Baxter Brewing founder Luke Livingston announced Monday that he will retire from the brewery, effective on September 13. Jenn Lever, Baxter’s current operations manager, will take over as president of the Lewiston, Maine-based craft brewery. Livingston, 34, who founded Baxter in 2010, said in his retirement announcement that it was “time to find my next adventure.”

When Baxter Brewing opened inside of the 168-year-old Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston, Maine, in 2011, the state did not allow breweries to sell beer directly to drinkers for on-premise consumption. State laws loosened in 2012, but Baxter – which is ranked as the third-largest brewery in Maine — had already dedicated the vast majority of its facility to production.

In this week’s Last Call, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild petitions against taproom bill; Sierra Nevada looks to breakaway from Nevada wholesaler; CBA responds to Kona lawsuit; and much more.

LEWISTON — AUBURN, MAINE — “One of the things I like best about the craft beer industry,” says Luke Livingston, founder of Baxter Brewing Co., in Lewiston, Maine, “is the chance to meet such great people.

A brewery selling 5,000 barrels of beer in its first year of production isn’t entirely unheard of, but it used to be inconceivable. Even craft beer Paterfamilias Jim Koch himself forecast it would take five years to reach the milestone, but Boston Beer Co. reached the figure within five months of its first delivery.

LEWISTON — AUBURN, MAINE – Baxter Brewing Company, the acclaimed all-cans craft brewery in Lewiston, Maine that was the first of its kind in New England, introduces Tarnation, a California-style lager and the newest addition to Baxter’s roster of year-‘round varieties.

LEWISTON — AUBURN, MAINE: Baxter Brewing Company, the acclaimed all-cans craft brewery in Lewiston, Maine that was the first of its kind in New England, will be available throughout northern New England in convenient 12-can boxes, beginning in January. “People have been asking for this option from the very beginning,” explained Luke Livingston, Baxter’s founder… Read more »

There’s beer on the brain in Bentonville. Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, has said it wants to double its alcohol sales by 2016. One area of the store Walmart would like to see customers spending more time is the beer aisle.

LEWISTON, MAINE – Baxter Brewing Company, the acclaimed all-cans craft brewery in Lewiston, Maine that was the first of its kind in New England, will be available throughout Vermont beginning next month. “Vermonters have a long, deep appreciation for craft beer,” said company founder and CEO, Luke Livingston. “We’ve wanted to be part of that… Read more »

Brewbound.com today announced that it will host its next in an ongoing series of BrewTalks at the Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine. New England-based beer industry professionals are invited to attend the free event, which will begin at 7 P.M. on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Launched in January, the Brew Talks series is a set… Read more »

LEWISTON, Maine — With the stunning success of its first fundraiser open house last November, Baxter Brewing Co. demonstrated the power of its tap room to leverage support for local charities by inviting folks to simply have a good time. “That has lead us to do it again, this time to support the Good Shepherd Food Bank,” said Baxter president and CEO, Luke Livingston. “It is inexcusable that hunger is so pervasive in Maine,” Livingston said, “and this is one small way we can help address that.”

Lewiston, Maine-based Baxter Brewing today announced a $2.5 million facility expansion less than two years into operation. The young company is riding a wave of success after launching cans and kegs of its beer last January. It produced over 5,000 barrels in year one, one of the largest production outputs ever for a craft brewer… Read more »