OTTO + Maine Brew Bus Team Up for Pizza Delivery and Beer Education

On one of the recent (and rare) blue-sky days this spring, we teamed up with The Maine Brew Bus to deliver pizza to the hard-working employees of seven local breweries and to educate our awesome employees on the Maine beer that we serve. We had a super fun day serving up some pizza love and getting our beer education on!

Our first stop was in Freeport to check out Maine Beer Company before heading back south to Portland’s East End neighborhood to hit up Oxbow. We hopped a quick ride on the bus down to East Bayside to partake in the beers of Rising Tide and Lone Pine, then finding our way over to Bissell Brothers at Thompson’s Point, before ending the day in Riverside at Allagash and Foundation.

Check out the day’s happenings in our short video…

OTTOBrewBusDelivery_ThumbnailPLAY

 

Celebrating New England Craft Beer

DSC_5600
While our main gig at OTTO is crafting an array of delicious pizzas, we also like to celebrate the range of local craft beers we have on tap from breweries across New England. From an Austin Street Patina to a Lamplighter Lucid Nonsense, we’re always seeking out the best local beers to pair up with our pies and slices.

Overwhelmingly we’re serving beers from breweries in the two states we call home – Maine and Massachusetts. Our New England offerings come from as far north as Atlantic Brewing in Bar Harbor and as far south as Stratford, CT, the home of Two Roads Brewing Company. Our Massachusetts beers come from as far west as Big Elm Brewing in the Berkshires to as far east as Cisco Brewers on Nantucket.
dsc_5752-1.jpg
AND, just last year our hometown of Portland was recently named America’s Craft Beer Capital! While the city’s population is smaller than all of the other cities on the list with only about 66,000 people, there’s an average of 25.5 microbreweries per 100,000 inhabitants! Yep, Portlanders like their beer. Each year, droves of beer lovers trek to Maine just to check out the 60+ breweries across the state.

Here at OTTO we also have a bi-annual collaboration going with Rising Tide, our not too far away neighbors in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland. Each year, we brew two beers with Rising Tide –  Oscar Tango Tango Oscar, our spring collab (coming right up!) and Autohelm, which is released in the late fall. The two beers are available exclusively at OTTO locations and in the Rising Tide tasting room. Our employees enjoy working together with the Rising Tide crew each year to brew these fan favorites.

2016-09-22 12.21.42

Back in the fall, we opened our newest location in Portland (250 Read Street) with our most taps yet – TWELVE. The majority of these taps serve up local Maine beers, but we always offer a few options for those wanting to grab some brews from a bit farther afield like Jack’s Abby and Lord Hobo.

Since we opened our first location in 2009 in downtown Portland, we have enjoyed ‘growing up’ alongside the craft beer scene and supporting our local brewers. We’re proud to be currently serving beer from over 20 New England breweries and cider makers! These local breweries make it easy for the love match between beer & pizza to continue…forever.

MAINE
Allagash – Portland
Atlantic – Bar Harbor
Austin Street – Portland
Banded Horn – Biddeford
Bissell Brothers – Portland
Foundation – Portland
Funky Bow – Lyman
Lone Pine – Portland
Oxbow – Newcastle
Peak Organic – Portland
Rising Tide – Portland
Urban Farm Fermentory – Portland

MASSACHUSETTS
Bantam Cider – Somerville
Big Elm – Sheffield
Castle Island – Norwood
Downeast Cider – East Boston
Ipswich Ale Brewery – Ipswich
Jack’s Abby – Framingham
Lamplighter – Cambridge
Lord Hobo – Woburn
Night Shift – Everett

CONNECTICUT
Two Roads – Stratford

OTTO/Rising Tide Spring Collaboration Launch Parties in ME and MA

1609996_1190159957662599_4654903827232278965_nPlease join us on Wednesday, March 30th as we launch OTTO and Rising Tide Brewing Company‘s spring collaboration, Oscar Tango Tango Oscar — a crisp, snappy, and sessionable pale ale brewed with rice.

The celebration will be happening simultaneously in Portland and Massachusetts, with launch parties at two OTTO locations on Wednesday, March 30. Join OTTO and Rising Tide team members at 225 Congress Street in Portland’s Munjoy Hill neighborhood or 289 Harvard Street in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner from 6-8pm, as we start pouring this delicious brew. Lucky attendees will receive Rising Tide and OTTO schwag!

This limited special collaboration will be available exclusively at OTTO.

12745742_1171284872883441_949013297044290465_nThe brewing process kicked off on February 23rd, with OTTO team members on site. This is the second year of this annual spring collaboration, which currently holds a respectable 3.71 rating (with 218 check-ins) on the popular social drinking service Untappd.

Oscar Tango Tango Oscar’s citrusy snap goes perfect on our sunny patios while sharing one of OTTO’s spring pies — eggplant, ricotta and basil, or roasted chicken, caramelized pears and fontina.

Oscar Tango Tango Oscar’s profile is sure to provoke an onset of Spring Fever. Proceed with caution.

Aroma: tangerine, orange peel, grapefruit, rose
Taste: tangerine, grapefruit, cereal, crisp with a snappy bitterness
Malts: 2-row, flaked rice, carapils
Hops: amarillo, mandarina, cascade
Yeast: house american ale
Specifics: 4.4% abv, 1.044 o.g., 4 srm, 25 ibu

Cheers!12144691_1171284999550095_5301404358084709220_n

AUTOHELM: OTTO/Rising Tide Collab Brew Is Back!

We are pleased to announce the return of Autohelm, a deliciously hoppy amber ale brewed by Rising Tide Brewing Company in collaboration with OTTO.

Autohelm_Poster_2

Diners at OTTO restaurants in Maine and Massachusetts will be able to pair their pie with this delightful winter brew, which made its debut last year.

This limited special collaboration will be available exclusively at OTTO.

If you didn’t have an opportunity to try Autohelm last year, you should get a piece of the action before it’s all gone.

Last year, the brew racked up a 3.73 rating on social beer discovery service Untappd, eliciting some of the following responses:

“Delicious!”
“Super solid!”
“Very solid hoppy amber. Piney hops with a strong malt backbone!”
“A sweet, hoppy Amber.”
“Very smooth. Almost creamy. Nice rich malts with hop balance.”
“Oh so good.”
“Great hoppy awesome. Full body with a little sweet.”
“Fan-freakin-tastic! Well done. Hoppy , refreshing, in a season of big heavy beers this was a refreshing change.”
“Wow that is delicious!”

Thirsty yet?

Come on down, grab a few pies, and a few glasses of Autohelm — and be sure to let us know what you think.

rt2

OTTO’s Lindsey Gordon pours on the hops

 

 

Oscar Tango Tango Oscar: Rising Tide and OTTO’s Spring Collaboration Is Here!

OscarTango_Poster_V1_50percOn the heels of Autohelm, the highly regarded winter collaboration, OTTO and Rising Tide Brewing Company are launching their spring collaboration, Oscar Tango Tango Oscar, a crisp, snappy, and sessionable pale ale brewed with rice.

Starting this weekend in Maine, diners at all OTTO locations will be able to pair their pie with Oscar Tango Tango Oscar. By the week of April 27, OTTO diners at our Coolidge Corner and Comm Ave locations in Massachusetts will be able to do the same.

This limited special collaboration will be available exclusively at OTTO.

The brewing process kicked off on April Fool’s Day (coincidence, we promise!), with OTTO team members on site. While the Autohelm collaboration was brewed to provide a hearty, hoppy dose of comfort during the harsh New England winter, Oscar Tango Tango Oscar’s citrusy snap goes perfect on our sunny patios while sharing one of OTTO’s spring pies — eggplant, ricotta and basil, or roasted chicken, caramelized pears and fontina.

Oscar Tango Tango Oscar’s profile is sure to provoke an onset of Spring Fever. Proceed with caution.

Aroma: tangerine, orange peel, grapefruit, rose
Taste: tangerine, grapefruit, cereal, crisp with a snappy bitterness
Malts: 2-row, flaked rice, carapils
Hops: amarillo, mandarina, cascade
Yeast: house american ale
Specifics: 4.4% abv, 1.044 o.g., 4 srm, 25 ibu

Cheers!11041812_978888512123079_5239061310001661218_n

Introducing AUTOHELM: A Hoppy Amber Ale Brewed By Rising Tide in Collaboration with OTTO

Everybody knows that pizza and beer go together like, well, pizza and beer. It’s a well-known fact that Portland, Maine has no shortage of either.

Autohelm_Poster_2

Rising Tide & OTTO: A match made in heaven

Starting December 10, in Maine, diners at OTTO will be able to pair their pie with Autohelm, a deliciously hoppy amber ale brewed by Rising Tide Brewing Company in collaboration with OTTO. By mid-December, OTTO diners in Massachusetts will be able to do the same.

This limited special collaboration will be available exclusively at OTTO.

Our neighbors at Rising Tide have been brewing beer about as long as we have been selling pizza. Both OTTO and Rising Tide have strikingly similar histories: Independent businesses launched by pairs of lifelong New Englanders with a passion for crafting artisanal provisions. Both pairs followed winding paths that led to their recent successes. Both, in just a handful of years, have become celebrated staples of the Portland food & drink scene. Both have recently cracked increasingly competitive markets out-of-state, while staying fiercely loyal to the home town. Both are also very committed to supporting local organizations and giving back to the communities in which they live and work.

rt2

OTTO’s Lindsey Gordon pours on the hops

While OTTO and Rising Tide have partnered on a number of occasions — road races, charity events, and other local initiatives — it wasn’t until fall of 2014 that the idea came up for an actual collaboration. It made complete sense. Soon the collaboration process began, and the brewing kicked off on November 12, with several OTTO team on site to assist.

Everyone at OTTO and Rising Tide looks forward to sharing the fruits of this exciting (and delicious) collaboration the public. The first keg will be tapped at a special kickoff event on Wednesday December 10 at our Munjoy Hill location (225 Congress Street, Portland). Rising Tide (and OTTO) brewers will be on the scene.

There will be swag.

Most importantly, there will be no shortage of delicious Portland-born pizza and beer.

OTTO & Rising Tide kicking off the brewing process

OTTO & Rising Tide kick off the brewing process