2 Feet Brewing: Craft Beer Downtown Bangor

Nit-Noi Ricker is the co-owner of 2 Feet Brewing, a family-run brewpub in Downtown Bangor, and also ‘assistant brewer, cake maker, prep cook, paperwork filer and dishwasher’. At 2 Feet Brewing, Nit-Noi contributes to the pub's vibrant atmosphere by crafting delicious pub fare and desserts, while her son Zak manages the day-to-day operations. The brewery is known for its signature beer, the Barn Burner, and its variety of craft brews. DeliveryRank offers you an exclusive interview.

Can you share the story behind the creation of 2 Feet Brewing? What inspired you to start your own craft brewery?

My husband, Cory, started homebrewing about 17 years ago, a couple of years before we got married. It all began when his mother gave him a beer kit, one of those Mr. Beer kits. When we got together, he picked up the hobby again. Around that time, a small local homebrewing supply store called Central Street Farmhouse opened nearby, which gave him access to a variety of ingredients.

Every year, the store hosted a beer festival in collaboration with the Bangor Homebrewers Club. We participated in the festival annually, and my husband’s spicy beer, called the Barn Burner—a roasted Jalapeño ghost pepper dark saison—became a hit. It was completely unique, and people loved it. Some even started asking to buy it, but we were just giving it away as donations to charity at the time.

After about the third or fourth year of participating in the festival, my husband turned to me and asked, “Do you want to really do this?” My response was straightforward: “If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it for real. No more just talking about it.” He agreed, and the very next day, I incorporated the business. In hindsight, it was a bit premature since we didn’t actually need to do that for another year, but I was determined to make it happen.

It took about a year to fix our credit and get everything organized. I started buying equipment on Facebook Marketplace—refrigerators, coolers, anything we needed. Eventually, I found a brewing system from the Stout Brewing Company. We drove down to Ithica, New York to pick it up during a snowstorm and brought home our little two-barrel system. And that’s how it all began.

Your signature beer, the Barn Burner, is known for its unique jalapeño and ghost pepper flavors. How did you come up with this idea, and what has been the customer response to such bold flavors?

Cory had tried a jalapeño beer at another place in Maine, but it was a pale ale. Being the scientist that he is, he thought, "What if we mix jalapeños and ghost peppers with a dark saison?" Since saison yeast already has a naturally peppery character, he believed it would intensify the flavors in an interesting way. And that’s exactly what he did—he experimented and created what we now call the Barn Burner: a roasted jalapeño and ghost pepper dark saison.

The beer is spicy, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s surprisingly drinkable. You can smell the roasted jalapeño and taste its smoky essence, while the ghost peppers—actually smoked ghost peppers—add a subtle, lingering tingle on the throat. For those with a refined palate, you can even pick up on the smokiness of the ghost peppers in the aroma.

We live in an IPA-dominated world, so most people are looking for IPAs. While we do offer one, our signature beer is the Barn Burner. IPA drinkers are often hesitant at first, but I encourage them to give it a try by saying, "If you’re into bold flavors—which you clearly are, as an IPA fan—then you’ll probably love this." And honestly, we’ve converted a lot of IPA lovers into Barn Burner fans with just one sip.

You’re known for using fresh, locally grown ingredients in your beers. How important is sourcing locally, and how does it impact the quality and variety of your brews?

I’ve always prioritized supporting local businesses, which is why I’ve insisted on using only Maine-made products whenever possible—Maine wine, Maine soda, and Maine ingredients in everything we create. It’s about supporting our neighbors while they support us by enjoying our products. Most of our grain, for example, comes from Mapleton, and we source everything as locally as we can. When people come in and ask for a Coke, we explain that we only carry Maine-made options, like Eli’s Root Beer or Maine’s Root’s Blueberry Soda. It’s part of our commitment to keeping things local.

I love that there are so many small breweries, wineries, cideries, and other businesses in Maine doing exactly what we’re doing—building something special in little spots, often in the middle of nowhere. Supporting them feels like the right thing to do, and I think our guests appreciate that too.

When people visit, they have plenty of options beyond just beer. We offer local wines, meads, and sodas, and we even make our own hard alcoholic seltzer. We call it the Blank Slate because guests can choose from a variety of syrups or purees to customize their drink any way they want. We also have two slushy machines—one is always filled with Blackberry Wine Slushy made with wine produced just 15 miles away, and the other features the Blank Slate, so you can get it any flavor you want. We also offer several non-alcoholic beers, an IPA, dark, sour, blonde and hop-water.a rotating seltzer flavor.

Our goal is to ensure there’s something for everyone here, whether they drink alcohol or not. Sure, local products cost a little more, but I’d rather support our Maine neighbors than a big conglomerate out in California. And honestly, our community is more than happy to spend a bit extra for something that’s local and special.

The craft beer industry has grown significantly in recent years. How do you differentiate 2 Feet Brewing from other breweries in the Bangor area?

Maine is definitely an IPA-focused beer scene—most beer drinkers here lean heavily toward IPAs. But one of the best things about the breweries in Bangor and throughout Maine is the sense of community. We’re all working toward the same goal, and there’s this unspoken agreement to support one another. For example, if someone comes in looking for an IPA and we don’t have one that suits their taste, we’ll happily recommend Orono Brewing or Mason’s. We know they make great beer, and it’s not uncommon for people to say they came here because another brewery sent them. It’s a reciprocal relationship—everyone in the local beer scene supports each other however we can.

What sets us apart is that we offer unique food, we try to offer foods not offered anywhere else. So people often stop by for a meal and a unique beer experience. During COVID, this spirit of community became even more evident. We’re a tiny 30-seat brewery, and I couldn’t store a full pallet of cans—3,333 cans was just impossible for us. I reached out to Bangor Beer Company and asked if I could buy a smaller batch, maybe just one level of cans, about 1,000. Not only did they agree, but they sold them to us at cost. It was incredible—while a distributor quoted me $2.87 per can (with the lid), Bangor Beer Company charged me just $0.17 per can, lid included.

That’s the beauty of the Maine beer community—it’s not just us helping each other out; it’s everyone. It’s a shared effort to lift each other up, and that camaraderie is what makes being part of this industry so special.

Beyond beer, you offer a variety of local wines, ciders, and meads. How does this diversity enhance the experience for your customers and complement your craft beers?

Expanding our product offerings has been a fantastic way to appeal to a wider audience. Not everyone is a beer drinker—some people prefer wine, some are curious about mead (which is essentially honey wine), and others just want to experience something uniquely Maine-made. For many, mead has this folkloric appeal, and it adds a layer of authenticity to their visit. Maine itself is such a popular destination—people come from all over the world to experience our breathtaking landscapes, from mountains and rivers to our expansive coastline. When visitors find us, they often say, "I could’ve gone somewhere else, but I wanted to try local," and that’s exactly the experience we aim to provide.

I think both our customers and the producers we buy from appreciate our commitment to keeping things local. It’s this mutual understanding of the importance of supporting each other that makes it all work. Of course, there are times when someone comes in looking for a Budweiser or a Coke, and we have to say, “Sorry, we don’t carry that.” But most of our customers are excited to explore something different, and they leave feeling like they’ve had an authentic Maine experience.

As for expansion, I’d absolutely love to grow. We've been looking for a bigger space in downtown Bangor for about two years now. Right now, we’re working with a two-barrel system, and it would be amazing to move up to a seven-barrel or even a three-and-a-half-barrel setup. The challenge is that our brewery is in the basement, and getting larger equipment down there is practically impossible. While the space itself could handle a bigger system, the logistics just don’t work with our current setup.

If we were to expand, it would open up opportunities for more regular distribution—right now, we’re only able to sell beer to people who come here to drink it. Occasionally, a restaurant or someone else will ask about carrying our beer, and while we can accommodate small requests, we just don’t have the capacity for a steady distribution schedule. So, while we’re eager to grow and are actively searching for the right spot, we’re staying patient until we find something that allows us to remain rooted in downtown Bangor.

If you would like to find out more about 2 Feet Brewing, please visit https://twofeetbrewing.com/