Online food and merchandise ordering through Heartland POS with pickup at Orono or Bangor locations.
5. Wild Maine Vodka & Tequila Seltzer: Separate product line including Wild Maine Vodka Seltzer and Hop Water, sold under the Orono Brewing portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Orono Brewing Company is a craft brewery that produces and sells a range of house-made beers, seltzers, and hop water. The company operates taproom locations where it serves its products alongside food, and also sells branded merchandise to consumers.

Product overview

Orono Brewing Company is a craft brewery founded in 2014, operating as a single unified brewing company with a portfolio of core beer products, non-alcoholic beverages, merchandise, and food service operations. The core beverage portfolio consists of Tubular NEIPA (flagship), Wicked Maine Blueberry Ale, Maine Life Pale Ale, The Way Life Should Be IPA, Summer Ale, and seasonal offerings including Totally Tubular DIPA, Flannel Season, and Sunset Sweeps Coffee Stout. The company also produces Wild Maine Vodka & Tequila Seltzer as a sub-brand and Hop Water as a non-alcoholic option. Merchandise includes Tubular-branded apparel, general OBC branded items, and Wild Maine merchandise. The company operates two tasting room locations (Orono flagship and Bangor) with full food service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wild Maine Vodka & Tequila Seltzer: Vodka and tequila seltzer product line featuring wild blueberry flavor, sold at wildmainevodkaseltzer.com
• Wild Maine
• Tubular
• Hop Water

Products and services

• Craft Beer House-made craft beers including varieties such as Tubular IPA and Wicked Maine Blueberry Ale, sold to consumers at the brewery's taprooms and through packaged sales.
• Hard Seltzers Hard seltzer beverages produced by Orono Brewing Company, served at taprooms and sold to consumers.
• Hop Water Non-alcoholic hop-infused sparkling water produced by Orono Brewing Company as an alternative beverage offering.
• Brewpub Food Service Food menu items served to consumers at the brewery's taproom locations, complementing the beer offerings.
• Brewery Merchandise Brewery-branded merchandise such as apparel and branded goods sold to consumers at taprooms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portion of Let's Go Black Bears IPA sales supports The Alfond Fund and scholarships for Maine students
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Maine Black Bears (University of Maine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Official beer of the Maine Black Bears. Let's Go Black Bears IPA features Mosaic, Galaxy, Amarillo, and Strata hops. A portion of sales from each beer goes towards supporting The Alfond Fund and scholarships for Maine students. The beer celebrates the college experience and supports UMaine student scholarships.
• Wyman'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFourth generation Maine business and one of the leading growers of Wild Blueberries on the planet. Supplier of wild blueberries for Wicked Maine Blueberry Ale. Wyman's Bee Wild Mobile visited Orono Brewing in 2025 to promote wild blueberry awareness.
• Maine Ski PatrolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunset Sweeps Coffee Stout supports the Maine Ski Patrol. A percentage of sales go towards supporting patrollers who keep skiers safe on the mountain. Celebration of New England's colder months.
• Orono Firefighters AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTouch-a-Truck event benefits the Orono Firefighters Association's educational scholarship fund. 10% of sales during the event donated to support firefighter scholarships.
• Carrabassett CoffeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplier of cold-brewed coffee for Sunset Sweeps Coffee Stout, featuring roasted malts and smooth body.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Maine Beer Company: Freeport, Maine craft brewery known for hop-forward IPAs (Lunch, Dinner) and a tasting-room-only model. Direct peer given Maine origin, IPA-centric portfolio, and DTC taproom sales strategy similar to Orono's Tubular-focused model.
• Allagash Brewing Company: Portland, Maine-based craft brewery and one of the largest in the state. Directly comparable as a Maine craft brewery with broad taproom presence, on-premise draft focus, and a flagship product line — competes with Orono for the same Maine craft beer drinker.
• Tree House Brewing Company: Massachusetts-based craft brewery famous for NEIPAs and a destination taproom-only model. Comparable in style focus (NEIPAs like Orono's Tubular) and DTC taproom economics, though at a much larger scale.
• Baxter Brewing Company: Lewiston, Maine craft brewery with taproom presence and a can-forward packaging model. Comparable as a Maine craft peer of similar size and regional focus.
• Lone Pine Brewing Company: Portland, Maine craft brewery with a strong hop-forward (NEIPA) portfolio and a taproom. Closely comparable on product style (NEIPA) and Maine geographic overlap with Orono.
• Shipyard Brewing Company: Portland, Maine craft brewery with broad New England distribution and seasonal releases. Comparable as a Maine-based, multi-style craft brewer with a taproom and external wholesale footprint Orono does not yet have.
• Rising Tide Brewing Company: Portland, Maine small craft brewery with taproom and packaged distribution. Direct peer in size, geography, and product style, competing for the same craft drinker in Maine.

Broad incumbents

• Trillium Brewing Company: Massachusetts/New England craft brewery with multiple taprooms and a strong NEIPA reputation. Comparable in NEIPA specialization, multi-location New England taproom strategy, and broader regional brand.

Regional players

• Bar Harbor Brewing Company: Maine-based craft brewery with taproom and regional distribution. Regional peer with shared Maine identity and similar craft-beer tourism dynamics.
• Sebago Brewing Company: Maine-based brewpub chain with multiple taproom locations across the state. Comparable multi-venue brewpub model in Maine, though larger footprint, illustrating the multi-taproom growth path.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/oronobrewing
• Instagraminstagram.com/oronobrewingcompany
• Xx.com/oronobrewingco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orono Brewing Company