Portland Recommendations (2022)

Saturday Morning:

Woke up early and layered up for a frigid walk to Tandem Bakery and Holy Donut. Luckily we were up early enough where the line wasn’t long at Tandem standing out in the cold. Picked up a loaded biscuit and some pie, then a half dozen donuts (we got four, but the girl there threw in two “just for fun”….again you meet the nicest people in Portland, we tipped accordingly).

Because this is how I roll in Portland, while we were eating breakfast I was already planning lunch. High Roller it is.

Saturday Afternoon:

I was ready early so I took a stroll around Portland before lunch after picking up a coffee at Bard. I was just here in June and there’s already even more new places. Portland is relentless, but in the best way possible.

Sat at the bar at High Roller for some beers (Taras Boulba on tap!!!) a lobster taco, lobster roll, lobster Rangoon, and fries. I had a bite of the Rodeo Burger too from my brother….delicious. And our bartenders were again, just the nicest people.

After lunch, we had a meet and greet/brewery tour at Liquid Riot. For a beer geek, this was the highlight of the trip (pictures in my post after this). Distillery, coolship, decoction, horizontal tanks, whiskey barrels, lambic barrels…just a killer time. These guys are beer geeks through and through.

And the beers! The two best beers (and I had many great beers this weekend) were from Liquid Riot. The Gueuze and the Smoked Helles. If you’re a Cantillon and Schlenkerla fan, grab these on draft there.

Drinking a Nama as I write this (their all malt Japanese lager, Noble hops in the finish are the cherry on top).

We also discovered it was Stout Fest at Novare that day, so of course we were going back there later.

My brother and I next headed to Lone Pine/Goodfire and then Belleflower. Belleflower was the most packed out of the three, and while their New England IPAs were top notch, they do brew other styles, which is great to see. Good to see the new kid on the block doing well.

Saturday Evening:

Next up was Novare before dinner. Mot the Lesser on tap? Yes please. More amazing company, and we picked up a dinner guest as well. So on to Crispy Gai we were!

Now Crispy Gai…just the nicest people (seeing a theme here?), that treated us like gold. And the food…that chicken….and the skewers….and the fish, my brother doesn’t even like fish and loved it (my brother who drinks Bud Light also doesn’t like fish, I have two brothers if you started getting confused).

Thank you Beeradvocate for turning me on to places like Terlingua and Crispy Gai.

Multiple nightcaps were had at Gritty’s and of course Mash Tun again.

Sunday morning/afternoon:

Finished up with another chilly walk to Tandem and Holy Donut to bring home treats to family and friends. Then, per tradition, Bissell on the way out. Packed this time, but that didn’t make the beers any less tasty. Especially Precept, keep lagering Bissell.

As usual, I miss the hell out of Portland already, and can’t wait to go back for old favorites and new places….

Cheers!!!

 

Aren’t you like the most loaded guy in Boston? Or am I getting mixed up.

 

As always @AlcahueteJ I’m blown away by your Portland reporting and jealous that I’m not there too! Can’t wait to go back.

 

Same! I was there in late December and my trip doesn't hold a candle to yours!

 

Thanks everyone! Maybe when we’re in the “after times” we can get a BA Bus and tour the city!

Cheers

 

Ha, yes I sarcastically am. But hey, I tried to refuse it and then paid it forward…that must count for something right?

 

April 8-10 to piggyback this fest? https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...ut-beards-portland-maine-april-9-2022.664692/

 

This thread is exactly what I need right now, thanks all for the thoughtful recommendations. I have some flight credits to kill before they expire and my wife can't join, so I'm taking a trip up to Portland to go skiing during the day and check out the food/beer scene at night for a long weekend in March. Any absolute-can't-miss things not on my list that I should make a note to swing by?

I have like 2 or 2-5 post-skiing nights in Portland, and I'll be alone so I'm probably not going to be hitting any of the higher-end seafood places or similar (plus, I may be back in the fall with my wife for the marathon).

So far, my (flexible) plans are as follows... Staying in Woodford's Corner (right near Great Lost Bear, if that's any good), and have Novare Res at the top of my list. I'll grab dinner there, and I know there's Duckfat and Oxbow nearby... might switch one and/or both of those out for King's Head / Thirsty Pig depending on what tap lists look like?

Night 2 will probably be either Bissell/Bunker or Allagash. If anyone has food recommendations nearby either of these, that would be cool. We get Bissell drops in Philly... but I'm assuming the brewery itself is very worth hitting still (if they have many options beyond the typical IPAs, good vibes, etc), right?

Heard great things about the city, so I'm excited to check it out! Like I said, hoping to come back again in the fall so any recs are appreciated and maybe I can get them next time if not this time.

 

I’ve always enjoyed the tap list and food at the King’s Head. I ate a lunch at the Thirsty Pig once and prefer King’s Head. Bissell does now make their own food and they do have tasty selections. Definitely worth visiting for the beer. Great selection and they usually have bottles of wild ale/saison stuff from their satellite brewery. Allagash is worth visiting plus they have a lobster roll food truck there. And there are four other breweries in the same industrial drive area that are all in sight of each other. Gonna want to Uber if you go to Allagash. Back in Old Port, Highroller has nice lobster rolls too and good beer on tap.

 

@William_Navidson what type of foods are your favorite? What types of beer styles?

There’s too much of each for one to consume in a couple nights (obviously), so these answers might help.

 

I don’t know…you always seem to do a pretty good job!

 

Thanks!

 

I’m up for whatever I’m general, but in this scenario I think some pub-style food would be optimal, certainly not opposed to any standouts that are Asian or Indian, and if there’s any seafood options that are a little more casual then that would be perfect. Beer-wise I drink just about everything but if there’s any wild beer must-haves (I assume Freak Folk doesn’t make it there?), or anywhere with cask ales, or a big stout/barleywine or two that would be cool. I want to have a few beers so stuff on the lighter end is always nice, rather than loading up on DIPAs.

 

You know, it doesn’t get a lot of talk here but if you’re looking for a place with big stouts and barleywines (and I think they even have some wild ales) you might want to check out Liquid Riot. Very close to King’s Head and Novare.

 

+1 for Liquid Riot, I had a great afternoon there drinking their LRV wild ale and eating pretty (and tasty) food. I love their sour brown ales too, the one on tap now is also wild.

Oh, and while you're in the neighborhood, you might drop by the Portland Beer Hub. Small but wonderful.