Buy Local members mix it up at Andy's Old Port Pub

Last night the Allagash was flowing during the Portland Buy Local mixer at Andy's Old Port Pub. This association of business owners and residents promotes the idea of keeping our purchasing power in the community and holds these networking parties every couple of months. It's not tough to get members out when local brewing superstar Allagash donates the drinks.

Another big attraction was the fresh pizza that Andy's kitchen kept bringing out for the crowd.

Joe Walsh, of Green Clean Maine, spoke to the crowd about Portland Buy Local and thanked Andy's for hosting such a fun gathering, which took place in a private room behind the main bar. After the Allagash ran out, members could order from the regular bar and Andy's donated $1 from each drink to Portland Buy Local.

A little later, Stacey Mitchell, a board member and author of "Big Box Swindle," thanked Joe for all the great work he's done this past year in organizing these mixers. She also urged everyone to join the New England-wide effort called 10% Shift. The campaign asks people to sign a pledge and commit to shifting 10% of purchases from out-of-state businesses to locally-owned businesses.

According to the number crunchers behind this effort, if five million households in New England make this shift, the money spent at local businesses (a greater portion of which stays in the local economy as compared to purchases made at out-of-state chains), would result in the creation of 48,000 new jobs and the generation of more than $5 billion in new economic activity.

Portland Buy Local is always hosting cool events, and the next one to look forward to is the Indie Biz Awards taking place May 13. Be sure to mark your calendar. If you want to see some photos from last year's awards ceremony, check out this post on my Commune Tested, City Approved blog.

BaROCKing the Vote

Last night Adam and I stopped by the BaROCK the Vote party at the Asylum and got to hear the sweet, sweet sounds of the Pete Kilpatrick Band. There were at least a couple hundred people there and everyone paid $20 at the door, which went straight to the Barack Obama for President campaign. Although neither of us is a registered Democrat, we're both part of the under-50 set and tend to be glass-half-full kind of people, so I guess it was inevitable that we'd gravitate to Obama's inspiring message and promise to provide more thoughtful, compassionate leadership than what we've been subjected to for the past eight years. A number of familiar Democratic faces spoke at the event. Including ...

Justin Alfond, the former head of the League of Young Voter's who's running for Portland's District 8 State Senate seat, and

Chellie Pingree, who's running for Maine's first Congressional seat. She gave a funny speech contrasting herself with Sarah Palin, noting that although she's never field dressed a moose she did beat her Republican challenger in a recent cow milking contest. And

Congressman Tom Allen, who's challenging Senator Susan Collins and write-in Independent Herb Hoffman for Collins' post in Washington.

The youthful crowd was pretty pumped, and a big thanks must go to organizers Elliott May (of Portland Greendrinks fame) and Bree LaCasse (who's mother is responsible for the wonderful holiday sculptures that light up Portland in the winter).

The Pete Kilpatrick Band closed out their set with the title song from their current album, "Hope In Our Hearts." It's an apt anthem for our current political situation, as it tells us that "With hope in our hearts/We'll pull through the night." I, for one, am hopeful that they know what they're talking about.

Local hop lovers unite, tonight

Locavores and beer lovers will come together tonight at the Great Lost Bear when Sebago Brewing Company unveils this fall's single batch series, Local Harvest Ale. If you read the story I wrote for Switch magazine a couple weeks ago about cooking with beer, you'll recall that Sebago brewmaster Kai Adams promised this beer was coming soon.

Should you want to sip some of the local, limited edition brew, head over to the Bear from 6-8 pm tonight.

In other local beer news, Peak Organic has launched an Espresso Amber Ale, brewed with organic, fair trade beans from Coffee by Design.

"As foodies, we've always appreciated hand-crafted coffee roasters," says Geoff Masland from Peak Organic. "So we jumped at the opportunity to work with our friends down the street at Coffee By Design, who craft amazing micro roasted coffee. We feel like this is more than just a delicious craft beer, but also a positive experience from start to finish, farm to glass."

Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale is the first Fair Trade Certified beer brewed in the United States. Look for it wherever Peak Organic is served or sold. Or sample some at the Time of Rivers Festival at SPACE Gallery this weekend and at Greendrinks next Tuesday.

Case of the missing chalice

For a chill bar atmosphere, it's hard to beat Novare Res. It's not the sort of place where you expect amateur night antics like vomiting in the bathroom or testosterone-fueled bar fights. Which is why when I was in there last night, I was so sad to see that owner Eric Michaud had posted this message on the wall. Stealing someone's wedding memento is pretty low (and sure to inflict the culprit with years of bad relationship karma). But with a reward of $100 worth of beer at stake, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Eric and Julie soon will be properly reunited with their nuptial goblet.