DURHAM – The founder of Casco Bay Brewing Co. wants to turn the site of a former seafood business on Pinkham Brook Road in Durham into a small brewery focusing on what he described as “high-quality specialty beers.”

Michael LaCharite met with the Durham Planning Board Aug. 1 to talk about his permit application for Katahdin Beers. The Planning Board did not take any action, but will discuss the application and potentially hold a vote on a conditional use permit at its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 5.

LaCharite has a long history of success in the brewing industry in Maine. He started the Casco Bay Brewing Co. in 1994, eventually growing the brewery to the third largest in the state before selling the business. He then was hired to be the first brewmaster for the Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston, helping that company get off the ground.

Now, after spending some time doing home brewing and judging beer competitions throughout the region, including some for Boston Beer Co., maker of Samuel Adams, LaCharite is looking to get back into the beer business.

He said he hopes to have all of his local approvals and state and federal licenses in place soon so he can begin operations by the end of this year.

LaCharite said he had been looking for a site for a new brewery for some time when he saw the building on Pinkham Brook Road.

“I mentioned to somebody that I was looking to open another brewery and (I was told), ‘There’s a nice little place in Durham,’” he said. “I peeked in the window one day and I arranged to see the property and saw it was perfect to do what I wanted to do.”

LaCharite has leased the building, and he told the Planning Board that one of the drawing cards was the well water on the site.

“I have found the water to be of excellent quality for what I’m going to be using it for,” he said, adding that there are very few breweries in the state that use well water to brew their beers – most rely on a municipal water source.

While he has run large breweries in the past, LaCharite said that won’t be the case this time. His intention is to keep the business very small, turning out high-quality specialty beers.

“I plan on doing most of it myself,” he said, adding that he expects to have three or four employees “at the most.”

“I want to keep this small,” he said. “I want to keep it so I can manage it myself.”

While he hasn’t gotten the go-ahead to launch his new venture, LaCharite has been busy laying the ground work for Katahdin Beers.

“I’m currently working on all of the recipes,” he said.

LaCharite said he would be producing what he deemed a Belgian-style specialty beer.

“I’m going to be doing beers that don’t fall into categories. It’s going to be very original, very unique,” he said, adding that he is going to brew the beers in small, 300-gallon batches.

And these beers won’t be available by the six-pack, either. They will be sold in special bottles, and be priced closer to a bottle of wine than a typical beer.

“I’m not going to be doing regular bottles,” LaCharite said. “It’s going to be in Belgian-style bottles, (which are) a lot like a champagne bottle with a cork and a cage.”

LaCharite said his new beer recipes would reflect how his tastes have changed. He said he believes his taste for beer has become “more sophisticated” than when he started brewing, and that would be reflected in his new products.

“That’s what I want to be able to produce and market, very sophisticated beers,” he said. “I’m going to be Maine’s new artisanal brewer.”

This building on Pinkham Brook Road in Durham has been leased by Michael LaCharite, the founder of Casco Bay Brewing Co. He is seeking town approval to turn it into a microbrewery focusing on specialty beers. (Staff photo by Mike Higgins)