Family-Run Sangerville Brewery To Hold Music Festival in September

One family-owned Piscataquis County Brewery is gearing up to take things to the next level, by creating an all-day music festival to kick off September.

Two Knights Brewing is run by brothers John and Dominick Riitano.

John, who started brewing in 2002, mostly for family, says he was inspired to start branching out after people began asking at family functions if he sold his beer.

"I only brewed for my family. Then at my sister's wedding, people who were not family or related at all were asking where they could get my beer. That was the push we needed. My brother is the chef and we needed a food menu."

Dominic, a veteran of the United States Airforce, cultivates the food while John takes care of the brewing end of things.

John purchased 36 acres of land in Sangerville in 2015, and they broke ground on the brewery in 2019.

"The entire Riitano family and close friends have been helping construct the building.
They worked building the brewery through COVID."

Two Knights Brewing opened in April of 2022.

The bar is named for two prominent Sangerville residents with pretty incredible histories; Hiram Maxim who invented the fully automatic machine gun and Harry Oakes, who found what we now know was the second-largest gold mine in North America, and used his money to develop the island of Nassau in the Bahamas—both men where Knighted by the British Royal family.

While not officially knights themselves...yet...the Riitano brothers have been providing Piscataquis County with good beer, good food, and a place for folks from in town and from away, to gather and enjoy each other's company.

Currently, TKB is open 3 nights a week, year-round, except for Christmas and Easter:

Friday from 4-8 PM, Saturday from 12-8 PM, and Sundays from 2 to 6 PM.

But they have a vision to do even more with the place, John Riitano says, with plans for expansion in near the future.

"Campsites Cabins more outdoor seating in a pavilion..."

Recently, they've been working on creating an Outdoor Music Venue, which will host its very first "Two Knights Brewing (TKB) Music Festival" on the first Sunday in September.

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Featuring all Maine artists playing original music, gates will open at 9 with music starting up between 10 and 11 AM. The festival will wrap up around 11 PM.

Set to perform at the festival on September 1st the bands Theif of Joy, Merther, Bookhead Sweettooth, Vexica, Luke Cartwright, Kimberly Archer & Ryan Carter, Glimmer & Glimpse, Joe Sikorski, and Randy Roler.

Tickets to the festival are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the shows. Lawn chairs are recommended.

You can get them online by clicking here.

Riitano says that they hope to eventually become a destination for folks.

"Food beer music they just go together, in any order. They just work.  Plus, we have 36 acres and we plan to use it."

For more on the TKB Music Festival or any other of the Two Knights Brewing Events, you can click here.