Visiting Portland, ME? Some ideas.

Seen a couple of Portland, ME threads pop up, so I thought I'd try to consolidate things.

Bottle Stores in Portland, ME (in order of my preference.)

1. Bier Cellar
2. RSVP
3. Maine Brewing Supply
4. Downeast Beverage (in the old Port)

Breweries in Portland, ME (in order of my preference)

1. Allagash​

Hours: Mon - Sat 10a-5p (only open Sat seasonally)​

Tours: Sign up using link. (11a, 12:30p, 2p, 3:30p)​

Growler Fills: no.​

Coolships and other "surprises" sometimes available.​

2. Maine Beer Co​

Hours: Mon 10-2. Tues 10-2. Fri 12-4.​

Tour: Friday @2p.​

Growler Fills: no​

3. Rising Tide​

Hours: Tues, Thurs 4-7. Fri, Sat 12-3p.​

Tours: Fri, Sat @1p​

Growler Fills: yes​

4. Geary's​

Hours: Mon-Fri​

Tours: ~2p. Call in the morning to check.​

Growler Fills: no​

5. Shipyard​

Hours: 7 days a week. 11 - 4p​

Tours: hourly​

Full Tours: Tuesdays 5:30p. Sign up in advance.​

Growler Fills: no​

​

"Nearby" Breweries (in order of distance):
Certainly not exhaustive, but these are some of my favorites that are north of Boston.

1. Baxter (Lewiston, ME): Cans! Thurs-Sun 12-6p. 45min drive
2. Oxbow (Newcastle, ME): Open for growler fills: Fri 2-6p. 1h drive.
3. Portsmouth (Portsmouth, NH): Open for food/growlers 7 days a week. 1h drive.
4. Marshall Wharf (Belfast, ME): Open for food/growlers T-F 4p-close. 2h drive.
5. Hill Farmstead (Greensboro Bend, VT): Cash only. Growlers/Bottles. Wed-Sat 12-5p. 3.5h drive
6. The Alchemist (Waterbury, VT): The source of Heady Topper. Open daily, 11-7p. 4h drive
7. Lawson's Finest Liquids (Warren, VT): 4.5h drive
8. Dieu Du Ciel (Montreal, QC, Canada): 5.5h drive

Portland Beer Bars:

1. Novare Res - lots of taps and bottles, small menu (in the Old Port)
2. Great Lost Bear: lots of taps, huge menu, kid friendly (on Forest Ave)
3. Mama's Crowbar: smaller 'local' bar, popcorn, cash only (on the hill)
4. Sebago Brewing Co: Brewpub with locations in Portland, Scarborough, Gorham, and Kennebunk.

Portland has tons of places with incredible food and a handful of nice taps... a few personal favorites:

• Duckfat: drink an oxbow/allagash with your poutine/fries. the shakes (and everything else) are good too.
• Pai Men Miyake: ramen/sushi... the brussel sprouts are a hidden gem. Hitachino Nest + others.
• The Thirsty Pig: local sausages and taps
• Nosh: bacon... can get crowded.
• LFK: new place. site lists its taps.

those are all jeans/t-shirt friendly places.
If you want to spend more time picking out restaurants, check out the Portland food map.

"Nearby" Beer Bars that are worth the trip... (in order of distance)

1. Lion's Pride (Brunswick, ME): Owned by Chris Lively of Ebenezers. Lots of taps and bottles. Novare Res gets a lot of attention in Portland, but I've had better service up here - the food is better as well. It's a nice stop if you find yourself traveling north from Portland. 30 min drive
2. Ebenezer's (Lovell, ME): I'd go out of my way to go here, Chris Lively's service is unparalleled... Incredible. 1.5h drive
3. I'll leave northern ME/VT/NH to people from those areas who know the places a bit better.

Sorry in advance if I left anything out - there have been lots of changes over the last few years and I'm sure I've overlooked plenty.

 

I'm already starting to think of small things I forgot to include:

Breweries in Portland

Bunker Brewing Co - Open Tues 4-7 (sometimes 5-9... it changes). Small batches. Growler Fills.​

Peak's Organic Brewing Company - No tours/hours listed on site.​

Gritty McDuff's - Brewpub - Growler Fills​

Other Breweries near Portland with Growler Fills
I haven't tried most of these. I believe I've seen some make it to taps at the Great Lost Bear.
(credit to the insurance guy's blog)

• Freeport Brewing Co (South Portland, ME) 11 min
• Boothbay Craft Brewery (Boothbay, ME) 1 hour
• Oak Pond Brewery (Skowhegan, ME) 1.75 hours
• Black Bear (Orono, ME) 2.25 hours
• Geaghan Bros (Bangor, ME) 2.25 hours
• Penobscot Bay (Winterport, ME) 2.25 hours

Bottle Shops

• Whole Foods Market
• Maine Beer & Beverage Co (in the public market house)

Bottle Shops Near Portland (I'm sure others could provide better recs here)

• Bootleggers (Topsham, ME and Lisbon, ME)
• Oak Hill Beverage (Scarborough, ME)

Question on Growlers for other Mainers... can you bring your own to all of these? I read somewhere that Hill Farmstead will fill nonclear growlers, and I believe I saw on Oxbow's page that they want you to use their own growler... I'm interested in other people's input, as growler fills from brewers are relatively new to Maine.

 

Good spot! I've only been there twice, but this is a solid rec for the atmosphere. I remember my wife enjoying the mixed drinks. The food menu changes but is online here.

First visit: allagash white and gnocchi
Second visit: allagash white and lobster mac & cheese

 

What a difference a year makes.

Lots to update. Breweries have opened/closed/expanded/moved. The food scene continues to grow (food trucks and more.)

I ought to rewrite this post to provide updates and consolidate information. Maybe I'll find the time to do so sometime this summer.

 

Definitely walk in the old port and include a stop at the harbor fish market if that appeals to you even a little... Really neat place.

Coffee: The Starbucks in the old port features a Clover machine for the super coffee nerds... I'm a big fan of the local shops though, especially Bard and Arabica. A new place called Crema recently opened and has been making some buzz. The Portland food map website will have reviews on those and others. All of those are in the old port.

Sight seeing: two lights lobster shack for delicious lobster rolls and a great view (little ways south of Portland). For a great water view in Portland, take a ride on the eastern promenade... You can get right down to the water if you want.

The Portland Museum of Art is free on Fridays, nice exhibits. The first Friday of each month features a lot of activity in the old port (street music, dancing, and art)

See what's playing at the State Theatre while you're in town.. Or if you're looking for a different vibe, there's Gingko Blue (jazz/blues) and a handful of other music venues.

Outside of shops in the old port theres outlet shopping in Freeport (ll bean is open 24/7)... Or the maine mall in south Portland.

Soakology is a tea/foot soak place that my wife will often take her friends who visit from far away and are looking to relax.

Bayside Bowl is a good spot for bowling that's right in Portland...

Ice cream options abound... Gorgeous gelato and Mt Desert island are my favorites.

Tons of options, if you have specific interests/hobbies let us know, I'm sure folks on here could easily add to these suggestions or tailor them more to fit you.

 

Another great day activity is a ferry ride to peaks island (they leave frequently from the Casco bay ferry terminal) when you get out there, you can toss some money in a can and grab a bike to ride around. It's a small island (with a year round community). It's a nice/scenic ride on both the boat and the bike.

The mail boat ferry ride (same terminal) is another option - it's a bit longer and the prices were great when I went a few years ago.