Portland Maine trip this weekend .

Novare res is a must stop, you've also got the allagash tour/tasting and great lost bear. That's just a start.

 

Fri or Sat? Fri Maine Beer does tours, email ahead to make sure. Its right across the rd from Allagash. Bull Jagger, Rising Tide(in the process of moving) and Gearys are all close by in same industrial district. Next to Great Lost Bear is a home brew store. They carry bottles that you prob dont find too much of in Mass. If you are driving, Fri you could also run up to Oxbow Brewing for their growlers.

 

No trip to Portland is complete without having lunch at Duckfat, and they have local beers on draft. http://duckfat.com/

 

If you are into stouts, I would suggest making a stop at Grittys to have Black Fly on tap. Great lost beer might have it as well.

 

Duckfat is pretty awesome, but their beer is actually rather subpar for the area. Only 2-3 taps, and what they have has been about as common as it gets every time I've been. (Allagash White, Geary/Shipyard flagship, etc) Pretty much every restaurant in Portland has at least that, plus more.

 

For bottle shops I'd recommend RSVP and Maine Brewing Supply on Forest Ave, and Downeast Beverage in the Old Port. If still looking after that I'd stop in at Whole Foods in Portland and Oak Hill Beverage on Route 1 in Scarborough.

Allagash also still has bottles of Old HLT for sale in their shop as of Monday this week.

 

I'm also heading up to Portland this weekend. I'm pretty familiar with the city--it's one of my favorites for beer and in general--but I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about Bray's Brew Pub in Naples.

My girlfriend and I are heading up Friday night, and in addition to some good food and hanging out at Novare Res and walking around town, we're thinking of going on a brief hike in the Sebago area. I've heard good things about Bray's in passing and its biergarten looks nice, so I was thinking of stopping by there for a post-hike snack and a beer.

Given the time crunch, though, I'm not sure it makes sense to go out-of-our-way to go there on this trip. It might come down to having to choose between stopping at Bray's or stopping at the Great Lost Bar, another place I love with a great patio.

Aside from the BA reviews, does anyone have any thoughts--worth going out-of-our-way to visit Bray's, or should we stick to the Portland bars? Thanks!

 

IMO Bray's is pretty good but not worth going out of the way for if you have limited time. If you are going to go to the Sebago region for a hike and want to go out of the way somewhere just go to Ebenezer's. If not I would stick to the Great Lost Bear and take advantage of Allagash Alley. The Thirsty Pig on Exchange St also has a decent deck and a solid beer selection with good food.

P.S. Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton is a very nice, mellow day hike. Really nice hike along the ridge on top with great views. Can get pretty busy on the main route up but there is an alternate route up off the access road that never has more then 5 people hiking it if you can find it. Love doing this hike then finishing the day off on the porch at Ebs in the summer.

 

Thanks, Ive never heard of them before.

 

Don't know how long it has been since you have been there, but Oxbow, Bunker and Marshall Wharf have been in rotation @ Duckfat for a while now.

 

Well I stand corrected... it's been about a year since I've been.

 

Thanks--it sounds like we'll save Bray's for a future summer trip to Portland/Sebago. We're planning to hike Douglas Mountain--just a quick hike Saturday morning, but this is really a Portland trip with a brief visit to the edge of the Sebago region. I used to work at a summer camp there in high school, and this will be my first time back to the Sebago area (been to Portland plenty of times since) in almost 10 years. We go to Moat Mountain/North Conway every summer, and visit Ebenezer's then, but not on this trip. I'm really looking forward to visiting Portland--it's a city I love visiting and wouldn't mind calling home one day. Thanks again for the tips.

 

Hey Everyone- was about to start a thread on Portland but this great one was right on the front page! Heading up there in Late May for 2 nights (A Tuesday and Wednesday Night) and am looking at staying at the Eastland Park Hotel with some friends. Seems to be good walking distance to Novare Res, some good restaurants, and a healthy trek to The Great Lost Bear.

We are also looking for a relatively short hike (2-4 hours) that won't take us too far out of the city and provide for some good views and some fresh air in between drinking sessions. Any suggestions as far as that goes? (Maybe one that we could bring some heady topper on?)

Any advice is appreciated!

 

How far do you want to drive for the hike? There isn't a ton of great hiking around Portland. Bradbury Mtn is in Pownal right by Freeport but that is more of a hill then a mountain and takes about 15-20 min to get to the top (although there are lots of walking trails in the woods but I wouldn't really call it true hiking). There are decent views of the ocean from the top though and after you can go to Lions Pride in Brunswick for some great beers. If you want to go further afield I would recommend Pleasant Mtn out in Bridgton (see my post above) and if you want to take a drive up the coast Mt Megunticook in Camden Hills State Park is a mellow hike with fantasic views from the top. Also is a fairly short drive from there to Belfast where you can visit Marshall Wharf which is one of the best breweries in Maine. Enjoy!

 

I've definitely seen Marshall Wharf on tap at Duckfat.

EDIT: I see someone already informed you, sorry.

 

I was at Duckfat on Saturday - really great taplist.

Marshall Wharf Toughcats IPA
Oxbow Funkhaus Sour Farmhouse
Bunker Brewing Munjoy Mild

 

Good beer AND fries cooked in duck fat? I want to go to there.

 

I stopped by there Friday night, and was equally pleased with the taplist. We stopped by last year, and while I loved it then, I don't remember the taplist being quite as good as it was this past weekend. The same was true--but even more so--of Mama's Crow Bar on Munjoy Hill. Last year, I remember a handful of taps with some Allagash and maybe another local or two, plus some easier to find beers. This weekend, there were 6-8 taps, all from small Maine brewers (except for two taps from the big local guys at Allagash). Oxbow was $4, the fantastic Rising Tide Daymark I had and a few others were $5. Great beers at great prices in a great bar, and dare I say, all in a great town. It was a great weekend.

 

Good to know ... they should really updated their online menu.