Portland, ME Itinerary

Tributary properly belongs with the Portsmouth leg of your trip since it's just the other side of the river. Unless things have changed since last summer, it's growlers only, though.

Leaving Portland, Banded Horn is a short detour off 95 into Saco, then Tributary in Kittery, and over the river to Great Rhythm, Stoneface, Deciduous, Portsmouth Brewery and/or Smuttynose.

Deciduous is probably optional for you since there are no cans and, whatever bottles they may have, you can usually find at a store although, God knows, there's no other reason to waste your time going into a NH bottle shop. I've never been to Portsmouth Brewery myself but I don't think there's much there to take home? I'm not sure about that.

Depending what route you take back to Connecticut, there are another four or five hundred stops to be made in Massachusetts.

 

"Are there any places to eat around Industrial Way?"

No, but there may be some food trucks out there for the afternoon especially if the weather is decent

 

Looks like you've omitted Bissell Brothers - don't miss their taproom! They should be posting their can release schedule for that time period very soon, so check their website. Even if you don't get cans, they usually have 6-10 beers on draft.

 

'Would it be more advantageous to go right to Industrial Way while sober, then drive to the hotel and über to a few of the closer breweries (Rising Tide, Oxbow)?' Sure. Not much of a long term hangout spot at any of the three breweries there so it's really just a pick up and go. Sometimes there are food trucks there, but better hangout spots abound in Portland proper.

We would also like to hit up Tributary. This is an hour away from Portland and should be added on to your Portsmouth hopping if you really want to go there. Just curious but why?

'For dinner was thinking either Duckfat or Novare Res. Is the best bottle shop CBC?' I would not eat at Novare. It's the best bar in Portland in my opinion but food is snacks (take a look at their website). What kind of food do you like? Lots of options in Portland. Duckfat is great but always a madhouse. My favorite bottle shop is the Bier Cellar, always hit that on the way from Industrial back into town.

If it was my first time in Portland, my ideal itinerary would be: Industrial way as quick as possible, then Bier Cellar on the way into town. Then Rising Tide, then Oxbow. Check into your hotel and grab a drink before dinner. Stay in Portland proper rest of the night. The big miss on this itinerary is Bissell Bros and Bunker Brewing. Those can be swapped out for Rising Tide and Oxbow before you check into your hotel.

'then to Portsmouth for a late lunch at Earth Eagle. Other thoughts about another brewery or 2 in Portsmouth?' Still don't know what kind of beers you're looking for or what types of food you're interested in. People can only tell you what their personal opinions are, which vary.

You didn't ask, but you should book your lodging sooner rather than later.

 

I'm not sure why Duckfat still gets such hype and crowds when there are so many great options within walking distance. I'd much rather spend time at Little Tap House, Central Provisions or Kings Head.
Oxbow is a short walk from downtown.

 

If you are doing the Oxbow-Rising Tide area don't miss out on Lone Pine. Nice little stop. When downtown I am a big fan of the Thirsty Pig. Great house made sausages and an all Maine Tap list. Nice place.

 

Barreled souls is a nice stop, but when heading down the coast I like to stop at Banded Horn, cool taproom and plenty of cans/bottles to take with you.

 

Will say this - we tried to do "all" of the Portland breweries in one day - it can be a challenge. I like your idea of hitting Industrial Way then using Uber or whatever to navigate the breweries around the city. You can space it out enough, I reckon, but all the tasting opportunities can sneak up on a person... The Industrial corner is taste/grab/go, but some of the food trucks Allagash hosts are awesome and their tour is pretty cool if you enjoy that sort of thing. For something different, don't miss Oxbow - funky vibe to the place and you won't drown in IPAs. Have not been to the new Bissell and Bunker locations, but the area is worth a visit.

I found banded Horn a little tricky to find - drove by it about six times, only to find out it was not open yet, so make sure to check the hours on all of these places. If you are poking down Route 1 from Portland to Portsmouth, Tully's in Wells is a good bottle shop and Hidden Cove brewing is OK.

I'd do Smutty over Portsmouth Brewery just because the location is fantastic (out of town a ways on nice farmland) and the restaurant is very good. Only drawback is I have not figured out how to do their tasting without taking the tour (which is not very good, IMHO). Plenty of bottles though, and some of the Smuttlabs stuff is damned good. In Kittery, if there's time, When Pigs Fly is good for lunch if it isn't packed and you can stock up on really good bread in the bakery next door. In my opinion, the best lobster rolls around are at the Beach Plum in Portsmouth - no good beers served there, but who cares it's lobster...and you can get them packed to go if you have a cooler. We make the hour and a half drive a couple times a year just for the lobster rolls, and swing into Smuttynose. I'd pass on Tributary by your criteria - growlers only as far as I know. It is a cool little place, but you'd be doing the taste and dash thing.

 

Bissell on a friday afternoon is a crap shoot and impossible to predict especially as Portland gets closer to tourist time. Follow their twitter as they usually post when cans run out for the day. I would not expect them to have cans left at the end of the day usually. It might be best to stop there first on the way into town, before Industrial.

Google hotels for the 28th, I see plenty. In the old port you are looking around $200 per night from what I'm seeing. 5 minutes walking from there I found the Holiday Inn at 88 spring st for $150 per night. Or you can go further away and Uber into/out of town. Up to you and your budget.

When posting these requests for suggestions it helps to give information about budgets, and again what you like for food and beer.

I have not been to Barrelled Souls yet so I cannot comment. I enjoy Banded Horn though. Not super conducive to your trip which is already pretty aggressive.

 

Agreed on Duckfat. It's fine but there are better options with better draft lists and shorter wait. Nosh comes to mind for food and draft lists. Also if you're down for pub grab you can't go wrong with Kings Head. Strangely it's always been dead when I've been there.

 

Not for nothing but driving route 1 south even from Kittery down to Hampton takes a LONG TIME. I would not do Portsmouth, then Smutty, then back to the highway. Pick one and enjoy it, both are great for different reasons.

If you're with others and they like walking around an old historic city and having access to better food, go to Portsmouth and explore. I have friends that really enjoy the scene at Earth Eagle but their beer doesn't do it for me. For me the best beer and scene in town is Portsmouth Brewery but you'll find other opinions of course.

If you like the pastoral type setting and the weather is good, it's hard to beat a round of disc golf and then eating outside at Smutty. Skip the brewery tour and the four tasters. Try what you want at their restaurant onsite and get pints of what you really want.

 

Portland bottle shops - try RSVP and see what they have then go to Bier cellar and buy what RSVP doesn't.
RSVP is slightly cheaper bier cellar has a slightly better selection and you can order on line before hand. I would recommend Barreled souls over Banded horn as they serve a wider selection have a really funky little taproom and their bottles are way underrated. I gave a bottle as an extra to a friend and now he is a HUGE fan.
If you are staying in Portland for more than one day Foundation do a deposit growler system so you could get a growler drink it and return the glass the next day.
If you drink at Oxbow, Tu Casa across the road does solid inexpensive food and oxbow are happy for you to take it into the tap room but they arent open on Saturdays..
If you want lobster rolls check out bite into Maine a food truck
that you find at fort williams Park, amazing, reasonable price and the location is great.
We have subtly broken the law and poured a beer into a closed soda cup and enjoyed beer, lobster roll and an amazing view. being sensible about not flaunting it is the key.

 

If you make it into Portsmouth/Kittery be sure to check out the bottle shop - Spruce Creek Provisions. Small but amazing selection of local and extremely fresh IPAs and a bunch of imported sours as well.

 

Yeah - I agree about the driving. Somewhat in self-defense, when we go up, we are in total stop and smell the flowers mode so we like poking along Rt. 1. And I hadn't even thought about the restaurant at Smutty as the place to taste what you want - DUH! - as many times as I have been there that thought just didn't register. Completely agree about the setting though - it is a great spot.

When we are travelling, time constraints just don't apply for us and I should remember that is not the case for everyone. Lots of times we'll stay in Ogunquit (in less crazy seasons) and use that as a base to head in either direction.

 

AND you get their super-cool 20oz pub glass which is now officially the glass-I-can't-live-without... holds an entire 16oz can with head and room to spare.

 

Don't miss The Holy Donut.