Kathleen "Pidge" Pigeon : Lucky Pigeon Brewing
- Brick + Tides
- Oct 22
- 8 min read
Biddeford, Maine — The hum of a canning line cuts through the stillness of an afternoon brew day. Inside a restored brick building off Laconia Street, sunlight pools across the floor, the air rich with the earthy sweetness of fermenting grain.
A group of regulars trade stories at the bar while a brewer wipes condensation from a stainless-steel tank. Behind the counter, greeting everyone by name, stands Kathleen Pigeon — though nobody here calls her that.
“Everyone knows me as Pidge,” she says with a grin that suggests she’s halfway between scientist and ringmaster.
That door reads Lucky Pigeon Brewing — Maine’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery, and one of the few in the country. What began as an idea shared among friends has taken flight here in Biddeford’s mill district, powered by teamwork, experimentation, and a touch of good fortune.
A Name That Stuck
“Lucky Pigeon is a nod to my last name,” she says. “And the ‘lucky’ part — that’s just my life. I win raffles. I find things when I need them. Things tend to work out.” Then she pauses and adds, “Some of it is perspective, too. Seeing the good in whatever happens. I think luck and optimism are pretty close cousins.”
That sense of lighthearted realism runs through everything here. The Lucky Pigeon logo says it all: clean lines, quiet confidence, and a hint of playfulness. Like the beer itself, it’s crafted with care and just enough edge to stand out.
When Lucky Pigeon opened in 2021, it instantly stood apart from Maine’s crowded craft-beer field. It wasn’t built on hops arms-races or hazy-IPA hype. It was built on inclusion — the idea that great beer shouldn’t leave anyone out.
History in the Walls
The tasting room sits inside Building 13 of the old Pepperell Mills, a cavernous brick structure that once thumped with textile machinery. “We’re surrounded by history,” Pidge says, glancing up at the twenty-foot ceilings. “You can still see the footprints of the sewing machines in the floor. People come in who worked here decades ago and point to their exact spot — ‘I used to work right there.’ They deserve a beer for that.”
Rather than erase that legacy, she embraced it. “We came in and decided the best thing we could do was not mess it up,” she says. “The character was already built in — the brickwork, the tall windows, the scars in the floor. Our job was to highlight it.”
The furniture has its own lucky story. One of Lucky Pigeon’s partners designs commercial kitchens. “He was on a job when another restaurant was about to auction off all their furniture,” she recalls. “Booths, wooden chairs, everything. He happened to be there that day, so we got it for next to nothing. That’s how it goes for us — luck mixed with timing.”
From Scientist to Brewer
Before beer, Pidge’s world was biology. “I worked at IDEXX for almost twenty years,” she says. “Molecular biology, veterinary diagnostics, working side by side with chemists. I loved the precision of it.”
She’s quick to point out the overlap between brewing and lab work. “Brewing is really a giant chemistry experiment,” she says. “You’re dealing with reactions — enzymes, sugars, fermentation kinetics. You tweak one variable and everything changes. For me, it scratched the same itch as science, but it’s more playful.”
Her pivot began eleven years ago when she developed gluten intolerance. “At the time there were barely any options,” she says. “I was homebrewing as a hobby, and suddenly I couldn’t drink what I made. So I started experimenting with millet and rice instead of barley. There were a few online communities doing this, and they were so generous with information.”
The idea of a brewery came later. “It was always in the back of my mind — maybe someday I’ll open a bar or a brewery. When I mentioned it to my brother-in-law, he said, ‘I’m in.’ That was the push I needed.”
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Brewing Without Barley
Gluten-free brewing requires inventiveness. Traditional beers rely on barley, wheat, or rye — all gluten-rich grains that give beer its texture and head. Pidge had to rebuild those elements from the ground up.
“We use millet and rice as our base grains,” she explains. “They’re now being malted like barley, so you can achieve all the same flavor profiles — light, roasted, caramelized, everything. Then we add gluten-free oats, corn, or buckwheat to fill out the body and foam. You don’t get the same mouthfeel otherwise.”
Her eyes light up when she describes it. “It’s like building a bridge with different materials. The principles are the same — you just have to understand the chemistry.”
To make sure the recipes translated to production scale, she and her partners hired head brewer Scott Nebel a year before opening. “We wanted someone who knew the big equipment and could help us fine-tune the process,” she says. “It was a steep learning curve for all of us.”
In August 2021, Lucky Pigeon opened with four flagship beers. “All dedicated gluten-free,” she emphasizes. “The reception was incredible. People were so grateful to finally have something safe that tasted great.” Since then, they’ve brewed roughly sixteen styles — from crisp blondes to dark, creamy stouts.
Pandemic Timing
Their story nearly ended before it began. “We were about to sign a lease in early 2020,” she says. “Then COVID hit. Everyone got sent home. We sat down and said, ‘Should we even keep going?’ We didn’t know what was coming.”
They decided yes. “Whatever happened, people weren’t going to stop drinking beer. And gluten-free folks still needed options. So we just kept moving forward.”
By the time they opened a year later, shutdowns had lifted, though masks and distance remained. “We didn’t have an existing customer base,” she says. “People were still nervous to go out. We had to build everything from scratch during a pandemic. But the community rallied. Both the Biddeford crowd and the gluten-free community showed up for us.”
The Beer That Travels
Four years later, Lucky Pigeon’s reach is impressive. “We’re in over 175 stores and restaurants across Maine, and about the same in Massachusetts,” Pidge says. “Our goal has always been to get beer into as many hands as possible.”
Cans bearing the pigeon logo appear on shelves from Portland to Provincetown. “When someone finds us in a store and sends a photo, it’s still surreal,” she says. “If you’ve had to give up beer for health reasons, seeing something new on the shelf — that’s a big deal.”
The Power of Place
Biddeford has emerged as one of Maine’s most creative small cities, and Lucky Pigeon Brewing is woven tightly into that revival. “Heart of Biddeford has been an amazing ally,” she says. “They helped us meet other business owners, plugged us into community events, and they’re constantly asking what we need. They make it easy to feel part of something bigger.”
She gestures toward the mills visible through the tasting-room windows. “You look around and realize how much progress there’s been just in the past five years. And we’re still at the beginning. It’s an exciting time to be here.”
A Culture of Collaboration
The city’s beer scene has become a network of mutual aid rather than rivalry. “We have great neighbors,” Pidge says. “Banded, Sacred Profane, all of them. The brewing industry is collaborative by nature. Everyone shares the same pain points — equipment, ingredients, supply chains — so we help each other.”
She laughs remembering their first delivery day. “Our very first pallet of cans arrived, and we didn’t have the right kind of pallet jack. Banded brought one over and said, ‘Keep it until yours shows up.’ That’s how this community works.”
The cooperation extends to promotion. “For Maine Brewers’ Guild’s 207 Beer Week, the Biddeford breweries are organizing our own little beer trail,” she says. “Groups already come down to hit three or four breweries in one afternoon. It’s fun. It turns beer into exploration.”
An Entrepreneur by Accident
“I never set out to run a business,” Pidge admits. “But once we decided to open the brewery, I went and got my MBA at UNH. It helped with leadership and finance, but honestly, most of entrepreneurship is learning on the go. You make mistakes, adjust, and keep moving.”
That flexibility, she says, has become part of Lucky Pigeon’s DNA. “We approach everything with humility and curiosity. There’s always someone who knows more, and that’s a good thing. You just keep learning.”
Her transition from corporate science to small-business chaos still surprises her. “I appreciate what IDEXX gave me — stability, structure, discipline. But small business has this energy that’s addictive. You can see your impact immediately — on your employees, your community, your customers. It’s hard to walk away from that.”
And if the brewery vanished tomorrow? She doesn’t hesitate. “Whatever I did next would have to involve community. Providing inclusive spaces where people connect — that’s what brings me joy. Watching people in the tasting room connect with each other, that’s everything.”
The Gluten-Free Community
If there’s one group that fuels her passion, it’s the gluten-free community. “It’s real, and it’s powerful,” she says. “We go to gluten-free expos around New England — they’re organized by a group called Wicked Gluten Free — and it’s amazing to see all the small businesses supporting each other.”
Inside the tasting room, that spirit of connection takes tangible form. “People talk to each other here,” she says. “You don’t always see that in other breweries. Someone overhears a table mention a gluten-free bakery, and suddenly three tables are in the same conversation. They trade phone numbers, they come back together the next week. It’s constant connection.”
Not everyone who comes in is gluten-free. “A lot of our regulars aren’t,” she adds. “Maybe they came in with a friend who is, or they just love the beer. Either way, it’s inclusive — everyone’s welcome.”
Events, Energy, and Everyday Luck at Lucky Pigeon
Community isn’t just a buzzword here. Lucky Pigeon hosts trivia, karaoke, cribbage leagues, live music, and soon, country line dancing. “We try to keep it fun,” Pidge says. “You can buy our beer in cans anywhere, but having it on draft here — that’s special. It’s where you really taste the care we put in.”
As she talks, the canning line hisses again in the background. Cases are stacked, labels gleaming under fluorescent light. The brewery hums with a quiet pride.
And, of course, there’s the logistical question every visitor eventually asks: parking. Pidge responds: “Our entrance is on Laconia Street, not Main, and we have a few labeled spots for customers. There’s also a garage nearby. Honestly, the city’s done such a great job fixing the sidewalks and lighting that even a short walk feels nice.”
Lucky by Design
As the afternoon crowd filters in, the tasting room fills with voices — some local, some from away — all of them greeted by name. Pidge moves easily behind the bar, topping off pints, cracking jokes, answering questions about yeast and enzymes as if explaining a favorite recipe.
Her brand might be built on luck, but what she’s really cultivated is connection — between science and art, between gluten-free customers and craft-beer culture, between Biddeford’s past and its reinvention. “Luck helps,” she admits with a smile, “but it’s mostly hard work and good people.”
In a city once powered by the rhythm of looms, Lucky Pigeon now hums with a different kind of production — one built on chemistry, community, and a touch of optimism.
And as Pidge slides a fresh pint across the bar, she adds with that scientist’s grin: “We’re still experimenting — and we’re just getting started.”
Many thanks to Pidge and the great people at Lucky Pigeon Brewing for the hospitality and time for this story!
Visit Lucky Pigeon at 40 Main Street, Suite 13-131, Biddeford, ME 04005. - The best entrance is on Laconia Street. Check the Lucky Pigeon website for hours.
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Photos and Interview by Maine Photographer Cy Cyr.
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