Portland - Too Many Breweries

The Bob Appetit article calling Portland the best food city in the country will help sustain things for a while, I think.

For the beer side, I’d be surprised if some of the hop-forward places didn’t eat one another’s business in some way, shape, or form. Then again, maybe not. I have a hard time distinguishing those breweries from another and I suspect other people will get to that point too.

Oxbow and Allagash will be fine because what they do is so distinct. Allagash has been around forever and are one of the best breweries in the country. Oxbow isn’t far behind them (if they are at all), but they’ve aligned themselves with killer food.

 

You have to pick and choose between the strip with Rising Tide/Lone Pine...etc. and Industrial Way if you're just there on a short trip.

I go at least once a year, if it's a two day trip, I have to choose. A three day trip I can almost squeeze every brewery in there, but yeah it is getting a bit ridiculous.

Although the same could be said about the restaurant scene up there as well.

That article really increased business up there from what I understand. I went in early June and barely encountered any lines.

One of my co-workers went in mid-August after the article, and there was a line around the corner for The Holy Donut. I go to Holy Donut every time I'm up there and I've never seen a line that big. They encountered the same thing at Gelato Fiasco, with a massive line.

The week they went it was cloudy out the entire time. The weekend I went it was gorgeous out. So it wasn't the weather.

Agreed. This isn't really a knock on their beers, but you could probably line up many of the beers at Goodfire, Battery Steele, Lone Pine, Austin Street, Derivative, and Bissell and not tell the difference. Bissell's likely the cream of the crop so they may stand out.

Austin Street and Derivative do some other styles, so they at least mix it up. Battery Steele, Goodfire, and Lone Pine are just IPA breweries.

 

I like Portland as much as the next guy but this is a lol take.

 

Read the article (pretty easy google). I don’t think it’s as ludicrous as you’re making it.

We are up in Portland all the time and, of the places listed, we have been to like three. I’m already excited to head back up.

 

I didn't say it's not a great food town. It is, obviously. I like portland a lot, and I'm glad those eateries are getting a tourist bump thanks to the article.

That being said, lol.

 

I'm also up there a lot, and I'm pretty well versed in their restaurant scene and thought the same thing. "Shit, I was JUST up there and I haven't heard of half of these places...time to head back up!"

I'm not a "foodie" and I don't know if this matters or not, but there's many chefs up there who are frequently nominated/have won James Beard awards.

At the very least it's the best food city in the Northeast in my opinion. Well, right up there with Cambridge/Boston anyways.

 

I've said it elsewhere but Lone Pine produces my favorite IPAs in Portland. I wouldn't know that if I didn't go there, so it was worth going to visit.

 

I dig some of their stuff too, but it can be tough when you're brewery hopping. A did a flight at Goodfire, then next door at Lone Pine. By the time I got halfway through my flight at Lone Pine everything started to run together and taste similar.

I think Goodfire may have had a sour or Gose at least. All Lone Pine had was hoppy beer and an imperial stout if I recall correctly. Lone Pine distributes to MA now too, so there's less of a reason for me to visit when I'm up there. OJ is pretty damn good though, albeit their stuff starts to fall apart after a few weeks.

I still definitely like Bissell the best for Maine IPAs, along with Patina specifically from Austin Street.

 

I would say Lux is a rye IPA and Engram an APA with wheat really. I like both beers a lot, but they're just varieants on the same ole thing

 

Agreed. Something like Precept though is totally different. It's definitely not an IPL.

 

Yeah, they definitely do other things, I just thought those were strange ones to spotlight that idea with though.

 

And personally what makes them stand out is I like their IPAs the most out of the Maine breweries. And even though they have a beer like Precept, let's be honest, they're an IPA brewery through and through, just like Trillium and Tree House.

 

True today(being a mainly IPA brewery), but the new facility in Milo, ME may change that moving forward. Won't change the Portland location, but the Milo beers will probably be sold in the city.

The area near Oxbow, Goodfire, etc. is turning into a real interesting area. Lots of breweries, mead, distillery, as well as restaurants. I think Austin St. is making a second location in that area too, correct?

 

Assuming you're excluding NY, then sure. It's a great small city food town. One of the best. But any city with under 100k people is going to have a hard time competing with legit metropolises. That's my only point.

 

Not being a hop-head, the tremendous increase in hop-forward breweries in southern ME amazes, but doesn't overwhelm me because the breweries making the sours/wilds I prefer can be very manageable to make the rounds every time I visit. Don't people find the NEIPA bloom in Portland somewhat redundant? As for the food scene there it's fantastic for a city that size!