Case Study: Raising the Bar with Custom Audio for Maine Beer Co.

A massive whale bone named Finny and custom moss sculpture bring character and charm to the tasting room’s tall ceilings and wood accents.

Intentionality was key while designing a custom audio system for Maine Beer Company’s tasting room. With exposed wood, high ceilings, hard surfaces, a custom moss sculpture, and a massive suspended whale bone named “Finny,” the space presented a unique combination of aesthetic and acoustic challenges. The audio needed to perform in a large, reverb-prone environment without competing with the character of the space or becoming another visual element.

“We were looking for products that would not only fit the design of the space but also blend in to look natural,” says Maine Beer Co. Hospitality Director Ryan Conery-Poulin. “Specifically, we needed audio solutions that maintained the aesthetic of the tasting room and retail area, which features exposed wood and high ceilings.”

“We needed audio solutions that maintained the aesthetic of the tasting room and retail area, which features exposed wood and high ceilings.”

- Ryan Conery-Poulin, Maine Beer Co. Hospitality Director

The Challenge

The tasting room’s open layout and soaring ceilings made acoustic control a primary concern. Numerous hard surfaces created the potential for excessive reverberation, while the height of the space made it important to direct sound downward into the areas where customers actually gather—rather than allowing sound to collect in the ceiling area.

The location above the bar presented another challenge. The speakers needed to fit within a very specific footprint between the custom moss sculpture and “Finny,” leaving little room for a conventional installation. At the same time, the system had evolved as Maine Beer Co. expanded, requiring amplifiers to be distributed across three different locations without disrupting the brewery and tasting room’s day-to-day operations.

The goal was straightforward: deliver clear, evenly distributed sound while allowing the architecture and distinctive design elements to remain the focus.

The tasting room’s bright white walls, warm wood accents, and colorful artworks create a playful-but-elevated atmosphere.

The Solution

Leon’s custom team worked with the project team to create custom-made Detail DsUltima speakers, pairing Leon’s reference-grade audio platform with a cabinet sized specifically for the space above the bar. Their directional design allowed the system to project sound where it was needed, helping mitigate the effects of the room’s hard surfaces and high ceilings while maintaining a clean, unobtrusive installation.

The custom approach was particularly important in the space above the bar, where the speakers had to work around both the moss sculpture and suspended whale bone. Rather than forcing the architecture to accommodate an off-the-shelf product, the audio system was designed to fit the architecture.

Custom-made DsUltima speakers from Leon were designed to fit within the spatial, functional, and stylistic requirements of the tasting room’s unique layout.

For system control, LEA Professional amplifiers and LEA Connect touch pads provided a practical solution for the property’s distributed system. With amplifiers located in three different areas, the setup allows individual zones to be controlled with different audio sources, giving the team flexibility as the space continues to evolve.

The project also extends beyond the tasting room, with Terra Tr50-MT Outdoor speakers providing high-performance audio throughout the outdoor areas. The even coverage and high-fidelity performance have already led Maine Beer Co. to plan additional outdoor zones, with the team looking to continue expanding its use of Leon and Terra products across the property.

On the tasting room’s patio, Terra Tr50-MT Outdoor speakers provide high-performance audio out of sleek, ultra-durable aluminum cabinets

The final result is an audio system that does what good integrated design should: perform at a high level, adapt to the environment, and visually enhance the style of the surrounding space.

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