WINTHROP — Island Park Brewing, a brewery and taproom that opened last month on the north shore of Cobbosseecontee Lake, takes its inspiration from the lake’s drinking and dancing history. Connor Lacasse, who owns and is the head brewer at Island Park Brewing in Winthrop, uses a hydrometer Friday to check the alcohol content of beer that is fermenting. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Connor Lacasse, the head brewer, opened the location at 2541 U.
S. Route 202 in August and named it after Island Park, an island just offshore from the converted garage building. One of central Maine’s most popular dance halls was built on Island Park in 1904, attracting thousands of locals and visitors every weekend for much of the early and mid-20th century.
Eventually, a bridge was built and trolley service established to transport people more easily to and from the island. Even though the island is now privatized, Lacasse said he wanted to honor Island Park’s tradition with his brewery – 120 years after it all began. Much of the branding of the store – stickers depicting Cobbosseecontee Lake’s lighthouse, old posters and postcards on the walls from the Island Park dance hall – is based around that local history.
Lacasse’s grandfather used to dance in Island Park’s pavilion, and even had his first drink on the north shore of the lake. Or so the story goes. “It was a place of gathering, and I think that we wanted to also mimic that ethos, to be a place of gathering,” Lacasse .
